Guiding teacher: Mirela Nasaudean

BRITISH CULTURAL STUDIES

BRITAIN THROUGH THE EYES OF MEDIA

ATESTAT PAPER | Ciprian Berende

Foreword media as a tool of human interaction

Media...a complex, yet quite new concept standing at the very basis of human societies as the main, and most probably single form of mass interaction and communication. It is the way human kind has enabled its race to make connections between nations, cultures, concepts of all types or, at a lower level, to inter-connect siblings that would otherwise be so individualised that a nation wouldnt have its own identity ... Though, it is also the most powerful tool of mass-manipulation, and it plays the most significant role in the globalisation phenomenon, which, at certain levels has a series of disadvantages in what the cultural identities are concerned. That is somehow a contradiction to what I have previously mentioned, but the media field has such a complex structure, that it operates at different levels of approach, having both positive and negative impacts on our society. These many ways of communication are the ones that enable people to share information in a variety of forms. Communication means sharing information and providing entertainment for an audience by different methods. It can be of two types: the first one is personal communication, which happens when people make their thoughts and wishes known to one another, by telephone calls, letters or more recently via internet. This is the personal type of communication between individuals. Its other form is the one that implies a large audience, which is informed or entertained, by means such as the written press, television, radio or the internet. This is generally regarded as mass-communication, which operates at a national or global level.

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Media psychology
Media Psychology seeks an understanding of how people perceive, interpret, use, and respond to a media-rich world. In doing so, media psychologists can identify potential benefits and problems, and promote the development of positive media. The study of Media psychology emerged as an academic and professional discipline due to a social and commercial demand for the application of psychological theory and research into the impact of media and emerging media technologies both academic and non-academic settings. Psychology is fundamental to understanding the impact on individuals and groups of the integration of media technologies in our society. This field encompasses the full range of human experience of media including affect, cognition, and behaviourin activities, events, theories, and practices. Media include all forms of mediated communication, such as pictures, sound, graphics, content and emerging technologies. The emerging field represented a significant opportunity to use media in new and creative ways by understanding how psychology and media work together. Psychological theories can be applied to emerging social media, e-Learning, and digital technologies in pioneering ways. The foundation of this new branch comes from a variety of fields including sociology, technology, media and communications studies, and psychology. Much of the early media-related psychological research concentrated on negative effects of media, but researchers are now exploring the positive aspects as well. Media psychologists propose that although there may be negative impacts of media such as violence in video games and films, false interpretations of reality due to intense television viewing, and persuasion through advertising, there may also benefits, like the social bonds formed in virtual worlds, therapeutic uses of media, and certain psychological benefits of developing media skills. These emerging areas of research offer an integration of positive and media psychologies. Research showed that positive and negative traits are independent of each other rather than opposites. For media psychology, this means that removing negative media impact does not necessarily cause a positive influence. A growing
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body of research is beginning to look at what interactions with the media offer to those who use and create the media and in what ways media can be used for social justice, education, and community building. As an example, although gaming research historically concentrated on violence and other content-related issues, a new wave of researchers are looking into how gaming can benefit the players. Books and journal articles are beginning to feature research on the potential of gaming to enhance areas such as social interactions, relationship building, and skill development. Online social networking through websites and interactive digital worlds is also attracting new attention along a similar line of strength-based research.

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British media a dynamic scene (from written press to television)

Britain has an extremely diverse media with an almost unrivalled number of outlets. Of all the existing means of mass communication in the country, it is only the press that has spawned a set of 'theories' to explain and to justify its actions and its purposes. Means of communication that have developed since the inception of the press in the 17th and 18th centuries-notably, television and radiohave tended to adapt these theories to suit their own special requirements. In some cases, even the notion of 'the freedom of the press' has been transposed into other contexts and used to defend practices in radio and television. Yet the press has gone through many significant changes since ideas about 'press freedom' were first discussed well over 200 years ago. New forms of journalism have developed; there have been changes in printing techniques, changes in ownership, and even changes in perceptions of the role of the newspaper within British society. Furthermore, the press is now only one medium amongst many. Radios, and later television, have usurped some of its duties. Despite the enormity of these changes, and the social, economic, and political transformation of the British society within which these changes have taken place, the concepts most often used to justify the existence, and role, of the press-and latterly, the media-today still retain significant elements of 19th century (and sometimes earlier) political thought. Discussion of the roles and duties of the media Britains contemporary scene must inevitably go beyond earlier and rather limited comments on the press. Nevertheless, one must not underestimate the importance of earlier ideas about press freedom, nor must one underestimate the extent to which these ideas still reside within more complex statements about the mass media. The 1986 Peacock Committee, for example, considered the future of television in Britain by invoking parallels with the press and the abolition of pre-publication censorship in 1694. Such ideas, and lessons of history, are clearly of fundamental importance and should not be dismissed out of hand. Can they, however, satisfactorily incorporate the changes in societies which now determine the existence and practices of the present media?
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Broadcasting
Television
Television has proved that people will look at anything rather than each other.-Ann Landers I find television to be very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go in the other room and read a book.Groucho Marx Television is one of the most important means of communication. It brings pictures and sounds from around the world into millions homes. Through television, viewers can see and learn about people, places, and things in faraway lands. The term television comes from a Greek word meaning far and a Latin word meaning to see. Thus television means to see far. Many scientists contributed to the development of television, so no one can be called its inventor. Experiments leading to the invention of TV began in the 1800s, but progress was slow. Television as we know it today was not developed until the late 1920s and it had little importance in communication until the late 1940. About three-fourths of television stations that broadcast in the world are commercial stations. The rest are public stations. Factual programs of various kinds predominate on television in terms of the number of minutes broadcast. They are also the kind most watched overall. According to BBC survey, 88% of the total population of Britain watched documentaries on BBC channels, the highest percentage for any type of program. It has been found that TV is the greatest disseminator of information amongst all the media. One survey found that 58% of the British population said TV was their main source of news and no less than 68% believed it to be the most objective source available. All commercial stations broadcast brief summaries of local, national and international news every day. Also, stations often interrupt their regular program schedules to present extended coverage of special events, such as space shots, political conventions, and important royal events. Many people say that commercial TV shows too many programs designed only to entertain, and not enough programs that inform, educate or provide cultural enrichment. Such kinds of channels are BBC1, BBC2, ITV, C4, C5 and others.

