MIGRAIN: Introduction to feminism

Discussing feminism and learning a range of feminist theories is an essential part of A Level Media Studies.

Are we living in a post-feminist state? Do you agree there is still a need for feminism? To what extent does the media contribute to the identity created for women in popular culture? These are some of the questions we need to consider when studying representation in A Level Media.

There is a current debate regarding whether feminism is still required in the 21st century (the idea that we are now in a 'post-feminist' state) against the view that the use of new and digital media to further feminist campaigns constitutes a new fourth wave of feminism.

Key notes

Post-feminism

Post-feminism is a term used to describe a societal perception that many or all of the goals of feminism have already been achieved, thereby making further iterations and expansions of the movement obsolete. 

Post-feminism also has alternative definitions. At times, it is described as a media phenomenon, or as a backlash against feminism, while at other times post-feminism is discussed as a radically new way that young people are engaging in activism and identity theory, often moving away from gender.

Source: University of British Columbia

Waves of feminism
First wave: early 20th century, suffragette movement (right to vote).
Second wave: 1960s – 1990s, reproductive rights (pill), abortion, equal pay.
Third wave: 1990s – present, empowerment, reclaiming of femininity (high heels, sexuality etc. See Angela McRobbie's work on women's magazines).
Fourth wave? 2010 – ongoing, use of new technology and digital media (e.g. Twitter) for activism.

Fourth wave?
Many commentators argue that the internet itself has enabled a shift from ‘third-wave’ to ‘fourth-wave’ feminism. What is certain is that the internet has created a ‘call-out’ culture, in which sexism or misogyny can be ‘called out’ and challenged. 

This culture is indicative of the continuing influence of the third wave, with its focus on challenging sexism and misogyny in advertising, film, television and the media. 

Key quote: “power users of social media”
The internet has facilitated the creation of a global community of feminists who use the internet both for discussion and activism. 

According to #FemFuture: Online Feminism, a report recently published by Columbia University’s Barnard Center for Research on Women, females aged between 18 and 29 are the ‘power users of social networking’.

(Source: Political Studies Association. Read more about this: http://www.psa.ac.uk/insight-plus/feminism-fourth-wave)

Critics of online feminism

Critics of online feminist movements suggest that petitions and pressure from social media campaigns is simply a witchhunt orchestrated by privileged middle-class white women. This is often led by right-wing influencers and opinion leaders sometimes known as the ‘manosphere’ and promoting a more traditional masculinity.

Other criticisms of feminism are linked to wider developments in gender and identity, highlighting that feminism highlights gender differences and therefore can be exclusionary.

Case study: Everyday Sexism

Watch this TEDx talk by Everyday Sexism founder Laura Bates:

 

Introduction to feminism: blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Introduction to Feminism' and complete the following tasks.

Everyday Sexism

Watch the Everyday Sexism TED talk from Laura Bates (linked above) and answer the following questions:

1) Why did Laura Bates start the Everyday Sexism project?

2) How does the Everyday Sexism project link to the concept of post-feminism? Is feminism still required in western societies?

3) Why was new technology essential to the success of the Everyday Sexism project?

4) Will there be a point in the future when the Everyday Sexism project is not required? What is YOUR view on the future of feminism?


Media Magazine: The fourth wave?

Read the article: The Fourth Wave? Feminism in the Digital Age in MM55 (p64). You'll find the article in our Media Magazine archive here.

1) Summarise the questions in the first two sub-headings: What is networked feminism? Why is it a problem?

2) What are the four waves of feminism? Do you agree that we are in a fourth wave of ‘networked feminism’? 

3) Focus on the examples in the article. Write a short summary of EACH of the following: Everyday Sexism, HeForShe, FCKH8 campaign, This Girl Can.

4) What is your opinion with regards to feminism and new/digital media? Do you agree with the concept of a 'fourth wave' of feminism post-2010 or are recent developments like the Everyday Sexism project merely an extension of the third wave of feminism from the 1990s?

Complete for homework - due date on Google Classroom.

Film Industry: Blinded By The Light case study

Our first close-study product is low-medium budget British film Blinded By The Light (Gurinder Chadha, 2019). We need to know how the film was funded, produced, distributed and promoted.

If you missed the screening of Blinded By The Light you can catch up with it here - you'll need your Greenford Google login to access.

