New Markets and Platforms (U7: P1, P2, M1)

P1: Explain the media market for different news providers.

link to mind map: https://mm.tt/map/2706334463?t=NINDw7CDki 

Research notes

TV- CNN https://dbpedia.org/page/CNN
CNN is a television news provider based in the U.S., founded in 1980 by Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld. The international news channel is primarily left-sided and therefore will sometimes report more of the issues on this side as well as have a level of bias to this. CNN has been subject to some scandals, these primarily surround political bias their audience feel the news provider engages with, giving more coverage of one political party. Interestingly, this news channel is accessed primarily via television news channels but can also be accessed online via the news provider's website which provides further details about the news stories. The news provider began as a 24-hour cable news channel but has since diversified into online news in the form of a website. This has provided audiences with a more detailed story and a higher level of convenience for their news consumption. Overall the news provider is so popular, often being referred to as 'the big three' alongside Fox news and MSNBC. This is due to the wide range of stories covered on the channel, additionally it has been proven a credible source that audiences therefore trust.

Print- The Sun https://www.news.co.uk/our-brands/the-sun/
The Sun is a print tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch, founded in 1969, The Sun became 'the people's' newspaper that aided national conversation. This newspaper is labour oriented and therefore will show bias toward this party when reporting on related events. The Sun is traditionally accessed via a print publication in the form of a newspaper bought in local shops such as WHSmith's but can also be found online via the tabloid's website. Using online platforms such as websites and social media is a new advancement for the news provider as this wasn't available when it was first created, however this has majorly grown the audience reach of news stories as a whole. This popular provider was beloved by the public as it spoke to them directly and used a level of informal language in order to make the story more engaging for the reader. Interestingly, in 2011/12 employees of The Sun were arrested in the UK for suspected involvements in operation Elveden, an operation involving inappropriate payments to policemen in relation to the news.

Radio- LBC https://www.lbc.co.uk/company-details/
LBC is a talk radio show founded in 1993, it is owned by 'Global' and runs 24/7 on the official LBC radio station. This news provider acts as a form of entertainment for its listeners, it reports on current affairs but allows audiences to call in and debate/ share their opinion on the topics under discussion. This provides an all-round view of events and therefore doesn't side with a particular political party. The level of citizen journalism provided by this radio station is what makes it so popular amongst audiences. 

WEMEDIA- Twitter https://wemedia.com/tag/twitter/
Twitter is a form of social media that has become an increasingly popular platform for WEMEDIA in which the community will share their views on current affairs. Twitter was created in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams in San Francisco and quickly became one of the most popular social media platforms but today it has developed into much more. In the current day, Elon Musk owns Twitter and the social media platform is used to share news stories around the world, some major, some minor but it is no longer just a social platform. This popular news outlet is accessible on smartphones via the app as well as on laptop/ desktop devices via the website. It provides audiences from around the world to connect and discuss their own opinions on various news stories they otherwise would not have heard of and this level of interaction is why it has become so popular as a news provider. 

Websites- BBC https://www.companieshistory.com/bbc/

The BBC is the british broadcasting corporation, it began as a public service chanel for the UK but has since developed into a lot more. Diversifying into a variety of specialised channels, radio stations and even a news website. The BBC news is online and is owned by the wider BBC company, founded in 1922. The different demographics of the audience share different political beliefs and therefore the news reported tries to remain unbiased. This online news website can be accessed by users on mobile devices as well as laptops/ desktops to improve convenience and allow audience to remain well informed of current events. The BBC has been around for a long time and therefore has become a household name in which audiences feel a level of trust and reliability. 

Apps- Apple News https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_News#:~:text=The%20idea%20for%20Prss%20came,what%20is%20now%20'Apple%20News.

Apple news was created by Apple Inc. Tim Cook is the CEO in charge and therefore is responsible for this feature of the business. This news app is accessible on every Apple device and is pre-installed before the initial set up of your new device. Due to the convenience of this app, the news provider has become very successful amongst Apple users (who make up a large portion of the population in 1st world countries). The news provider doesn't take a political stance due to the controversy of this impacting their overall sales. Interestingly, this news provider has faced some scandals due to the claims of data collection by the company. 

P2: Explain the media platforms used for news distribution

News distribution is found on a variety of different media platforms in order to reach mass audiences. Traditional forms of media including newspapers and magazines will report news stories through writing alongside images to convey a fuller outlook for audiences to better understand the story. However, due to the print form of this method the story telling ability is limited as full visuals cannot be shared. This can however be resolved by using digital media platforms for distribution of news stories, here you can include videos and higher quality images in order to better portray the story to audiences. Using digital platforms such as social media and websites enables a wider audience to gain access to the information and ultimately grows awareness for the story and your news company. 

Major news story: Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard court case.

The celebrity court case took place from April to June of 2022 and had everyone heavily invested in the story and outcome. This case began when Johnny Depp filed a complaint that Amber Heard (ex-wife) had defamed his name and was therefore suing her for $50 million. What made this case so popular was the live televising of the court in which lots more information was discovered throughout the trial. The two celebrity names of course brought lots of attention to the story and therefore made it vital for news agencies to report on in order to provide what their audiences wished to read. 

