CSP online-games industry overview

In time I'll cut this down to shorter bullet points, and keep more detail on my mediareg blog, with annual hub posts, starting with 2019 (I'll sum up key changes/events, especially on regulation, which along with the linked topic of monetisation is the key factor for this area of the course.
...


SOME FAQS/THEMES

Will there be statutory regulation?
Yes, its already happening: GDPR; Germany will enforce $20m fines if hate speech isn't removed within 24 hours, and it + France are leading the way on taxing the tax-dodging giants. Apple has already been forced by the EU to pay the Irish government €13bn in back-tax.

Will the FAANGS conglomerates be forced to break-up into smaller companies?
Probably, but the timescale is uncertain. EU pressure will be a factor, but it will be US regulators/politicians who ultimately decide if, like the film industry back in 1948 (Hollywood giants were forced to sell off their cinema holdings), they legally form monopolies and therefore competition + consumer protection law insists they must become smaller. The FAANGS are spending $millions to persuade US lawmakers that the EU are trying to undermine USA dominance, and that any attack on them is bad for the USA.

However, with deregulation being the long-term trend ever since Reagan back in 1980 (same for the UK from 1979 when Thatcher was elected, two very right-wing, 'free market' politicians), the film industry may actually see its anti-trust laws scrapped in 2019! Right-wing governments (eg Trump/Republicans, May/Tories) are reluctant to regulate the 'free market'.

The right-wing press may also be very free market, but they do frequently campaign for tighter regulation of other media (just not the press), which will add pressure to right-wing politicians to act.

Are children (+ how they are monetised) a factor?
Absolutely!!!
Protection of children, arguably even more than protection of democracy, is a (the?) key driver behind media regulation. The age rating system (film, games), TV watershed, multiple clauses in the press industry's Editors' Code, much of the ASA's policymaking, all are dominated or even defined by protection of children. The ASA's ruling that apps must not contain gambling if they're accessible to kids is just the start of what promises to be a tough EU-led fightback against the non-regulated, wild west approach of the 'digital gangsters' of new media.

Phone hacking was a scandal to Guardian readers until the Milly Dowler case broke, and within weeks the highest-selling Sunday paper was closed and a multi-year formal commission (Leveson) was set up to investigate newspaper malpractice, while the self-regulator, PCC, scrapped itself and announced IPSO would replace it.

Expect Facebook and Google/YouTube's lax age controls to become a major issue.

The non-regulated monetising of freemium apps (Lara Croft Go, Kim Kardashian's Hollywood) and vlogging social influencers like Zoella is already facing restrictions.




FACEBOOK + SOCIAL MEDIA TO GET STATUTORY REGULATION? UK MPs CALL FACEBOOK 'DIGITAL GANGSTERS'
Read more on the Feb 2019 'digital gangsters' statement + call for statutory regulation, which was quickly backed by the Labour party (but the Tories are unlikely to agree).

A 'digital gangster'? UK MPs are furious with Zuckerberg

Facebook (and Google/YouTube) are facing ever growing scrutiny over their (mis)use of user data and facilitation of anti-democratic forces (in US presidential election, Brexit vote, spreading of anti-vaccine ideas, etc). They have grown into vast global conglomerates with little or no formal regulation.

GDPR, laws passed within the EU to insist on minimal standards of privacy and registration of user data, was an early sign of this wild west era ending, though the lobbyists (PR, campaigners) employed by the FAANGS have successfully argued to US politicians that this is the EU trying to damage American business.

There remains the distinct possibility, though, that US regulators will get tough on them. Facebook is facing multi-billion fines for misuse of user data, which could lead to a re-think on regulation there.

CSP advertising marketing industry overview

tbc

ASA force I'm A Celebrity app maker to remove gambling ads for breaking rules on children.

CSP AD Omo

tbc

CSP AD NHS

TBC

the ad itself on the NHS channel. One sign of success: its been viewed many times. 

a short guide from a Media student

NOV 2020 Ad industry creates environmental damage, needs regulation 

Guardian reports a study highlighting how the industry promotes consumption.

Tim Kasser, an emeritus professor of psychology at Knox College in Illinois, who co-authored the report, said there was a body of evidence to show that in order to make progress in addressing and reversing climate and ecological degradation, it would be prudent to rein in and change the practices of the advertising industry.

“This report argues that enough sound empirical evidence exists to support the conclusion that the advertising industry indirectly contributes to climate and ecological degradation through its encouragement of materialistic values and goals, the consumption-driving work and spend cycle, and the consumption of two illustrative products, namely beef and tobacco,” Kasser wrote.

The researchers examined several studies linking exposure to advertising with increased materialism. They say such exposure “heightens the priority people place on materialistic values and goals” and is associated with “negative ecological attitudes and unsustainable behaviours”.

Stephen Woodford, chief executive of the Advertising Association, said: “Banning advertising of certain parts of the economy is not the answer; applying pressure on systemic change in the way an industry operates is, and recognising that advertising itself will make the best contribution to climate action by helping promoting these critical changes to people and encourage rapid behaviour change.

“At the same time, our own industry needs to make sure its operations have a real net zero impact which is why we have launched Ad Net Zero to reduce the carbon impact of the development, production and distribution of advertising to real net zero by end 2030. This includes the goal of encouraging advertisers and agencies to measure the carbon impact of their campaigns which is a good and proven first step towards reduction.”

In August, it was revealed the government paid social media personalities to promote the NHS test and trace system; more than 7 million people were reached by posts from celebrities including former Love Island contestants, telling them how to book Covid-19 tests online.