The key notes from the lesson are here:

Funding
Blinded By The Light cost around $15m to make. Key points:

• Bend It Films developed the film with support from Levantine Films and Ingenious Media.
• Levantine Films is an independent production company that had a major success with Hidden Figures in 2016 which grossed $230m at the worldwide box office.
• The Ingenious Group is an investment company that invests money in projects that have the potential to deliver future profits.

Production
Key points for making Blinded By The Light:

• Adapted from a book called Greetings From Bury Park by Sarfraz Manzoor (a play on 'Greetings From Asbury Park' - a Bruce Springsteen album). The memoir outlined his experiences growing up in Luton in the 1980s and discovering the music of Springsteen.
• Co-written and directed by Gurinder Chadha who had a smash hit in 2002 with her film Bend It Like Beckham (Bend It Like Beckham made over $100m at the worldwide box office).

Distribution

Blinded By The Light was picked up by New Line Cinema at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival after a bidding war with various other major film distributors. The film had been well received by audiences at the film festival. 

• The all-night auction following the world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2019 guaranteed the film a major global cinema release which many films never achieve.
• Previously offered for sale at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival but did not attract a buyer at that point although UK distribution was secured by eOne Entertainment, a Canadian media company. In 2023 eOne Entertainment was bought by studio Lionsgate in an example of conglomerate ownership and vertical integration.
• New Line Cinema is an American production studio owned by Warner Brothers Pictures Group.
• The film was released in cinemas worldwide in August 2019. The DVD release followed in December 2019 distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment - a Viacom company.
• Deal with Amazon Prime secured in early 2020 for streaming in the UK - coinciding perfectly with the Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020. When this streaming deal expired, the film switched to Netflix before also disappearing from there too. Currently, the film is only available to buy or rent in the UK. 

Reception and box office

• Positive word-of-mouth marketing but poor box office figures – just $18.1m box office against a $15m budget which means the film almost certainly lost money when factoring in the global marketing campaign.
• Rival studios argued that Warner Bros. should have begun with a limited release to build audience interest, and that the film's August date was too close to that of Yesterday, a film with some surface similarities (a British romantic comedy based on the music of the Beatles and starring Ed Sheeran). [Source: Deadline Hollywood].

Promotion and marketing

Blinded By The Light was backed by a major international marketing campaign: 

• Traditional marketing: trailer, film poster with review quotes etc.
• Premieres - London, Luton and Asbury Park, New Jersey (attended by Bruce Springsteen).
• Heavy social media presence – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube.
• Interviews with writer, director and stars across TV, radio, newspapers and magazines (see below).

Blinded By The Light: case study blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Blinded By The Light case study'. Work through the following tasks to build a detailed understanding the of the film's funding, production, distribution and marketing. This will give you plenty of background information to use in an exam question on the film industry.

Background reading and production research

Read the following interviews and features on Blinded By The Light:

Writer Sarfraz Manzoor on the story behind the film - Guardian
Manzoor again on the promotion of the film and audience reaction
Variety feature on the best films from the 2019 Sundance Film Festival 

1) What is the story behind the production of the film?

2) What was the audience reaction to the film?

3) Why is the Sundance Film Festival such an important part of the film industry - particularly for lower budget films? 

Funding and industry contexts

1) What was the budget for Blinded By The Light and which companies contributed to the production budget?

2) Research the Bend It Networks website. What other films and projects has the company been involved with?

3) Research Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema on the Warners website here. Summarise the history of New Line Cinema in a short paragraph.

4) Read this Variety interview with director Gurinder Chadha explaining how the project came about - including budget details. What attracted Gurinder Chadha to the project and how did she manage to get the film made? 

Distribution

Read this Deadline feature on the distribution deal for Blinded By The Light and answer the following questions: 

1) Which company won the distribution rights after the all-night auction and for how much?

2) Which other companies were rumoured to be bidding for the distribution rights?

3) According to the article, what was the 'allure' of Blinded By The Light?

4) UK distribution was secured by eOne Entertainment. In 2023 eOne was bought by Lionsgate. Read this press release on Lionsgate acquiring eOne Entertainment and write one reason for the deal. 


Marketing, promotion and reception

Watch the following clips to learn about the marketing and promotion of the film. 

