Soap Opera EastEnders is one of Britain's most successful television soap operas. First shown on BBC1 in 1985, it enjoys regular half hour primetime viewing slots

Soap Opera EastEnders is one of Britain's most successful television soap operas. First shown on BBC1 in 1985, it enjoys regular half hour primetime viewing slots, originally twice and more recently three times a week, repeated in an omnibus edition at the weekend. Within eight months of its launch it reached the number one spot in the ratings and has almost consistently remained amongst the top five programmes ever since (average viewing figures per episode are around 16 million). A brief dip in audience numbers in the Summer of 1983 prompted a rescheduling masterstroke by the then BBC1 controller, Michael Grade, in order to avoid the clash with ITV's more established soap, Emmerdale Farm. The brainchild of producer, Julia Smith, and script editor, Tony Holland, EastEnders is significant in terms of both the survival of the BBC and the history of British popular television drama. In the increasingly competitive struggle with independent television for quality of programmes and appeal to mass audiences, the BBC claimed to have found in EastEnders the answer to both a shrinking audience and criticisms of declining standards. The programme is set in Walford, a fictitious borough of London's East End, and focuses on a number of predominantly working-class, often interrelated, families living in Albert Square. The East End of London was regarded as the ideal location for an

  • Word count: 1089
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Media Studies
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What were the strengths and limitations of the BBC during the period 1922-1939?

What were the strengths and limitations of the BBC during the period 1922-1939? The BBC, one of the largest and most effective broadcasting corporations in the present world, has proved a powerful force in the 20th century, providing education, entertainment and information, and fascinating millions of listeners and viewers at home and abroad. However, the establishment and early growth of every novelty is never smooth, neither is the BBC. From 1922, the time that the BBC was originally formed, to the end of the 1930s, the BBC had gone through many changes and struggle, In the following of this paper, I am going to show those changes and the strengths and limitations of the BBC during the period between its emergence and the late 1930s, in terms of the organisation of the BBC (internal) and the contemporary political and social environment (external). Strengths and limitations 'inside' the BBC First of all, I will introduce a little background of why and how the BBC was accepted and established. According to Seaton, the First World War stimulated the development of 'wireless telegraphy' which was widely used merely for military purpose. With the beginnings of the 'wireless' (the older name for radio) in the early 1920s, many of manufacturers had individually sought broadcasting permits from the Post Office, at that time the government overseeing public communications, and

  • Word count: 1732
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Media Studies
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"Deregulation would lead to an expansion in choice without loss of quality".

"Deregulation would lead to an expansion in choice without loss of quality". To discuss this question I will first introduce the definition of regulation and the methods that are used to govern media industries around the globe. This will enable me to understand what regulation is and will prepare me to concentrate on deregulation. To begin with deregulation I will look at the American Media and the effects of the Telecommunication Bill 1996, which helped to introduce deregulation into the American Radio industry. From this I will be able to show the effects of deregulation and I can compare it with the recent Communication Bill being introduced in the UK by the end of 2003. With my findings and discussion I will be able to conclude whether or not deregulation would lead to diversity, without loss of quality. In the British media industry various media text consists of guidelines, which by legislation or by code of practise, ensures that it is socially responsible towards the audiences it is targeted. An early example of this can be seen when the British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) was set up in 1927 under a royal charter with John Reith as Director-General. Reith used the charter to prevent the government from having any direct involvement with the running of the BBC. Reith also declared that the BBC should provide to its audience; "...entertainment, education and

  • Word count: 3136
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Media Studies
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"Discuss the role of Media Studies in making sense of the political, economic and cultural meaning of everyday life".