The response, however, was not positive. Social media commenters called it “scandalous” that taxpayer money was spent on “wannabes” and “vacuous media whores”. (Guardian)

CSP AD Galaxy

tbc

Good example of how nostalgia is seen in ads beyond the Galaxy CSP: a decades old Hovis (bread) ad is being brought back. It poses the same question as the Galaxy ad - is part of the nostalgia for a period when the UK/US were mightier, and also whiter (absence of non-Caucasians)? As good today... Hovis brings back its 'boy on the bike' TV advert https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/jun/03/hovis-boy-on-the-bike-tv-advert-as-good-today-ridley-scott?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

May 2020: junk food pre-watershed ban paused but public pressure, NOT ASA, sees Kellogg's cease pushing Pringles on Joe Wicks morning exercise videos (originally for adults but made for families throughout the pandemic).

CSP Lara Croft Go all KCs

tbc

CSP Kim Kardashian Hollywood game all KCs

tbc

BBC on how KUWTK became a global phenomenon.

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/nov/25/eggs-fakes-kim-kissing-kanye-decade-in-instagram-posts

CSP TV Dr Who 1963

BBC SIGNS WORLD (NOT UK, IRELAND) EXCLUSIVE DEAL WITH DIANEY+ FOR DR WHO OCT 2022 Guardian. 'The president of Disney+, Alisa Bowen, said the show would be introduced to the next generation of audiences in more than 150 markets.'

https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/sainsbury-s-brings-doctor-who-romana-and-k-9-to-vinyl
tbc

https://venturebeat.com/2019/06/29/doctor-who-the-edge-of-time-daleks-and-weeping-angels-come-to-life-in-vr/

FILM industry overview

tbc

CSP MUSIC VIDEO - music industry

placeholder for now, I'll gather materials from posts like this.

CSP NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY

I may spin off further posts, but I intend to build up hub posts on each CSP. On newspapers there will be a post for the Times; Daily Mirror; and the wider industry/key terms. Note that its likely the CSP text will change each year - the newspaper editions will be updated - but the two chosen CSP newspapers are unlikely to change. They have been chosen to reflect a binary opposition of tabloid v quality, left-wing v right-wing, and British v globalised ownership.

2021

VALUE OF NEWSPAPER COMPANIES SHRINKING

Guardian. A large number of regional papers, many priced not long ago at higher than the combined sale price of £10m, have been bought by a new group. Reach rejected a £50m deal in 2019, deciding instead to launch online-only rivals like Belfast Live and Edinburgh Live. Johnston Press had paid £570m for the Yorkshire Post and other regional papers in 2002, plus £160m for The Scotsman group in 2005. A deal nearly as bad as Murdoch's billion dollar purchase of MySpace (sold for $1!).


2020
Guardian approaches 1 million subscribers. Dec 2020.

BASIC DESCRIPTION:

KEY POINTS/THEMES/ISSUES:







DIGITISATION, DISRUPTION, CONVERGENCE; CIRCULATION DECLINE + AD MIGRATION:








KEY THEORIES TO APPLY: 
CONVERGENCE/DISRUPTION/WEB 2.0:
GLOBALISATION:
CONCENTRATION OF OWNERSHIP:
TABLOIDISATION:







RESOURCES FOR INDEPENDENT READING/RESEARCH:
EDUQUAS hub for student resources; lots of great stuff including sample analyses and theory guides.
BBC revision guide.
Guardian terminology guide.
Quizlet flashcards.
AQA key terms.
A linguistics (like English) guide - advanced terms, but a short feature overall.
AGENDA-SETTING long article (you could pick a detail/quote from it) showing how despite circulation decline the press continues to set the news agenda followed by the broadcast media. This is especially true of the right-wing press.
Wilby: New Statesman on the history of the press, and its failures in the online age.
Journalism.org US-centred 2018 factsheet on the newspaper industry.

DB NB: The trends playing out in Britain are accelerated in the US, which offers a good picture of how things will develop for the UK press industry.

MediaReg - my blog specifically on media regulation, with lots of detail on IPSO and its predecessor the PCC (press regulators) and other aspects of the industry.
MediaKnowItAll - nice, graphically presented intro to key parts of analysing a front page.
Regional newspapers (ScotsLaw) - gives you an idea of the range of non-national papers
MagForum - its an out-of-date site, but still full of great info. If you're unsure about what's out of date you can check with me
Euromyths - how the Mail etc consistently flouted Editors' Code Clause 1 (Accuracy)

Roy Greenslade: do newspapers have a future? 2 clever uses of ads could help...
Great article, lots of useful detail:

• there are 3 dominant owners in the REGIONAL UK press (JPI Media: 200+ papers including the i; Newsquest 165, Reach 260). Note that Reach is 1 of these 3!! It 'is trading profitably but regularly closes or merges titles'. Like the Indie going online only, this is 1 sign of the industry's struggles.
• Newspapers produce more news than radio/TV/web combined: 'When the government’s review into the sustainability of high-quality journalism was launched last year, it was claimed that newspapers produced more original journalism than broadcasters and websites combined.'
• the digital disruptors, non-newspapers, are having the same problem as papers in making ad-funding work: 'BuzzFeed is to cut 15% of its staff, while Verizon Media is seeking 7% cutbacks at newsrooms such as Huffington Post, AOL and Yahoo.'
• 'Rowly Bourne, co-founder of a startup called Rezonence, believes he can persuade advertisers to pay a sensible amount for their ads by providing them with proof that the ads have been read and understood. ... He argues that publishers are making as little as 50p per reader per year from digital ads. ... “I believe there is a better way,” he says. “Instead of a paywall, we call it a freewall. It’s a simple cost-per-engagement mechanism in which readers are presented with a single advertisement. In order to read the full article, they are required to answer a relatively simple question below the ad. This proves to the advertiser that the readers have paid attention to their brand.” ... According to his company’s own estimates, freewall access to a site by, say, 10 million users would produce more than £10 per reader. By contrast, it is doubtful if paywalls produce 60p per reader.'
• 'Dominic Young, founder of a startup called Agate, believes he can persuade readers to pay for access to newspaper and magazine content ... ' His idea is for micro-payments. 'He has developed a method aimed at encouraging readers to make payments into an online wallet. They pre-pay an amount into the wallet, which gives them access to a range of outlets, and the price of each article is deducted by the publisher. Each site can charge as much or as little as it thinks appropriate. When the wallet is empty, the reader can top it up.'

