7. Assess the role of the mass media in Britain during the inter-war period

7. Assess the role of the mass media in Britain during the inter-war period. It is impossible to assess the media's role in the inter-war period without firstly understanding the main source of news in this era. Within this essay I intend to look at the changes in perceptions of the media by the public and government and also the main incidents and characters with helped shape this new opinion. Although newspapers were widespread throughout Britain a combination of economic circumstances and low literacy rates meant that only a percentage of the population would be aware what was happening in the country as a whole. The medium of radio, and one company in particular, was to change the face of modern mass media. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was initially the British Broadcasting Company, an organization consisting of a number of wireless manufacturers, which went on air in 1922. It did not have a government dictation of what to air so could therefore have aired anything that would have made wireless sets sell. However, the director of the company, John Reith did not agree with this view and took the first steps in creating a public service broadcaster. This was a distinctive moment in the development of the BBC and was crucial in determining the path the BBC would take. Whilst Reith and the idea of the BBC as a public corporation was perhaps the most

  • Word count: 2151
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Media Studies
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How relevant is Reith's idea of public service broadcasting in relation to contemporary television?

02074512E How relevant is Reith's idea of public service broadcasting in relation to contemporary television? The beginning of the 20th century saw the dawn of a new form of power. A means to communicate with thousands, and eventually millions of people simultaneously, to convey your ideas across a whole nation in a matter of seconds. This power was broadcasting. Broadcasting at the time was seen as a public utility, and as the wave spectrum was limited, the government got involved in its distribution. It decided the best way to fund broadcasting was a license fee. A British Broadcasting Company (which in 1927 would become the British Broadcasting Corporation) was formed, and on November 14th 1922, after over a million ten-shilling licenses were sold, it started transmissions. The first managing director of this company was John Reith, a Scotsman with a background in engineering. When he signed up for the job he did not even know what broadcasting meant, and yet he would very soon shape the future of broadcasting in Britain for the next 80 years. In 1925, for the Crawford report, Reith was asked for his opinion on broadcasting. He came up with several ideas about it, ideas that are still in use to this very day. He also came up with this phrase: Public Service Broadcasting. Reith believed that broadcasting should be a public service. It was overseen by the government,

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Media Studies
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Analyse, review and comment of North West Tonight, 6.30pm.

Media Assignment Analyse, review and comment of North West Tonight, 6.30pm. Television news has grown over the last forty years and news programmes are now among the most popular television programmes. Newspaper sales are decreasing and people are getting most of their news from the television. This may be because people feel they can trust the TV more as there as pictures to back up the stories and build up a relationship with presenters and feel they can trust what they say to be true. The BBC was first established on October 18th 1922 by John Reith. It broadcasts a wide selection of programmes including, soaps, documentaries, cartoons and news broadcasts. North West Tonight is a regional news programme from the BBC providing local news for people in the North West of England. It attracts more viewers than its rival services and has won national awards. The people at North West Tonight believe that their success is thanks to their knowledge of the events that really matter to the people in the region. There are reporters and studios in Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside and Cheshire. The main studio, however, is in the heart of Manchester. It takes a lot of work to create the final North West Tonight programme, including help from camera crews, floor managers, directors and sound and lighting experts. The main part of the programme is filmed in the studio

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Media Studies
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Why have some Scottish and Welsh nationalists criticized Labour's programme of devolution

Why have some Scottish and Welsh nationalists criticized Labour's programme of devolution (20) There have been various reasons why some Scottish and Welsh nationalists have criticized Labour's programme of devolution. One of the main arguments against devolution was that the sheer cost of establishing something that is already done in London would be too much for what you got at the end. These nationalists have also argued that the lack of any experience of decision-making at the level of regional self-government could also lead to delays in the making and implementation of decisions - central government has decades of decision-making experience and could do a much better job for the regions without any delay. Some Scottish and Welsh nationalists have criticised labour's programme of devolution because they campaign for full independence for Scotland and Wales. Labour's programme of devolution does not grant full independence to these countries. Instead it just offers slightly more power. Scottish nationalists also criticise Labour's programme of devolution because it will probably lead to a rise in taxes in Scotland. There I also the fact of the West Loathian Question. This is where Scots can legislate on English matters but the English cannot intervene in Scotland. This could be bad for Scotland as there are some issues where English intervention is welcomed. One of the

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Media Studies
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Radio One Case

RADIO ONE, INC: CASE STUDY I. Problem/Summary Radio One, Inc. is faced with the decision of whether or not to purchase several stations from Clear Channel Communications, which would effectively expand its coverage area and would be in furtherance of the company's strategy to expand into music recording, internet, and other media. This purchase decision would not be without financial implications for the company. In addition to the cost of acquisition, the stations to be acquired would need operating capital as they would not be self-supporting until some point in the future. In addition, should Radio One's management decide to make an offer on these radio stations, it must make a determination of the stations' value in order to make a reasonable, yet favorable offer. The amount of the offer must consider the stations' current profitability potential, the value of the assets being acquired, as well as the amount of capital Radio One, Inc. has available to invest. II. Analysis As part of the due diligence process, it will be necessary for Radio One, Inc. to examine the external environment, to complete an internal analysis, to analyze the attractiveness of the acquisitions, to perform a SWOT analysis, and to consider other alternative means of accomplishing its goals. The external environment includes regulatory issues, social issues, economic concerns, technology, and

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Media Studies
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The formation and development of BBC radio