Watch the trailer for Blinded By The Light:

Watch the film being promoted on The One Show (BBC1): 

Watch writer Sarfraz Manzoor talking about 1980s nostalgia and British-Asian identity:

Watch this 'fans dream' featurette produced by Bend It Networks:

1) What does the trailer suggest regarding genre and the potential audience pleasures of Blinded By The Light?

2) What TV shows and websites did interviews with writer, director and stars of Blinded By The Light? Why are interviews a good way to promote a new film release? 

3) What did film posters for Blinded By The Light feature and where did they appear? You may need to research this on Google Images. 

4) What social media accounts did Blinded By The Light use to promote the film? Note: some sites may be blocked if you are working in school - you will need to use your phone or complete your research at home.

5) Select three posts from the Blinded By The Light Instagram page and explain how they promote the film.

6) Go to the Bend It Networks YouTube channel. How does Gurinder Chadha introduce the channel?  What other content is on the Bend It Networks YouTube channel?

7) Look at the box office figures for Blinded By The Light from The Numbers website. How much did it make at the box office and why do you think it was largely unsuccessful?

8) Click on the tabs with further information (such as 'News', 'Box Office' and 'Video Sales'). Copy and paste some more statistics or sales figures to add to your understanding of the film's financial performance.

Due date: on Google Classroom

MIGRAIN: Introduction to Representation

Representation is a crucial key concept in A Level Media. Here we explore how the media represents different people, social groups, places and events - and discuss the impact on society and culture.

We also need to study a range of media theories that help us to understand the effect that media representations can have on people and society. 

The key notes on representation:

• Representation is the process by which the media presents the ‘real world’ to an audience.
• Media texts are artificial, constructed versions of reality
• Even factual media – such as news – goes through processes of selection, organisation and editing that shapes its content
• How are particular people and groups represented in the media? How and why are stereotypes created?
• Why are certain social groups – in both a national and global context – under-represented or misrepresented?

Social and cultural contexts

Representation in the media is a particularly good way to explore questions of social and cultural context. These are words that regularly appear in AQA exam questions so we need to be confident responding to them. Key definitions:

Social contexts: How do media products influence or affect people in society?

Cultural contexts: How does the media reflect the typical ideas, opinions and beliefs in British society or the culture they were created in? 

Historical contexts: How has society (and representation in media products) changed over time?

Mediation

Media texts are a construction of reality, and play an important role in the way we view the world. 

Reality is therefore subject to mediation which is the process that takes place when a media text’s meaning is created.

When mediation takes place, an institution, individual or even technology comes between the actual event and the audience.

Levi-Strauss: representation theory

Claude Levi-Strauss suggests that representations in the media are informed by ideology: the set of beliefs and values of the producer of the text.

Some things are included and others are left out to create a dominant or preferred representation. This links to Hall’s work on Reception theory.

Stereotypes

Media messages have to be communicated quickly which often means relying on stereotypes. Stereotypes work as a kind of shorthand where a word, image or sound will stand for a lot more.

A stereotype is a standardised, usually oversimplified mental picture or attitude towards a person, group, place or event.

Stereotypes act like codes that give audiences a quick, common understanding of a person or group of people—usually relating to their gender, class, ethnicity or race, sexual orientation, social role or occupation.

Representation: dominant or alternative?

A representation in the media will either reinforce or challenge the stereotype.

If it reinforces the stereotype, it is a dominant representation.

If it challenges the stereotype, it is an alternative representation.

Representation theories

Mulvey: the male gaze

Laura Mulvey suggests that the dominant view in the media is masculine and created for the benefit of men. Women are presented for men to look at, hence the ‘male gaze’. This links to the idea of ‘sex sells’ and women being represented as sex objects.

More recently, the idea of the ‘female gaze’ has been suggested. Rosalind Gill suggests the objectified male is an example of post-feminist media culture in modern Britain. Task: write down an example for each.

Linked to Mulvey...

Berger: ‘Ways of seeing’

An additional representation theory that influenced Mulvey:

John Berger (1972) stated that: “Men act and women appear”

“Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at.”

Richard Dyer: Stereotyping and power
Richard Dyer's theory suggests that the complexity and variety of a group is reduced to a few key characteristics. An exaggerated version of these characteristics is then applied to everyone in the group. 

He states that those with power stereotype those with less power. 

Therefore, we have stereotypes of non-white people, poor people and women... but not so many of white, middle class men.


Medhurst: shorthand that carries value judgements
Andy Medhurst suggests stereotyping is shorthand for identification. This means we use stereotypes to tell audiences a lot in a short space of time.