THE DIGITAL DISRUPTORS ARE ALSO STRUGGLING TO MAKE AD-FUNDING WORK
As mentioned in the Greenslade article above, new media sites like Buzzfeed that are partly responsible for the press industry's huge loss of younger readers, are struggling to get enough revenue to survive. They also find it hard to make enough from ad revenues.

FRONT PAGES + POLITICAL BIAS ON PM MAY'S BREXIT VOTE
Nice example of the left-/right-wing bias coming through. Broadly speaking the right-wing papers support Brexit and are very hostile to the EU, but left-wing papers don't think Brexit should happen and are quite pro-EU. PM (Prime Minister) May is a Tory (Conservative), so she tends to get positive coverage in the right-wing papers, and negative in the left-wing press.

EXAMPLE OF LEFT-WING PRESS HOSTILITY TO PM MAY
This cartoon is by The Guardian's Steve Bell. He also portrays Jeremy Corbyn as a crazy old man - Corbyn is left-wing but too left-wing as far as the Guardian is concerned!

DAILY MAIL LABELLED FAKE NEWS
'Visitors to Mail Online who use Microsoft Edge can now see a statement asserting that “this website generally fails to maintain basic standards of accuracy and accountability” and “has been forced to pay damages in numerous high-profile cases”.
The message, which is produced by a third-party startup called NewsGuard, tells readers to proceed carefully given that “the site regularly publishes content that has damaged reputations, caused widespread alarm, or constituted harassment or invasion of privacy”.
It gives Mail Online, one of the world’s biggest news websites, one out of five on credibility – the same level as the Kremlin-backed RT news service.'

By the way, if you see someone described as 'red' its a right-wing way of attacking left-wing politicians (in this case a union leader). Think of the old USSR flag (it was red!).
Part of the criticism of the Mail website is that they 'farm' news - most of their online 'reporters' basically steal reportage from other sources + re-write it. There have been scandals across Europe recently about such plagiarism (copying from other sources without saying so); trust in the media is very important in a democracy.
MURDOCH ASKS GOVERNMENT TO ALLOW HIM TO INFLUENCE SUNDAY TIMES
- TIMES MADE £10m PROFIT IN 2018
- BUT NEWS UK MADE £90m LOSS!
That may seem a strange idea - he owns it, and the paper clearly reflects his personal right-wing views (it wasn't so right-wing before he bought it). But to be allowed to buy BOTH the Times AND Sunday Times he had to agree to legally guarantee he wouldn't interfere with the 'editorial independence' of the paper. Editorial has 2 meanings: news content (as opposed to columns and opinion pieces) but also, confusingly, the daily column in which a newspaper gives its views on issues (the editorial; news content is all editorial).
At the moment the Sunday Times is run as a separate paper with its own editor and staff. Murdoch argues the tough conditions in the press market means he should be allowed to make job cuts by sharing the staff on the 2 papers.
'Last week, the publisher of the Times and Sunday Times revealed a pre-tax profit of £9.6m in the year to 1 July 2018, up from a loss of £6.5m a year earlier, in its most recent publicly available filing. Turnover was up 2% year on year.
The subsidiary that publishes the Sun and Sun on Sunday revealed that its pre-tax losses more than tripled year on year to £91.2m for the same period. Turnover fell 5%.
News UK said total advertising revenue for the year increased for the first time in seven years, with continuing declines in print more than offset by growth in digital advertising.
Murdoch moved to buy the Times titles following his 1968 move into the British newspaper market, beating Robert Maxwell to buy the News of the World, the UK’s highest selling newspaper, and a year later the ailing Sun, which he reinvented.'




SAMPLE EXAM-STYLE QUESTIONS:








LESSON MATERIALS:

CSP NEWSPAPERS DAILY MIRROR

I may spin off further posts, but I intend to build up hub posts on each CSP. On newspapers there will be a post for the Times; Daily Mirror; and the wider industry/key terms. Note that its likely the CSP text will change each year - the newspaper editions will be updated - but the two chosen CSP newspapers are unlikely to change. They have been chosen to reflect a binary opposition of tabloid v quality, left-wing v right-wing, and British v globalised ownership.


Newsquest bids for JPI to create UK regional press powerhouse

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/nov/12/newsquest-bids-for-jpi-to-create-regional-newspaper-powerhouse?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Gmail

BASIC DESCRIPTION:

KEY POINTS/THEMES/ISSUES:







DIGITISATION, DISRUPTION, CONVERGENCE; CIRCULATION DECLINE + AD MIGRATION:








KEY THEORIES TO APPLY: 
CONVERGENCE/DISRUPTION/WEB 2.0:
GLOBALISATION:
CONCENTRATION OF OWNERSHIP:
TABLOIDISATION:







RESOURCES FOR INDEPENDENT READING/RESEARCH:
Slideshare - ppt by another teacher which focuses on an edition reporting Trump's election (see Times post for another looking at that paper's coverage).
DAILY MIRROR ONLINE EDITIONS/APPS:
Tablet app; £4.99 a month (1 month free trial) = about 23p a day, or 1/3 of the cover price
They didn't start charging until 2016 (PressGazette), the last UK newspaper to have their tablet edition free. Their e-edition page offers 4 platforms: Apple's app store, Google Play, Amazon's Kindle Fire, and Windows Store - there is also a separate international edition available on the 1st 3 (not Windows store).
Owner Reach has 12 newspaper apps, including for regional papers like the Huddersfield Daily Examiner, and the Mirror's Scottish twin, the Daily Record. The Android app is also £4.99 a month, including both the Daily and Sunday Mirror.
Stablemate papers the Express and Star each have their own apps under the banner of Express Newspapers.
They have a wide range of social media platforms, including accounts for specific topics, including FB (main account + 18 more), Twitter (1 each for Daily/Sunday Mirror + 21 more interest areas eg @MirrorCeleb), 3 Instagram accounts, and Pinterest and Google+ accounts. Note the lack of Snapchat (younger) or Reddit (more tech-savvy, sophisticated).
Nonetheless, they have joined many other papers in calling for tougher regulation of the very same social media they use (Aug 2018 Mirror leader column)





THE CSP TEXT 2019 exam:









THE CSP TEXT 2020 exam:







THE CSP TEXT 2021 exam (tbc):








KEY CONCEPT MEDIA LANGUAGE:









KEY CONCEPT AUDIENCE:









KEY CONCEPT REPRESENTATION:









KEY CONCEPT INDUSTRY:









SAMPLE EXAM-STYLE QUESTIONS:








LESSON MATERIALS:

CSP NEWSPAPERS TIMES

I may spin off further posts, but I intend to build up hub posts on each CSP. On newspapers there will be a post for the Times; Daily Mirror; and the wider industry/key terms. Note that its likely the CSP text will change each year - the newspaper editions will be updated - but the two chosen CSP newspapers are unlikely to change. They have been chosen to reflect a binary opposition of tabloid v quality, left-wing v right-wing, and British v globalised ownership.

CSP MAGAZINES the wider industry, key terms

I may spin off further posts, but I intend to build up hub posts on each CSP. On magazines there will be a post for Tatler; Reveal; and the wider industry/key terms.

BASIC DESCRIPTION:

KEY POINTS/THEMES/ISSUES:







DIGITISATION, DISRUPTION, CONVERGENCE; CIRCULATION DECLINE + AD MIGRATION:

Even the iconic Q magazine may go as Bauer considers 10/100 brands in the light of coronavirus losses. (May 2020)

Between the covers: how the British fell out of love with magazines

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/sep/14/between-the-covers-how-the-british-fell-out-of-love-with-magazines?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

KEY THEORIES TO APPLY: 
CONVERGENCE/DISRUPTION/WEB 2.0:
GLOBALISATION:
CONCENTRATION OF OWNERSHIP:
TABLOIDISATION:







RESOURCES FOR INDEPENDENT READING/RESEARCH:
Conde Nast goes from 2017 profit to huge 2018 loss (Guardian).
Wiki list of UK mag sectors. Separate link for the Wiki A-Z mag listing. It doesn't actually list them all though - so: Tatler Wiki + Nat Mags list (owner of Reveal before Hearst UK)
Compare women's titles to men's like Maxim (Wiki), Esquire (Wiki; covers archive; Amazon kindle listing). GQ (Wiki; Amazon kindle edition).
MagForum - it hasn't been updated for a good while, but still an excellent resource (this link is for women's mags, there are more sections)
Wiki list of UK mags
Magazine.co.uk women's mags listings
Miss Vogue - teen brand
ABCs womens mags Aug 2018 (PressGazette)




THE CSP TEXT:








KEY CONCEPT MEDIA LANGUAGE:








KEY CONCEPT REPRESENTATION:









SAMPLE EXAM-STYLE QUESTIONS:








LESSON MATERIALS:

CSP MAGAZINES REVEAL downmarket women's gossip mag

I may spin off further posts, but I intend to build up hub posts on each CSP. On magazines there will be a post for Tatler; Reveal; and the wider industry/key terms.

BASIC DESCRIPTION:

A celebrity/gossip mass market (downmarket) women's magazine that was closed by publisher Hearst in Sept 2018 after circulation fell by 75%, though Hearst maintains a large portfolio of women's magazines. Originally published by NatMags (Wiki), which Hearst merged with another European acquisition, Hachette Filipacchi Médias (Wiki), in 2011 to form Hearst Magazines UK (Wiki).

CSP MAGAZINES TATLER upmarket ABC1 society mag

I may spin off further posts, but I intend to build up hub posts on each CSP. On magazines there will be a post for Tatler; Reveal; and the wider industry/key terms.

2020: 'Very Buckinghamshire': how 'society bible' Tatler fell out of royal favour.

Detail from the 2018 'Media pack' on the publisher site

THE WIKI DESCRIPTION:

Tatler is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interested in society events. Its readership is the wealthiest of all Condé Nast's publications.^[2] It was founded in 1901 by Clement Shorter. Tatler also has editions in local languages in mainland China, Taiwan and Russia. The editions in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines are in English. Tatler promotes indigenous British culture by arranging "debutante ball" events in these foreign countries.

KEY POINTS/THEMES/ISSUES:







DIGITISATION, DISRUPTION, CONVERGENCE; CIRCULATION DECLINE + AD MIGRATION:
Amazon Kindle edition







KEY THEORIES TO APPLY: 








RESOURCES FOR INDEPENDENT READING/RESEARCH:

Wiki.

Tatler. Their list of top 10 most read articles on tatler in 2017.

Conde Nast (publisher/brand owner) page with media pack link. Media packs detail audiences that advertisers can target through that media outlet. This is typically updated annually: 2018 pack;

Conde Nast goes from 2017 profit to huge 2018 loss (Guardian).