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Radio

Radio is the theatre of the mind; television is the theatre of the mindless- Steve Allen Radio is the perfect medium for mass communication. If we compare it to other mass media, radio consistently ranks as the most popular means of disseminating information, regardless of the continent. What makes radio particularly appealing to research projects, however, is its interactivity, its capacity to provoke dialogue and to solicit the participation of local populations. Before television, network radio was the epitome of mass communication; it was national, live, available and listened to everywhere. Today it is difficult to think of radio this way because the industry no longer works in the same manner. Commercial radio stations depend on local and regional sources of advertising income. Essentially all radio stations are programmed to attract a special segment of a local or regional audience, and even when programming national entertainment materials such as popular songs, stations emphasize local events, personalities, weather, news, and traffic in their broadcast talk. Radio is an industry characterized by specialized channels each attracting relatively small, relatively differentiated audiences. But the average home in Britain has five and half radios, more than twice the number of televisions. Cumulatively the British audience for radio is just as big, undifferentiated, and anonymous as that for television. Is radio today, then, a provider of mass communication? It depends on whether the concern is with the industry as a whole or with the programming and audience of a particular station. There are many hundreds of radio stations in the United Kingdom, the most prominent of which are the national stations operated by the BBC. Recent advances in digital radio technology have enabled the launch of several new stations by the Corporation. Also available nationally are three national commercial channels, namely Absolute Radio, Classic FM and talkSPORT. Most local commercial stations in the United Kingdom broadcast to a city or group of towns, with a second tier of regional stations covering larger areas such as North West England. The predominant format is pop music, but many other tastes are also catered for, particularly in London and the larger cities. There are also regional stations, Real Radio & the Century Network, broadcasting in some main parts of England, Wales & Scotland.
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Print
Newspapers
Newspapers are traditionally categorized into two types in the United Kingdom. Broadsheets which are larger in size and are seen as being more intellectual and up-market; and tabloids, which are smaller in size and seen as being more down-market than broadsheets, containing more stories about celebrities or gossip. However, some broadsheet papers, such as The Times and The Independent have recently switched to a smaller size, preferring to call themselves compact rather than be stigmatized by the tabloid label. British press a brief history The 19th century saw two significant changes in the newspaper industry which were to have considerable impact on future developments. These were, first, the growing importance of advertising revenue for individual titles and, second, the development of the large-circulation daily press. Advertising has always had a place in the newspaper; some of the earliest newspapers were essentially means for communicating notices of events, such as the arrival of ships. In the 19th century, advertising and, more importantly, advertising revenue, became a vital ingredient in the make-up of the newspaper. It contributed to the newspaper both in terms of content and also in terms of muchneeded revenue and so helped newspapers in their struggles to survive. This connection between advertising, advertising revenue and the profitability of newspapers could be found early in the 19th century in Britain. News and the production of news Every newspaper when it reaches the reader is the result of a whole series of selections as to what items shall be printed, in what position they shall be printed, how much space each shall occupy, what emphasis each shall have. There are no objective standards here. There are conventions.
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A detailed analysis of news must also take into account the social context of news production. The production of news takes place in large, hierarchically organized, technically complex and (except for the BBC) profit-making organizations. Journalists are part of such organizations and their work will reflect, and sustain, the needs of the 'profession' as well as those of their respective organizations. Indeed, the economic and political 'needs' of media organizations-the need to survive, to maximize profit, to increase sales, to increase advertising revenue, to maintain a political line, to placate politicians-form an important backdrop to the study of the production of all media content. News organizations, like all other organizations, also have finite resources and this has enormous consequences for their ability to carry out their work adequately. It determines not only how many journalists are employed but also, as we shall see below, where those journalists are placed and what news material is collected. Furthermore, the production of news takes place with the interest of the audience uppermost in the minds of the journalist, sub-editor, editor, circulation manager, advertiser, and proprietor. Without sales, newspapers cannot survive and without audiences television news broadcasts cannot exist indefinitely.

