Kanna - Media Studies

October/November 2 022  9607/04 Section A: Media Debates Media regulation  Evaluate some of the different ways in which the idea of freedom is used in debates about media regulation. [15]  How media is regulated by media regulators has formed some debates. Common debate topics about media regulation include the freedom of speech in social media, creative freedom for media producers and the freedom of consumption for audiences. Freedom of speech in social media has caused debates over the years. In 2021, the former president Trump posted several tweets on Twitter that are considered inappropriate by some users. With the help of technological convergence his tweets are able to reach millions of users across the platform in a short period of time. Many users are concerned that younger users may see Trump as a role model. According to Blumler and Katz’s Uses and Gratification theory, media satisfy audiences’ base need of personal identity by supplying them with role models. Due to the amou

Case Study  SM Entertainment -The K-Pop fanbase has been growing rapidly in the past 5 years. -Japan, America and SEA countries has been a major target of K-Pop  SM's strategies for global expansion: Creating songs in different languages (ex: NCT Dream released their Japanese debut album in 2023 along with a title track in Japanese, Best Friend Ever) Including english lyrics in songs Releasing entertaining contents through global streaming platforms (Instagram and Youtube) Providing subtitles in different languages to minimize language barrier Recruiting artists from all over the world through 'SM Global Audition' establishing a joint venture with local companies (ex: SM True is a joint venture established by True Group (broadcasting and distribution company) and SM Ent in 2011. They manage all the concerts, promotions and music&contents distribution of SM artists in Thailand.) Creating global groups (ex: WayV is a Chinese boygroup that is a part of SM's K-Pop group

Curran & Seaton's Power and Media Industry Theory  - Media industries are dominated by a small number of giant conglomerates. - ex: The film industry's 'Big 6': 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Universal Pictures & Walt Disney Pictures. - Independent media companies are not as successful as those big companies  - Curran & Seaton believes that the media industry is all about profit and power. - Illusion of choice: Concentrated ownership results in lack of choice, lots of the same product. Repetitive, similar and lack of diversity and creativity. Case Study:  Conforms - Marvel was acquired by Disney in 2009 and since then they have been creating movies that suits Disney's brand image of 'family friendly,' different from the initial Marvel Comics which are r-rated. Although Disney and Marvel have produced and distributed a variety of series and movies over the years, most of them have a repetitive plot of the ma

- Shirky believes that audiences are no longer passive. - Passive audience : Does not actively engage with a media text. They just observe and do not question the message sent by the media and accepts it the way the media outlet intended. - Active audience : Actively engages with the media consumed. Interprets the meaning of the text in their own way. The develop an interpretation of the text based on their experiences or cultural background. - Technology has changed our behaviour, instead of just consuming media passively, we also contribute to it. - Traditional media (newspaper, magazines) are declining because they prefer to be able to interact or express their opinions online with new media. - Audiences like to 'speak back' to the producers of media. Social media allows audience to give feedbacks to producers through social media which results in the equality of power between them. (Prosumerism)

Case study: BLACKPINK's 'How You Like That' MV A U D I E N C E Entertainment pleasures: the video offers a lot of entertainment, includes vibrant bright colors, dance routine, fancy outfits, fast changing frames and beautiful girls Target audience: Women from minority background (asians in particular) seeking for empowerment in the media.  Can also target male audience due to voyeurism with the costumes. The members of Blackpink are shown wearing revealing and tight clothes, bringing the attention of male audience. Close up shots of the member's face can be considered as male gaze according to Laura Mulvey. However this MV also subverts the male gaze theory as the Blackpink members are a vital part of the MV, they're seen as singer and dancers, more than just an object. Representation:  The music video includes representations of powerful Asian females. Each members are shown with different personalities and styles, they're all a major role in the music video (

Consumers - people who sees the particular text as a disposable commodity Fans -  devoted followers of media texts who actively engage with the products to construct their own meanings and interpretations beyond the original message. Stereotypical fan behaviors: cosplay their favorite characters, write fan fiction, post their own theories online, and form new subcultures based on the product. Henry Jenkin's Fandom Theory Suggests that fans play a key role in the media (production, distribution and consumption process) - Production: fans send or post their feedbacks or suggestions regarding the media text to the producer - Distribution: fans comment, retweet and share posts about their favorite media texts to increase engagement and encourage other people to consume the text.  - Consumption/Exhibition: fans consume media text and construct & share their own interpretation of the meaning of the product to other fans. Productivity in Fandom:  - Semiotic productivity - Refers to t

Colonialism - taking over another country to run and exploit it  Post-colonialism -  Gilroy argued that, most media is based on euro-centric world view. It explores the differences between the representation of white, British people and ethnic minorities in the media after the colonization, intended to make europeans look superior and stay in power against the others.  Representations - White, British people are represented as heroic, clean, polite, strong, while the others are represented as exotic and barbaric. Hegemonic group -  Media production is dominated by white people which pushes the ideology is white supremacy (white saviour). Keywords Eurocentric - The belief that the European culture is superior to all others Double consciousness - the internal conflict experienced by subordinated or colonized groups in an oppressive society. Othering - the practice of representing and defining the colonized natives as inferior to their European counterparts. Case Study:   The Woman K

How do media companies get regulated? One way that media company get regulated is by legal lawsuits. On 2021, Fox News, a right wing American news company owned by Rupert Murdoch was sued for $1.6 billion by Dominion, a voting machine company for defamation. This has become the biggest lawsuits in the media history. Dominion claimed that Fox has been spreading lies against them. This case started when Trump's legal team made a false claim that the vote had been rigged in the 2020 US Presidential election against Donald Trump. Dominion was trying to prove that figures inside Fox may not have intentionally promoted lies by conducting 'discovery' in which they went through Fox's datas and interviewed their news anchor. Through this they have found prove that Fox has been spreading misinformation despite knowing the truth. However a day before going to court, Fox News settles defamation lawsuit for $787.5 million. CNN and MSNBC has been actively reporting this news while Fo