Conde Nast Wiki.

Mail - Tatler sacks a third of staff (2017)
Vice (2014) on Teen Tatler
Guardian on Posh People: Inside Tatler (2014 TV series)
How fashion brands targeted teens; great 2013 Guardian feature looks at new teen titles (all gone or online only [Teen Tatler!] by 2019) + how teens form a good chunk of adult titles readership. See also Tatler teen section, Miss Vogue + check on industry post
Is Tatler doomed? iNews, 2017





THE CSP TEXT:
The April 2017 front cover, accessible on the website.

KEY CONCEPT MEDIA LANGUAGE:








KEY CONCEPT REPRESENTATION:









SAMPLE EXAM-STYLE QUESTIONS:








LESSON MATERIALS:

CSP TV CLASS

I've referenced this in a few posts but I'll start a fresh post here.

BBC3 RELAUNCH DISASTER: YOUTH NOW SPEND JUST 17 MINS A DAY ON LIVE TV 

‘ the total youth audience for all British television channels has collapsed by 70% over the last decade. The average teenager’s consumption of live television has fallen from almost three hours a day to just 50 minute during this period.’ Guardian April 2022.

AUGUST 2021 - BRITS 6 HOURS DAILY SCREEN TIME AS 60% HAVE STREAMING SUBSCRIPTION

OfCom research reveals the speed with which the deep-pocketed global giants have become a normal part of UK households media consumption. A third of Brits' waking time in 2020 was spent on TV/films/gaming (screentime), up 1 hour on 2019 to nearly 6 hours. Guardian.

MARCH 2021

BBC3 TO RETURN AS BROADCAST STATION! Guardian. BUT...JULY 2021: C4 + Sky lodge protests! OfCom investigation due to report in January 2022. Guardian.

JAN 2021

As Whitaker quits Dr Who a reminder of some advances: Whittaker’s Doctor Who tenure has been considered a success, with the launch show being the most watched for a decade with 9 million viewers tuning in. The show has also evolved during her time with a virtual reality episode released in 2019 and a mini DIY episode airing in March shortly after national coronavirus lockdown measures came into force. (Guardian)

C4 moving to online only? Nov 2020

Guardian reports that C4 is looking to double its online ad revenue (it currently relies heavily on TV ad income) and increase the uptake for All4+, the £3.99 monthly ad-free subscription to it's catch-up service. This is seen as pre-empting the Tory government review of PSB, with the Tories frequently calling for C4 to be privatised.

It said it hoped to make 40% of its revenue from digital advertising and other sources of revenue not linked to the traditional TV market by 2025 – around double the current amount. As part of this it wants more people to pay for All 4+, the ad-free version of its catch-up service, which costs £3.99 a month.

Channel 4’s annual programme budget of £660m a year makes it a relative minnow compared with the likes of the BBC and Netflix, which is investing more than $1bn (£750m) just in UK-filmed productions this year.

The culture minister, John Whittingdale, a longtime proponent of privatising Channel 4, has raised concerns recent months that the broadcaster’s business model may struggle to survive in the face of competition from the likes of Netflix.

Is BBC3 returning to TV? (May 2020)

...
BBC gets a hand to compete with Netflix et al 

BBC iPlayer can show programmes for a year instead of 30 days.

...

RADIO INDUSTRY

IN THIS POST...

Lots of general links/docs/resources to broaden your knowledge and understanding AFTER some contemporary news updates, especially around the regulation of radio and disruption of online, converged devices...

JAN 2023: BAUER BECOMING RADIO FORCE

Guardian. Local radio is in flux with both commercial chains & the BBC cutting local output. Bauer have bought many local stations and then rebranded them with a national station like GHR, Greatest Hits Radio. They also own Magic and Absolute Radio, which has multiple niche brands itself. The article also compares the audience demographics of BBC R2 and GHR.

SEPT 2022: INDIE RADIO CRASHING UNDER WEIGHT OF ENERGY BILLS

Guardian. Ara would be the Luxembourg equivalent of the UK Indies. This article features a range of stations I hadn't heard of myself. The comments are interesting too - like some others I wonder if they can make subscription work like so many podcasters have.

OCT 2021: BBC WARNS ALEXA etc KILLING RADIO, DEMAND AD BAN

Guardian. The Beeb together with its commercial rivals has asked for a law to ban smart devices/assistants like Echo, Alexa, Siri from inserting ads into radio broadcasts. They don't currently do this ... but the strong suspicion is they will (just think of how YouTube works).

'The BBC is particularly concerned by research suggesting that when BBC material is consumed through a smart speaker or other third party device, audiences are substantially less likely to mentally associate it with the BBC. This has potentially enormous implications for the future of the licence fee and convincing audiences to pay for the BBC in the future.'

A campaign to legally guarantee that new media carry radio "free to air" parallels that to ensure the traditional PSBs get prominence on EPGs (see Guardian).

FM is set to continue until 2030 (originally to be switched off in 2015!) with many rural areas reliant on it. The government report misses the point here that the DAB signal is also patchy in urban areas too - I was able to pick up ONE station in my Yorkshire home a few years back, but the full range on FM. However, AM/MW (especially important for speech radio like R5 and Talk Radio) faces switch off in a few years.

'The British radio industry is facing a demographic timebomb. In the new report, it has renewed calls to scrap regulations that limit the ability to rebrand stations and change formats, as well as asking for continued government financial support for the Audio Content Fund to produce material for under-served audiences.

Though overall radio listenership remains high, it is much lower among younger listeners and people from ethnic minority backgrounds, many of whom feel they are not represented by existing stations and are instead switching to podcasts and streaming music services.'