However, this can carry value judgements and therefore be very negative for the representation of minority groups. Medhurst gave the example of the representation of gay men: 

"The image of the screaming queen does not just mean 'all gay men are like that', it means 'all gay men are like that and aren't they awful', which in turn means 'and they are awful because they are not like us'."

Perkins: stereotypes can be positive or partly true

Tessa Perkins suggests some stereotypes can be positive and are often true.

Specifically, she stated that stereotypes are...

• Not always negative (the French are good cooks)
• Not always about the less powerful (Politicians are corrupt)
• Can be about our own social groups (Students are lazy)
• Not always false (The Scottish wear kilts)
• Can change over time (A typical British holiday was in Blackpool; now it is Spain)

Representation: blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Representation blog tasks'. 

Read the Media Magazine feature 'Representation old and new'. This is in MM51 on page 6 - go to our Media Magazine archive to find the article. Complete the following tasks:

1) Why is representation an important concept in Media Studies?

2) How does the example of Kate Middleton show the way different meanings can be created in the media?

3) Summarise the section 'The how, who and why of media representation' in 50 words.

4) How does Stuart Hall's theory of preferred and oppositional readings fit with representation?

5) How has new technology changed the way representations are created in the media?

6) What example is provided of how national identity is represented in Britain - and how some audiences use social media to challenge this?

Watch the clip from Luther that we studied in class (Season 1, Episode 1 - minute 7.40-10.00 - you'll need your Greenford Google login to access the clip). Now answer these final two questions:

7) Write a paragraph analysing the dominant and alternative representations you can find in the clip from Luther.

8) Write a paragraph applying a selection of our representation theories to the clip from Luther. Our summary of each theory may help you here:

Levi-Strauss: representation and ideology

Mulvey: the male gaze

Dyer: stereotyping and power
Medhurst: value judgements
Perkins: some stereotypes can be positive or true

Complete for homework: due date on Google Classroom

Film Industry: Introduction to the British film industry

Our first Close Study Product is from the film industry - Blinded By The Light (2019) directed by Gurinder Chadha.

This low-mid budget production ($15m) co-funded by New Line Cinema (an American production studio owned by Warner Brothers Pictures Group) is a great example of how the British film industry often relies on American money to make movies. Here's the trailer:

We're starting the unit with a focus on the history of the British film industry. There will be clips in class and then two factsheets on British film for homework.

The British film industry: blog tasks 

Factsheet #132: British Film

Use our brilliant Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) to find Media Factsheet #132 on British Film. You can find it online here - you'll need to log in using your Greenford Google login. Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) Write a one-sentence definition of what makes a film British.

2) What is the difference between a Hollywood production context and production context of a British film?

3) When did the James Bond franchise start?

4) In terms of film censorship and graphic content, what began to change in British film in the 1970s and 1980s?

5) What groups are often represented in British film? Give examples of films these groups feature in.

6) What does the Factsheet suggest might be the audience appeal of British film?

Factsheet #100: British film industry

To complete our introduction to the British film industry, we need a little more background to the industries context.

Find Media Factsheet #100 on the British film industry. You can find it on the same link as above. Read the whole of the Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What is the 'cultural test' to see if a film counts as British?

2) Complete the task on the Factsheet - choose three of the films listed and research them to work out what they score on the cultural test: The Sweeney (2012), Attack The Block, The King's Speech, We Need To Talk About Kevin and Skyfall.

3) What is the main problem for the British film industry?

4) What are three of the strengths of the British film industry?

5) What are the two options for the future of the British film industry?

6) In your opinion, which of these two options would best safeguard the future of the British film industry?

Due date: on Google Classroom

MIGRAIN index and January assessment revision

As we reach the end of the Autumn term, you need to create a new Introduction to Media index and start revising for your January assessment.

The index, as you know, is a critical way of making sure you are keeping on top of the workload and not missing any topics or concepts. Your December index should have the following work in it:

1) Introduction to Media: 10 questions

2) Media consumption audit
3) Semiotics blog tasks
4) Language: Reading an image - media codes

5) Reception theory - advert analysis and factsheet

6) Genre: Factsheets and genre study questions
7) Narrative: Factsheet questions

8) Audience: classification - psychographics presentation notes

9) October assessment learner response
10) Audience theory 1 - Hypodermic needle/Two-step flow/U&G
11) Audience theory 2 - The effects debate - Bandura, Cohen 
12) Industries: Ownership and Control
13) Industries: Hesmondhalgh - The Cultural Industries

14) Industries: Public Service Broadcasting

15) Industries: Regulation

Remember, your index needs to link to YOUR blogpost for each piece of work. If you've missed anything, catch up with it over Christmas and make sure the index is up-to-date before you come back in January.