Interestingly, this major news article was quickly distributed across a wide range of platforms as everyone began talking about the story. Major tabloid newspapers such as 'The Sun' and the 'Daily Mirror' reported on the trial with major front-page headlines to capture the audience's attention and offer a different angle to the story, enticing audiences to pick up their publication over a competitor. These traditional tabloids have been able to report on the story with graphic images accompanied by descriptive reports about the new developments within the case, providing context and backstories for readers. Additionally, these publications often provided extra information for readers such as the dangers of sexual violence and a short history of the negative impacts it can have as an additional context to the story.

https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/101F0/production/_89823066_index.jpg

The story was also distributed via magazines, the pop culture feature of the story made it appealing to audiences of major magazines such as 'People'. This publication took a more informal approach toward the article written about the event as they try to appeal to a younger, gossip-driven audience. The article included more images and informal language to make the story interesting for readers, focusing on the general interest side of this story unlike the more formal newspapers who took a more serious tone in dealing with the facts and crimes portrayed here (serious reportage).

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpeople.com%2Fcrime%2Famber-heard-and-johnny-depp-photos-show-alleged-domestic-abuse%

Finally, the story was covered on popular radio stations such as 'Capital FM' where hosts would mention the current trial to inform listeners about recent updates and ensure they were made aware. Here the story was only covered very briefly and hosts would not mention much context or information about the actual issue raised within the story such as sexual violence and abuse.

Some digital forms of media were also used to cover the story and reach wider audiences across the globe to increase awareness. For instance, platforms such as online news distributors would report on the story in a more detailed way, including images, videos, and comment sections to allow readers an open forum to share additional perspectives on the event. This distribution platform allows a level of convenience for readers to learn about the story at any point in their day, the online access ensures the reader is able to view the article anywhere/ anytime, for free. The convenience encourages audiences to view the article and therefore increases the success of the news company. 

https://variety.com/2023/tv/global/depp-vs-heard-documentary-channel-4-1235587104/

Other platforms in which this story appeared were via social media sites such as Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Here, the audience was able to report on the story, sharing their thoughts in the form of citizen journalism. Twitter is a platform many users have to share their opinions on current affairs, and this story was no exception- the public took to Twitter to share all their thoughts on who they were supporting in the case alongside clips from the live trial to back their arguments. This triggered an internet sensation in which fans began using hashtags to show their dislike for Amber Heard.
Interestingly, TikTok soon became a popular platform for discussing this case in which well-informed individuals would report on the case to catch everyone up to speed- primarily a younger target audience who use social media as their primary source of information- as well as share their personal biases. The platform quickly turned the story into a meme when Amber Heard said a line audiences found hysterical, quickly growing into a viral trend. Significantly, this viral trend caused a lot of publicity for the already popular story and therefore urged news distributors to release new updated articles. 

https://www.tiktok.com/search?q=amberheard%20bee&t=1683385549690
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Jt9HeOq_11g/maxresdefault.jpg

The range of platforms used to distribute this news story has been highly effective in allowing a wider audience to gain access to the details of the event and discover varying perspectives. Interestingly, using a combination of platforms will help news providers to reach a range of demographics as each group uses different mediums to gather their news. For example, the older generations are more likely to use newspapers and more traditional forms of media to learn about current events whereas a younger demographic will use online platforms such as social media sites in order to discover current news stories. The differing audience ages consume news articles in different ways due to convenience and attention span, the younger audiences will have a shorter attention span and therefore watch a 2-minute video on TikTok rather than reading a long article in a newspaper. Significantly, this will alter the way in which news providers tell the story to best appeal to the targeted demographic. More traditional forms of media such as newspapers and magazines will write to their older audiences in order to best satisfy their individual needs and keep success rates high. This is done through formal language and minimal images within the article, this might also further reader curiosity and encourage audiences to look for more information on the news provider's web page (e.g. The Sun).

The Johnny Depp trial has been reported on using all forms of media including text, video, images, and sound. This news story was filmed live from the courtroom which offers news providers a large amount of content and visuals to appear alongside their written articles as evidence or context for the audience. Online news providers such as Variety are able to offer images straight from the scene of the article in order to help their readers better understand the context. 

This news story will have varying information across the different platforms it is being covered on, this is often due to legal reasons. If a news provider doesn't attain the information in an ethical way from a trustworthy source then this will lead to lawsuits and a negative reputation for the company. Interestingly, this causes news providers to have different information and take different approaches to the story. For example, someone reporting the story on TikTok will use information from official news providers in conjunction with personal opinions whereas a newspaper such as the sun is obligated to attain information from credible sources close to the story. The Sun will carry out interviews with people involved in the case in order to get new information and therefore make their company more subscribed to by the readers. However, this can often lead to bias as they will get information from an involved individual rather than an impartial third party who might state the facts without any emotional influences that could alter the story.

M1: Compare and contrast the benefits of using different media platforms