Question 1 The formation and development of BBC radio Text Box: The BBC was established as a private corporation in October 1922, funded through a broadcast receiving licence fee plus ten per cent of the revenue generated from the sale of radio receivers. The service was an immediate success, with over a million licences sold by the Post Office before regular daily transmissions began. Within three years around 85 per cent of the population was able to receive the broadcasts, which consisted of a variety of entertainment for all ages as prescribed in the broadcasting licence. News broadcasts were banned by the government until after 7pm because of pressure from the powerful Newspaper Proprietors Association, whose members viewed the new medium as a threat to their circulation. In addition, regulation required that all news bulletins were to be purchased from selected news agencies. With the granting of the royal Charter the restrictions were relaxed slightly and the BBC was allowed to broadcast a limited news service during the day. a) Producing its own programs: The advantages: When BBC producing its own programs by depending on it self it will categorize as a creative organization and the programs and will gain more power full in the media. This will help BBC to demand more on its internal environment or it interval community. Any program in

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Media Studies
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A Wireless Device works without using cables to communicate.

Introduction: A Wireless Device works without using cables to communicate. Everything is based on the antenna. The antenna is the main electronic part of the device. It is used for transmitting a radio signal to a receiver and translates it back to an audio signal, which human beings can understand. It includes three main components: an input device, transmitter, and a receiver. The input device can be a guitar, microphone or audio system. The idea of this wireless device is to be able to send radio signals from the input device to the transmitter where the transmitter then sends translated radio signals to the receiver as an audio signal. In the final stage, the receiver receives the signal from the transmitter and transfers the entire audio signal to the speaker where we can hear. Descriptions of Parts and their Function Input Device: A guitar as the input device requires magnets and coil to produce sound. The main part that can produce sound in electric guitar is called the pick-ups. It consists of magnets and coil. Only metal string can be used in magnetic pickups. The pickups have the ability to transfer the physical vibration of a metal string into the electrical current. This current can then be translated into a tone. Transmitter: A transmitter is basically converting an audio signal to a radio signal and broadcasting it through the antenna. The

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Media Studies
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Use sources F and G and your own knowledge, to explain why some people came to see the 1960's as a period of a bad influence on British society

4. Use sources F and G and your own knowledge, to explain why some people came to see the 1960's as a period of a bad influence on British society. Source F is part of an article in the daily mail which was written in 1964 by Mrs. Mary Whitehouse. This source is about an old aged school teacher which has launched a campaign to clean up British TV by helping writers to induce their work on the screen of BBC TV. Source G is part of a biography entry for the singer Janis Joplin it is about the life of Janis as she was a rebellious teenager who became a national star who eventually died of an overdose. In source F it describes a school teacher Mrs. Mary Whitehouse who had very right winged views who was trying to clean up British television, meaning that she had probably noticed the effect this period through her students and had decided to take action. The 1960's was seen to be a period of bad influence by many people especially the older generation. The new sudden change during the 60's seemed to go against the older generation as traditional ideas were being ignored. Mrs. Mary Whitehouse is disappointed about the absence of traditional TV program's which consist of, Christian beliefs and cultural work. She also mentions in the article that authors that write play about "purpose and hope" for the Christian faith find it difficult to get their work accepted by the BBC. From

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Media Studies
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The aims of our production was to meet the brief given to us, which was to produce a five minute radio programme, which would be of a documentary nature about any chosen current issue or topic.

Ricky Myatt Media Report Brief and Research The aims of our production was to meet the brief given to us, which was to produce a five minute radio programme, which would be of a documentary nature about any chosen current issue or topic. The format had to include a theme tune, vox pops, formal interview and links, in order to keep the radio programme continuous. It was also important that we included our own ideas, opinions and views, as well as those of others. Therefore, within our group it was decided that the target audience for our programme would be sixteen to eighteen year olds of both gender. This audience was chosen because: * Interviews and questionnaires could be completed in College * Target audience is of similar age range as our group and we felt we would relate better to their needs As a group it was jointly decided that we all needed to gain more knowledge in the field of radio in order to conduct research on radio. As part of my research I decided to spend time listening to radio documentaries, which included news reports on 'Radio 1' and the 'Breakfast Show, Radio 1', which targets a younger audience generally, which was vital to our project. Also textbook research ('Radio' Shingler and Wieringa, 1998) enabled me to gain a better understanding about different types of interviewing and what works best on radio (Appendix 1). Once the target group

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Media Studies
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Media Industries Report

Rob Cox Professional Practice Media Industries Assignment In This Assignment we have been put into 3 different groups to give 3 different presentations. One group had Digital TV, One had Corporate TV (BBC), and my group had Commercial TV (ITV, C4, etc) in these presentations we had to discuss Who owns the industry, how its structured, and how it is financed. We then had to come up with a report discussing the similarities and differences between the 3 sectors and this is what I have come up with using my research and notes from the 3 sectors. Their Are 3 Different sub-sectors in Digital TV they are Freeview, Sky Digital, And NTL Telewest. Financing Freeview gets it financing from the one off subscription payments that customers make when buying a Freeview digital box. This is a big difference compared to how others get financed. However they don't get the money made from the advertising on the TV channels that are available on Freeview due to the fact that they don't own any of them, they just own the main service that gives the customers the channels. Another difference between Freeview and sky would be that sky offer Pay Per View events, where as Freeview don't, hence the name of the company. With Sky Digital not only do they get their money from there subscription services they offer, but they also get advertising funds because they own some of the channels available

  • Word count: 1410
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Media Studies
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