January assessment details

You will have an assessment week coming up in January which will include a Media assessment. This will focus particularly on what you have studied in the second half of the Autumn term - so largely audience and industries. In addition, look over your learner response for the assessment in October. That feedback will be important in identifying how you can improve in the upcoming assessment.

Christmas homework: revise for January assessment

Your Christmas homework is simple: complete any outstanding blog tasks and revise everything you've learned so far in Media this year for your January assessment.

In addition, there are plenty of resources out there to further help you prepare for your January assessment. For example, we strongly recommend you get hold of some of the books on our A Level Media reading list - including Media Magazine, Media Theory for A Level and the AQA textbooks which cover all the key concepts and some of the Close-Study Products. 

You will obviously be looking over your MIGRAIN index as outlined above. However, there is plenty more out there. Anything you read in our Media Magazine archive will help to give you a wider perspective on media debates and every issue has several articles which focus on interesting examples, theories and debates that will help you in a Media exam. You'll find our Media Magazine archive here. Similarly, you have access to our whole Media Factsheet archive if there are any particular topics or theories you want to revise in more detail. Look at these for example: 

• How to revise for A Level Media exams
• Channel 4: an overview and update
• Understanding digital convergence
• Using theory
• The BBC: an overview and update

Remember: these resources are all for you - the more you use them, the better you will do!

Have a great Christmas break - you've earned it!

MIGRAIN: Industries - Regulation

Like most industries, the media is regulated - overseen by government to make sure the market is fair and the content appropriate for the audience.

Regulation is an important aspect of the industries key concept. How much influence should governments have over the ownership and consumption of media products? How powerful is the media? Key media theorists for this area are:

• David Hesmondhalgh: the Cultural Industries
• James Curran and Jean Seaton: Power Without Responsibility
• Sonia Livingstone and Peter Lunt: Media Regulation

Two key terms for regulation:

Statutory regulation is when the regulator is backed by law (government legislation) and the regulator has real power. Example: Ofcom.

Voluntary regulation is when the industry regulates itself and governments are not involved. The newspaper and videogames industries are good examples.

Different media industries are regulated in different ways and by different organisations. For example:

• Broadcasting (including the BBC): Ofcom
• Newspapers: IPSO 
• Film: BBFC
• Videogames: PEGI

Regulating the internet

One of the major challenges facing governments and regulators is the fact so much of the cultural industries is now on the internet – and the internet is global.

The global nature of the internet means it is difficult for one government to regulate – and tech giants like Google or Amazon are now more powerful than individual countries.

This BBC Newsnight feature explores the challenge of regulating the internet:



Online harms bill

The Online Harms Bill attempts to bring some government regulation to the internet – but it was a painfully long process and changed its focus several times (the bill spanned four different Prime Ministers and seven culture secretaries). Many question if it will actually have any impact.

You can read more about the Online Harms Bill in this Guardian article here. 

There are also some short but informative BBC videos on the tragic Molly Russell case that has informed elements of the Online Harms Bill:

• Molly Russell's father on why social media giants need to change: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-63171199 
• Molly Russell’s father meets Facebook whistleblower to talk about what more Instagram can do: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-59032290 

  

Media regulation: blog tasks

Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet 128: Contemporary Media Regulation. Our Media Factsheet archive can be found at M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets. You can find it online here - you'll need to log in using your Greenford Google login. 

Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks:

1) What is regulation and why do media industries need to be regulated?

2) What is OFCOM responsible for?

3) Look at the section on the OFCOM broadcasting code. Which do you think are the three most important sections of the broadcasting code and why?

4) Do you agree with OFCOM that Channel 4 was wrong to broadcast 'Wolverine' at 6.55pm on a Sunday evening? Why?

5) List five of the sections in the old Press Complaints Commission's Code of Practice. 

6) Why was the Press Complaints Commission criticised?

7) What was the Leveson enquiry and why was it set up?

8) What was the PCC replaced with in 2014?