RAJAR infographics (pdf); UK's most popular radio stations (YouGov); Wiki: UK radio stations; history of radio (techwholesale); BBC bitesize radio history/industry; Wiki: timeline of UK independent radio; history/development of UK radio (media.info)

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/apr/21/ronan-orahilly-pirate-radio-godfather-made-a-sea-change-in-british-pop

https://www.loudersound.com/features/why-doesnt-your-band-get-played-on-the-radio-heres-the-ugly-truth

BBC Bitesize summary is a really good overview, using multiple useful terms, in an easy-to-digest format as the name suggests!

Lengthy overview of radio 1

Radio lessons 14 02 19 from Yvonne44

General overview

WJEC MS1 Exam: Radio codes and conventions from Elle Sullivan

Case studies on how radio/social media work in synergy

Social Media & Radio: A Case Study from OldRadioNewMedia

Social Media & Radio from RowanColllinson

TV INDUSTRY CONVERGENCE Facebook YouTube rival streams Buffy

I'll gather more on the TV industry (wider context) in this post.

Note: the article linked contains some strong language (it's not necessary to read it).

The basic point is that Facebook is now commissioning original TV series as well as distributing classics, in this case the 7, 5 and 1 season of Buffy, Angel and Firefox, all Joss Whedon produced. (The site takes a hard feminist line on him personally, but the useful point is the accelerating convergence of social media and TV/film/music/games production and distribution.

Up to $100m a year to stream Friends!!!
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/friends-inside-netflix-warnermedias-new-80m-streaming-deal-1166238

CSP Beats Radio

Radio Garden app furthers globalisation of radio. (Guardian) Nice phrase from its Dutch founders: transnational encounters. It offers 30,000+ stations from across the globe.

Eilish radio show for Apple Music 1.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/oct/16/skepta-jme-julie-are-the-adenugas-britains-most-creative-family

https://9to5mac.com/2018/11/30/iheartmedia-radio-apple-music/

https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/42086/1/new-radio-station-foundation-fm-female-dj-s

https://www.youthmusic.org.uk/youth-music-awards-judges

https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/dj-names.php

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40960836


http://grmdaily.com/julie-adenuga-interview

We want people to feel they have a home': No Signal, black Britain's new radio station

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jun/16/we-want-people-to-feel-they-have-a-home-no-signal-black-britains-new-radio-station?

CSP ZOELLA has she had it?

...

Instagram for under 13s. Guardian.

Alcopops, sweets-flavoured vapes and this, all striving to hook young consumers into long-term habits. Despite the presumed PR slant on this (look, we're being proactive in protecting children!) presumably there will be a considerable backlash. There's also no apparent tightening of methods to more effectively block young people from the main site.

2021 JAN

JOJO ALSO IN TROUBLE OVER MERCH...

BBC reports on sexual Qs in a JoJo board game produced with kids channel Nickelodeon.

DEC 2020 World YouTube leader is a 9year-old warning $30m from streams. Guardian. 

OCTOBER 2020 ZOELLA'S A TO Z COMPANY BUYS £2M PROPERTY. Guardian. + Top 100 global influencers with Dwayne Johnson earning up to $1m per post.

October 2020 Influencer trade union? £15bn global industry!!

Yet the influencer industry – estimated to be worth £15bn worldwide by 2022 – can and does exploit workers, many of them young women. In 2018, American technology reporter Taylor Lorenz revealed that the talent management agency Speakr owed influencers thousands in unpaid fees. The influencers Lorenz interviewed had posted ad campaigns orchestrated by Speakr – whose clients include Ford, Disney, Microsoft and Sony – but their invoices remained unpaid for months. A then 22-year-old influencer who was owed $4,000 (£3,100) by Speakr took the company to a sma

October 2020 furlough controversy

More bad publicity for Zoella, who apparently did well financially during the lockdown. Her £25k/pa office manager (duties also include walking the pug!) is having her wages subsidised by the government, leading a Tory MP to call for government investigation! That annual wage just happens to be how much she can charge for a single sponsored Insta post!

ZOELLA LINKS (subscriber figures updated May 2020)

YouTube 
Zoella (11.4m subs, down from 12m in 2017); Zoe Suggs (4.8m);
Alfie Deyes (5m; as Alfie Deyes vlogs 3.8m);
Joe Suggs (as ThatcherJoe, 8m; ThatcherJoe vlogs 3.6m; ThatcherJoeGames 1.8m)

Insta 
Zoella (1.2m); Zoe Suggs (9.4m),
Alfie Deyes (3.9m), Joe Sugg (5.5m)

Twitter 
Zoella (200k), Alfie (5m), Joe Sugg (5.2m)

Facebook
Zoella (2.4m), Alfie (1.5m), Joe (2.2m)

Website
Zoella.co.uk.

Tie-ins 
WH Smith, Boots

UGC - fan-made sites like Zoella Beauty (Facebook...242 subs!). Fan-made Snapchat? JoeSuggUpdates Insta (1k) + dailyvloggersuggs Insta (1k)

ESPECIALLY USEFUL ARTICLES!
ALFIE: 2019 profile of Alfie's business (Gdn). His PR firm, CarverPR.
Kylie Jenner was making £1m per Insta post!

To successfully study Zoella, you need to look at specific details of the media language from a range of videos/vlogs AND other social media (especially Insta) to back up any analysis of how she targets an audience. The representations are important - typically highly gender normative, and hetero-normative too when you consider how much she features her boyfriend. Socio-economic status is interesting too. Now she's hit 30, there's an obvious impact on her ability to exploit identification with tweens and teens (but she does broadly appeal to a 15-30+ female audience). Its really very easy to apply the full uses and gratification PIES scheme to her - but make sure you're armed with specific, precise details from specific, precise examples!!!