"Discuss the role of Media Studies in making sense of the political, economic and cultural meaning of everyday life" "Do violent video's cause crime? Should large numbers of television channels and newspapers be owned by one corporation? Should European governments subsidise their film industries to protect their culture and language from American imperialism?" (Bazalgette, 2000; p.6) These are just some of the questions that are constantly provoking endless arguments within the media and wider society. Media Studies is controversial for many reasons, one being that it is still new, as well as the point that it generates challenging and threatening questions about the information we receive through the media. Sure, majority of people know that we are constantly emerged in a society largely dominated by the media world, but does it actually have an effect on the political, economical and cultural meanings created in society? Through media studies, we can gain a stronger understanding of these effects, and therefore use it to make sense of our everyday lives. For many people in developed countries, the media has become so much a part of everyday life that it is often taken for granted. Individuals could easily partake in as little as five different forms of media within the first hour of waking up. Many individuals wake up to advertisements or the news on their radio,

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Media Studies
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HISTORY OF THE BBC

HISTORY OF THE BBC The British Broadcasting Company started life in 1922, when the government licensed the UK's six major radio manufacturers to form the new outfit. It had a staff of four, and was financed by a Post Office licence fee of 10 shillings, payable by anyone owning a receiver, and supplemented by royalties on radio sales. The first broadcast came from London on 14 November, and "listening-in" quickly became a popular pastime. John Reith became general manager a month later, and after the baptism of fire of covering the 1926 General Strike - the company was dissolved and the British Broadcasting Corporation formed with a royal charter. Radio listening spread widely during the 1930s, with people gathering together to listen to national and sporting events, while the BBC also became a major patron of the arts, commissioning music and drama. It also took up home at Broadcasting House in London in 1932, the same year as the Empire Service - precursor of the World Service, began broadcasting. The BBC Television Service arrived on 2 November 1936 - but was suspended at the outbreak of war in 1939. Wartime brought huge challenges for the corporation - having to deal with the government's Ministry of Information while finding itself a target for German bombs. Newsreader Bruce Belfrage was on air when 500lbs of explosives hit Broadcasting House in October

  • Word count: 3518
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Media Studies
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An analysis of how television viewing has changed over the last two decades in terms of the frequency of viewing, the nature of the programs view, the viewing times through the day and the number of hours spent on viewing.

An analysis of how television viewing has changed over the last two decades in terms of the frequency of viewing, the nature of the programs view, the viewing times through the day and the number of hours spent on viewing. Over the last two decades (1980-2000), the television channels of United Kingdom increase from the main four channels to the multi-channels nowadays. The two main broadcasting companies are BBC1, BBC2, Channel 4 and ITV since 19th century. The TV channels have increase and improve from the normal viewing to digital viewing since 1990. Consequently, there were also some changed of the viewing of TV arise from the improving in the mass-media technologies. First of all, the frequency of viewing had changed during the last two decades. Since 1980s, there was a radically changed in the cover range of the TV channels all over the United Kingdom. The BBC and ITV had made their effort in the increasing the quality and the variety of the channel programs and the cover area of the AHF and UHF. At the same time, the economy of the Europe country had increase. Many household are affording to have TV at home. However, the frequency of the TV viewing did not have any radically increase during that time. This is because of the TV channels does not have variables choice of program that can attract the audience attention. The frequency of the viewing had increase since the

  • Word count: 2335
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Media Studies
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The two media conglomerates that I have chosen are Fox Broadcasting Company and PBS. I picked these two networks because they are as different as you can possibly get when it comes to television's basic broadcast channels.

Greg Faucher 2/12/03 Writing Assignment #1 Communications, Media, and Society Prof. Joe Rose The two media conglomerates that I have chosen are Fox Broadcasting Company and PBS. I picked these two networks because they are as different as you can possibly get when it comes to television's basic broadcast channels. Fox has grown remarkably as a network since its incarnation in 1985. It has gone from a laughable network, to the fourth biggest network, only behind perennial front- runners NBC, CBS, and ABC. The network is owned by a powerful businessman by the name of Rupert Murdoch. The Australian born Murdoch purchased half of the ownership to the 20th Century-Fox film corporation in 1984. The next year he acquired the other half. At the time he was the owner of Australia's "News Corporation Limited." By making these acquisitions, Murdoch was now in control of an extensive film library, along with rights to a large amount of television series'. He began to buy up independent stations across the country. By 1985 he was able to reach 20% of all the households in the United States. Throughout the end of 1980's Fox continued to grow, despite losing tens of millions of dollars annually until the dawn of the new decade. One of the reasons that Fox began to grow was that prime time hours were reduced, and no morning shows or soap operas were aired throughout the

  • Word count: 1573
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Media Studies
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Zee Television Network.