List of newspapers in the United Kingdom:

Broadsheet format
Daily The Daily Telegraph (est. 1855) Conservative; Financial Times (est. 1888) Economically liberal, politically conservative; Sunday The Sunday Telegraph (est. 1961) Conservative; The Sunday Times (est. 1822) -Centre-Right;

Berliner format
Daily The Guardian (est. 1821) Left-of-centre, socially liberal;
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Sunday The Observer (est. 1791) Left-of-centre, socially liberal;

Compact format
Daily The Independent (est. 1986) Centre-left, liberal views; The Times (est. 1785) Centre-right, Conservative; Sunday Independent on Sunday (est. 1990) Centre-left, liberal views;

Middle-market" newspapers
Daily Daily Express (est. 1900) Conservative; Daily Mail (est. 1896) Conservative; Sunday Sunday Express (est. 1918Conservative; The Mail on Sunday (est. 1982) Conservative;

Tabloid newspapers
Daily Daily Star (est. 1978); The Daily Mirror (est. 1903); The Sun (est. 1964); The Morning; Sunday Daily Star Sunday; The People (est. 1881); Sunday Mirror (est. 1915);
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 Magazines
A bewildering range of magazines are sold in the UK covering most interests and potential topics. Famous examples include Private Eye, Hello!, The Spectator, the Radio Times and NME. British magazines a brief history The Gentleman's Magazine, first published in 1731, in London, is considered to have been the first general-interest magazine. Edward Cave, who edited The Gentleman's Magazine under the pen name "Sylvanus Urban", was the first to use the term "magazine", on the analogy of a military storehouse of varied materiel, originally derived from the Arabic makhazin "storehouses". The oldest consumer magazine still in print is The Scots Magazine, which was first published in 1739, though multiple changes in ownership and gaps in publication totaling over 90 years weaken that claim. Lloyd's List was founded in Edward Lloyds England coffee shop in 1734; it is still published as a daily business newspaper.

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The new face of media.PR through web pages

There are various tools that can be used in the practice of PR. Traditional tools include press releases and media kits which are sent out to generate positive press on behalf of the organization. Other widely-used tools include brochures, newsletters and annual reports. Increasingly, companies are utilizing interactive social media, such as blogs, Twitter and Facebook, as tools in their PR campaigns. Unlike the traditional tools which allowed for only one-way communication, social media allows the organization to engage in two-way communication, and receive immediate feedback from their various stakeholders and publics. One the most popular and traditional tools used by public relations professionals are a press kit (also known as a media kit). A press kit is usually a folder that consists of a promotional material that gives information about an event, organization, business, or even a person. What is included would be a backgrounder or biography, a fact sheet, press release (or media release), media alert, brochure, newsletter, photograph with a caption, copies of any media clips, and social media. With the way that the industry has changed, many organizations may have a website with a link, "Press Room" which would have online versions of these pieces. Thats not to say the departments of PR have abandoned other more traditional marketing and PR media. Social media adds another weapon to your arsenal to help get your clients message out. So while a two-page press release might get buried in a reporters in box, they might see the 140 -character Tweet with a link. PR through web sites has been providing a wide expanse of public relations services including strategic PR planning, news releases, feature story development, media placement, media coaching, newsletters, case studies, grand opening management, product and service launch management, press tours, and press conference management. In addition to public relations, the web pages are now the mean through which agencies provide complete marketing services such as brochure development, advertising campaigns, direct mail, and telemarketing.

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Conclusions
Writing my certificate paper about such a great and complex subject as media is was a real pleasure, as it is quite a resourceful filed, on which one may approach different problems at a global or national level. The thing I loved most when writing the project is the fact that I feel that Ive assimilated a great amount of information on this topic, and consequently, Ive enlarged my professional horizon if some day will be the case of changing my career prospects. As a conclusion, I would like to emphasize the general things related to mass media and to mass communication. Communication means sharing information and providing entertainment for an audience by different methods. It can be of two types: the first one is personal communication, which happens when people make their thoughts and wishes known to one another, by telephone calls, letters or more recently via internet. This is the personal type of communication between individuals. Its other form is the one that implies a large audience, which is informed or entertained, by means such as the written press, television, radio or the internet. This is generally regarded as mass-communication, which operates at a national or global level.

Bibliography:
http://www.wikipedia.org http://www.museum.tv The media and globalization- Terhi Rantanen

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Table of Contents
Foreword ..............................................................................................................................................2 Media psychology..............................................................................................................................3 British media- a dynamic scene ....................................................................................................5 Broadcasting .......................................................................................................................................6
Television.......................................................................................................................................6 Radio ..............................................................................................................................................7

Print .................................................................................................................................................... 11
Newspapers ............................................................................................................................... 11 Magazines .................................................................................................................................. 11

PR through web pages ................................................................................................................. 12 Conclusions & bibliography ......................................................................................................... 13

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