Alongside this, we need to be aware of how web 2.0 has enabled 'ordinary people' like Zoella to become millionaires - what are 'social influencers'? 

businesses pay influencers with more than a million followers $10,000 or more for a one-off post endorsing their product (Guardian, 2020)

We need to look at the wider industry context (including the pandemic's challenge to the economics of such stars, with so many companies cutting back on marketing spend, and so many stars being attacked for whining about lockdown as they reside in their large homes). There's also the issue of changes in advertising regulation to tackle product placement where the audience isn't informed - and Zoella has been a particularly high profile example of this. She even released an apology video (as she did for the advent calendar, eventually) - and she's been found guilty again very recently!!

Zoe Sugg has played with the dual identities of Zoella and Zoe. Its interesting that she hasn't uploaded onto her Zoella YT channel for a year, but has been busy on her Zoe Sugg channel, which only has a bit less than half of the subscriber numbers. Its likely that this is a response to the negative publicity that Zoella has had, and an attempt to double down on the sense of openness and authenticity that are so crucial to a social influencer. She's played around with make-up free shots and dialled down the glossiness a bit, though her Insta remains a festival of glam colour on the whole, and what she's actually posting on remains fairly vacuous and shallow (though I write as a 40-something male, so I acknowledge that's a potentially gendered, age-related viewpoint - Stuart hall would of course agree!!).

Its a brave move stepping away from an extra 7 MILLION subscribers, but surely it is because the Zoella brand has been damaged by the product placement controversy, advent calendar, and growing sense of clinging on to other more currently popular or zeitgeisty figures like her own brother Joe Suggs and of course Alfie Deyes, her boyfriend.

Has the pandemic doomed social influencers like Zoella?

The pandemic and the influencer: will the lifestyle survive coronavirus?

Over the past decade, influencer culture has reshaped how brands reach consumers – the influencer marketing industry was worth around $6.5bn in 2019, and almost half of marketers spent more than 20% of their budget on influencer posts. The combination of accessible celebrity and trusted endorsement allowed companies to target their customers in a more tailored way.Payment for posts reflected this – businesses pay influencers with more than a million followers $10,000 or more for a one-off post endorsing their product.

Zoella's 2019 Xmas (on Dec 16th!)

Useful as it showcases -

• the fakery: she's held a whole Xmas day, gift unwrapping and all, 2 weeks (assuming a quick edit) before Xmas
• the access-all-areas image. Fans are able to see inside this 'special' family occasion, meet the wider family etc. Basic U+G: personal identity + escapism (its easy to work in all 4 PIES)
• endorsements? I haven't watched it all, so am only speculating - but I imagine she did this so early to cash in pre-Xmas advertising. By Dec 24th all the big, expensive campaigns have been pulled.
• amateurism v slickness: she's now got slick cartoon graphics! But we still get the cam-in-car simplicity too.

Fake online influencers a danger to children, say campaigners

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/nov/04/fake-online-influencers-a-danger-to-children-say-campaigners?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Gmail

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/women/zoe-sugg-net-worth-zoella-influencer-richest-highest-earning-list-a9175441.html

https://www.popbuzz.com/internet/youtubers/zoe-sugg-charity-neon-sign-price-bag-and-bone/

https://thetab.com/uk/2018/11/23/the-42-most-soul-destroying-moments-from-zoellas-new-book-cordially-invited-86658

Now sort of rebranding as plain Zoe Suggs, while her bro grooves on the fame-enhancement factory that is the BBCs ratings juggernaut Strictly Come Dancing, Zoella's November 2018 has been filled with mockery for her frankly preposterous new book

https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/vbav5b/i-followed-the-advice-in-zoellas-new-book-cordially-invited

As this Vice.com satire effectively demonstrates, Suggs sees her fanbase as Muggs. She actually does ... literally ... advise using an umbrella if it's raining and spreading butter on bread (her guide on making a ham sandwich. I'd skip the white bread, butter, cheese and ham, but hey)

This, a year on from the widespread, highly publicised controversy over her damnably expensive calendar.

I'll gather further ZS stuff in this post

From waiting lists to unboxing: the bizarre world of beauty Advent calendars

Her 2017 £50 advent calendar was 'widely described as tat'
https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/nov/30/from-waiting-lists-to-unboxing-the-bizarre-world-of-beauty-advent-calendars?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2018/12/zoella-s-cordially-invited-reviewed-woman-she-blocked-twitter

Instagram: from Facebook's 'best hope' to Russian propaganda campaign tool

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/dec/18/instagram-facebook-russian-propaganda-ira?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

Xmas vid 2018

A reminder of what we've done before (1st one was done trying to use underpowered PCs in my 1st weeks here, thus the greenscreen gaps)







CHOICES
And here's the 2018 contenders.
Think about these when selecting:

CLASS TV vertical integration and Netflix cancellations

Netflix is essentially clearing out its shows produced in partnership with conglomerates (Disney, Warner Bros) who are about to launch their own Netflix-rivalling streaming services.

In Britain there has been much discussion and debate over the need for a modern, global streaming service to prevent the slow death of domestic UK TV production.

The funding of the BBC is part of the reason it's pioneering iPlayer is a firewalled UK-only service. The BBC also buys in rights from American and occasionally European producers, and often co-produces with international partners - again, especially American networks.

Just as in the film industry an Indie (as the BBC essentially is) like Warp cannot commercially compete with conglomerate rivals like Working Title, so the BBC cannot compete with Sky (all the more so when Murdoch completes the sale!), currently it's main vertically integrated conglomerate and big six rival.

Would Class have survived if the BBC was focused on the international market as much as the domestic, UK market?