9) What is your opinion on press regulation? Is a free press an important part of living in a democracy or should newspapers face statutory regulation like TV and radio?

10) Why is the internet so difficult to regulate?

Complete this for homework - due date on Google Classroom.

MIGRAIN: Industries - Public service broadcasting

The British television and radio industries are largely driven by public service broadcasting. Indeed, the traditional TV channels still account for the majority of TV viewing in this country even in the age of Netflix.

These channels are regulated by Ofcom and have to deliver a certain amount of specific content in order to fulfil the terms of their license.

Public service broadcasting: notes

Public service broadcasting refers to broadcasting intended for public benefit rather than to serve commercial interests.

The media regulator Ofcom requires certain TV and radio broadcasters to fulfil certain requirements as part of their license to broadcast.

All of the BBC's television and radio stations have a public service remit.

Here's a video outlining the beginning of public service broadcasting in the UK:

The history of the BBC

The BBC was created in 1922 in response to new technology – the radio (or wireless as it was called then).

The BBC was set up to “inform, educate and entertain” – which is still its mission statement to this day. 

The BBC funding model: licence fee

All BBC content (and some of Channel 4’s funding) comes from the Licence Fee, which costs £159 a year. 

You need a TV Licence to:

• watch or record live TV programmes on any channel
• download or watch any BBC programmes on iPlayer – live, catch up or on demand.

Some politicians want to scrap the licence fee and change the BBC’s funding model.

This robust discussion on Sky News outlines some of the debates regarding the BBC's funding model:

Channel 4

Channel 4 is an important part of UK public service broadcasting. Read full details of Channel 4's remit here - there is plenty of important information regarding the channel's commitment to public service broadcasting and its unique funding model.

"Channel 4 is a publicly-owned and commercially-funded UK public service broadcaster, with a statutory remit to deliver high-quality, innovative, alternative content that challenges the status quo.

Channel 4 reinvests all profits back into programmes, at zero cost to the taxpayer. A ‘Robin Hood’ model of cross-funding means programmes that make money pay for others that are part of the PSB remit but that are loss-making e.g. News and Current Affairs." 

The government is now seriously considering privatising Channel 4 despite lots of opposition to the plan. 

Opposition to public service broadcasting

Many people in Britain see public service broadcasting as a good thing – but not rival commercial broadcasters.  

James Murdoch, son of Rupert, has criticised BBC news. He says that free news on the BBC made it “incredibly difficult” for private news organisations to ask people to pay for their news.

Some politicians have argued that the BBC should not produce programmes such as Strictly Come Dancing so commercial broadcasters such as ITV or Sky can attract larger audiences in primetime.

Public service broadcasting: blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Public service broadcasting' and complete the following tasks:

Ofcom review of PSB in Britain

In 2020 Ofcom published its findings from a five year review of public service broadcasting in Britain. Read the introduction to their report - pages 3-7. You'll need your Greenford Google login to view the document.

1) Look at page 3. Why is it a critical time for public service broadcasting? 

2) Read page 4. How has TV viewing changed in recent years? 

3) Still on page 4, what aspects of PSB do audiences value and enjoy? 

4) Look at pages 4-5. Find and note down the statistics in this section on how much TV audiences tend to watch and how they watch it. 

5) Read the section on page 5 discussing the importance of PSB. Again, find the statistics and explain the value of public service broadcasting in Britain.

6) Look at the section on commercial challenges. How have revenues fallen for PSB channels?

7) Read page 6. What services increasingly play a role in our media lives in the digital age? 

Goldsmiths report on Public Service TV

Read this report from Goldsmiths University - A future for public service television: content and platforms in a digital world.

1) What does the report state has changed in the UK television market in the last 20 years?

2) Look at page 4. What are the principles that the report suggests need to be embedded in regulation of public service broadcasting in future?

3) What does the report say about the BBC?

4) According to the report, how should the BBC be funded in future?

5) What does the report say about Channel 4?

6) How should Channel 4 operate in future?

7) Look at page 10 - new kids on the block. What does the report say about new digital content providers and their link to public service broadcasting?


Final questions - YOUR opinion on public service broadcasting

1) Should the BBC retain its position as the UK’s public service broadcaster?

2) Is there a role for the BBC in the 21st century digital world?

3) Should the BBC funding model (licence fee) change? How?

Complete for homework - due date on Google Classroom.