ZEE TELEVISION NETWORK Zee Television Network started with the small screen, but with big resources behind it. There's technology worth millions, many years of experience of futuristic vision and a unique viewer insight. As India's largest and only fully integrated media and Entertainment Company, Zee has proved its ability as well as its ambition. In this spirit it has kept over 225 million viewers across the globe informed and entertained. Zee is all set to consolidate this success on the small screen and target the media world with big ideas Zee has established itself as a household name as a channel that specializes in serials. There are some of the best serials in the industry that Zee broadcasts and has gained popularity among South Asians. Zee also has some local production of programs like 'Sa Re Ga Ma' and 'Mausam'. Zee also has Pakistani programs like Pakistan Business Week and Pakistan News Link. Friday is a religious day for followers of Islam and Zee broadcasts 'The Quran', a religious program for Muslims on this day. Zee TV has become a favorite among South Asians in the US and has gained immense popularity in the first two years of its existence. The subscription numbers exceed 50,000 subscribers and are still growing. With the addition of SET, Zee TV and SET will complement each other and would make an excellent package for South Asians. Zee TV is the numero

  • Word count: 5680
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Media Studies
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Is there a place for Public Service Broadcasting in the UK?

Is there a place for Public Service Broadcasting in the UK? Case Study: The BBC The BBC is a unique institution. Unique in the role it plays in public life. Unique in the way it is funded. Unique in the place it holds in the public's affections... it is a quintessentially British institution. The public trusts it. It is part of what defines us as a nation, both at home and abroad. The BBC is recognised throughout the world, where it is seen as a benchmark of quality, integrity and diversity. (Tessa Jowell, 2003) The future of public service broadcasting (psb) is an issue that has been fiercely debated in Britain for a number of years. In this essay, I will attempt to unravel some of the discussions surrounding the debate and explain the argument for and against the retention of the licence fee. The British Broadcasting Company was set up in 1922 with a licence to broadcast contracted by the Post Office. The company began broadcasting daily programming through the wireless. The effect this had on the country was profound 'listening in to the wireless in the United Kingdom quickly became a social and cultural phenomenon as the BBC in London and regional stations around the country gave birth to a new form of mass communication'. (BBC Website, 2004) John Reith was the Managing Director of the British Broadcasting Company and in 1927 became the first Director

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Media Studies
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Is Television Doing Irreparable Harm?

Name:??? No:010214310 Class:03 Grade:01 Is Television Doing Irreparable Harm? Right after Mr. Cai gave us the lesson the Plug-in Drug TV and the American Family, the whole class was flown into a heated discussion: Is our favorite TV in fact a malicious one-eyed monster? Some pals even sighed that, "TV hasn't been with us all that long, but we've already beginning to forget what the world like without it. We're nothing but living statues! Exactly, in the article, the author Winn quoted extensively from magazines, individuals and even some unacknowledged sources and successfully presented a gloomy picture about people's passive family life with TV, and this at once conjured up the adverse influences of TV to me: For one thing, TV can be a big time-waster in some sense. Easy enough to find many people watching TV for several hours every day. Some people even turn it on seven o'clock in the morning and don't leave it until midnight, which is not only harmful to their health but also affect their work and study. Some people are glued to their TV sets and become so immersed in TV that they fail to communicate with people around them. This certainly helps cause generation gaps, divorce and other social problems. For anther thing, what the author warned us against is that children can be adversely affected by constantly watching TV. I think this is due to the

  • Word count: 647
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Media Studies
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