Basically ... yes.

Working Title succeeds on a commercial (box office) scale way beyond Warp Films because it's productions begin with a focus on the US market (10 times the size of the home market, following the Gant Rule!) and beyond, and the conglomerate funding and global distribution from parent company NBC-Universal make this possible.

Unless Auntie Beeb looks beyond the UK market then there will be more cancelled shows like Class, deemed too expensive for a niche portion of the home market. It does have a global commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, with channels like BBC America, but no globally accessible online distribution platform like Netflix or Amazon Prime.

It has also been found guilty by OfCom, which regulates commercial TV (ie, not funded by the license fee) and now also the BBC, of failing to adequately serve the youth audience, whose weekly time spent on BBC platforms (which includes dominant radio stations) is far below that of the 25+ age range.

All of the above analysis is an example of the WIDER CONTEXTS you need to consider for your exams.

https://tv.avclub.com/netflix-is-just-going-to-keep-killing-its-american-vand-1830037956

CONVERGENCE MAG covers shot with phone camera

https://petapixel.com/2018/10/13/magazine-covers-shot-with-phones-aint-no-thang/

NEA 2019 vlogger brief

here's the brief:

And further guidance on what to be thinking about:

You will shortly be drafting a proposal form, pictured below.
The word limit for this is very short; you can use continuous prose or bullets, so long as your points are clear and you have built a convincing case on how your media language/representations choices will successfully target the stipulated 13-16 audience.




...

FILMING strategies for a successful shoot

Having watched the current Y10 manage 4 shots in 30 mins, here are a few pointers that will help you enjoy a more successful shoot. I did something similar for A-Level a while back (here's a student list). Don't expect to be brilliant right away - you haven't had the benefit of being taught anything yet!!!
[typed on a PC with IE only; can't format yet!]

IN THE BEGINNING...:
You're on a course to learn; your untrained instincts at the beginning are likely to be poor, featuring:

• minimal planning
• minimal referring to the minimal planning when shooting!
• shooting each action point in a single take
• not thinking through the best framing for each shot, nore therefore its symbolic (semiotic) purpose)
• lack of direction (instructions) for cast
• limited communication from the camera operator/s
• filming with 1 camera
• not using a tripod
• minimal effort on costume, set dressing or props

PRACTICE MAKES...BETTER!
You'll learn and hone your instincts more the more you practice, just like anything else. If you wait for the few occasions we'll do filming exercises in Media lessons you'll find it hard to enjoy a good shoot.
As Master Yoda says to Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi:

The chap on the left has some wise advice...

Failure a good teacher makes

Play around: make some terrible cinematic atrocities! If you look at A-Level students' blogs, with more filming exercises and drafting of coursework than at GCSE, you'll see some quite cringey things before they end up with the generally high-A-grade film openings (AS) and especially music videos (A2, with more experience!). If they attempted the same film openings/music videos without this practice they would still be pretty awful - but with it, they usually end up being rather impressive!

On the new GCSE you don't get your choice of briefs (tasks, and which media they involve) until June of Y10, but they will involve the media featured in the CSPs. Experiment and you'll get better over time.

MYSTERY, PLANNING, + USING YOUR PLANNING
Every idea should be explainable in ONE sentence (synopsis).
No clear idea = chaos.
Be clear on characters' look and mannerisms; think about body language.
Keep dialogue short unless you're working with pro actors
Imagine each scene in an actual TV show, movie etc - would you see ONE take for each action point?
Are there ways to use framing/shot types/angles to intentionally hide some details and create some mystery, at least for a little while? (narrative enigma) > HINT: shoot feet, OTS etc and don't immediately show a face
List shots in the order you'll shoot them. Its usually slower to shoot in the order they'll appear on screen.
Either rip up/burn your paper planning or use it as a guide when filming - score off shots as you film them
Do, however, think creatively when filming - can you now see any creative new/better/additional shots? Write them on your shot list if so - from a quick scan of these, are you achieving good shot variety

SHOOT BASICS
Someone needs to direct cast and crew: clear, precise instructions with reference to camera position and framing
To help camera framing, have a person, any person, in the character position
Unused cast/crew should stay behind the camera
If a tracking shot requires cast/crew to go further away this must be made clear
Be careful that a 2nd camera/tripod doesn't come into frame
Shoot more, not less: click record as soon as you start the 3-2-1... countdown (don't say the 'action/go'), don't stop recording too soon - trim your clips in editing
If you don't tell your cast you'll be resetting for more takes your shoot will take a very long time
Two cameras speed things up; you can be adjusting 1 tripod while filming a shot with the other
To achieve continuity pay close attention to hair, clothing and mise-en-scene - you can put small marks (eg with paper tape) on the ground to help with quicker resetting (if unseen within camera frame)

THE CUTAWAY SHOT
This is one that untrained filmmakers neglect
Grab some (usually CU) shots of props/parts of the mise-en-scene that are within the frames of (for example) sequences (multiple shots: shot reverse shot) of conversation which cut back and forth between 2 or more people. Cutaway shots can also be on a hand, foot etc.
These provide options in...

EDITING: WHERE SUCCESS OR FAILURE BECOMES CLEAR
Its only really when you come to edit that you'll realise if you've taken enough/too little
Think of shot A-B-A:
we took a MS (A) and a LS (B) of the same short action: start with A on screen, cut to B, and cut back to A.
Basically, cut away (not cutaway) from takes and return to them once or more to make a more interesting edit. YOU would be quickly bored by a series of single long takes.

FAILURE IS GOOD
Back to Master Yoda: you can always learn and do better on a reshoot. A failed shoot isn't the end of the world, so long as you learn and apply lessons from this. It takes time for ideas like the long list above to become instinct.