Essay

The development of new and digital media means the audience is more powerful in terms of consumption and production. Discuss the arguments for and against this view.

Whether new and digital media has made audiences more powerful in the terms of consumption and production, is dependant on different factors and the opinions of society. I believe that it has and will be discussing as to why I believe this using relative examples.

One reason as to why I believe audiences have more power over consumption and production is because we now have Citizen Journalism, which is a very popular method of generating news in recent years and couldn't have been done in the earlier years as technology had not improved or developed. The introduction of smart phones for example with a video recording feature allows one to film things, such as fights or murders that one witnesses. An example of this is of Rodney King who managed to record four white LA police officers brutally attacking a black man that was controversial in the media as this was the first ever piece of citizen journalism. Another example is the Woolwich beheading in which a soldier was beheaded by an Islamic extremist in broad daylight, in the middle of a street. Which therefore allows one to get the whole story without institutions such as BBC recording it and putting it up having been edited & therefore creating a bias view. The use of Citizen journalism therefore means more of the truth being shown, less people believe what is on the news & one watching what has been recorded by someone as it isn't bias and shows the complete story. 

Similar to Citizen Journalism, with the use of blogs, forums and social networking sites, and other pieces of User Generated Content, the audience already begin to be more powerful as they are able to publicise anything they find out with a simple click of a button. Such as spreading the piece of news that has been found via citizen journalism.  This also gives the audience a chance to voice their opinion about certain news topics & by using different techniques such a 'retweet' spread the word. A critic which supports my argument is Rupert Murdoch as he argues that 'the Internet has given readers much more power, the world is changing and newspapers have to adapt'. This means that Internet is becoming more and more powerful, and Murdoch may be referring to social networking sites when stating that the Internet has given more power to readers as they are given more freedom in order to express themselves.

One factor however, about on-line posting is that it can be monitored and without a doubt goes through regulation. This means that it can be taken down or edited whenever. Making the audience feel as though they have power and then taking it back from them. This relates to censorship as major media conglomerates such as Google, in particular Blogger and Gmail in which Google goes through ones messages and emails in order to assimilate the information and use it to their advantage by using advertisements related to ones preferences. By doing this, they are attempting to increase their profit margin.

Another point that backs up my argument is the pluralist view that states no one is elite and the way in which audiences are able to get what they want is by the media itself constructing what they show in such a way to make sure they meet their needs as the consumer. An example of this is Citizen Khan. The BBC are aware that everyone loves a bit of comedy and it is something spoken about by the audience regardless of age or gender. This shows the way in which the BBC prioritises the audiences preferences and therefore shows the audience have more power.

Marxists have an oppositional view and believe in a capitalised dominated society involving class. They state that those with money are above all others and hold the most power over what is shown to audiences. This links to Parettos law as he says that a minority of media producers always serve a minority of consumers which shows that a minimal of amount of producers are likely to show what audiences want unless they are trusted. Which links to what has been stated, that the BBC would show the consumers what they want as they are a trusted institution. And the fact that all audiences pay for the license fee as well as the fact that the BBC is a public service broadcaster which is known to pay back the audiences with high quality content. 

Furthermore the constant decline in the newspaper industry is another reason as to why audiences are getting more power. Being able to access the news anywhere and anytime on a device shows one being able to do what they please therefore meeting the needs of the consumer. An example of this could be the use of the times online. Which results in less people reading from newspapers and more turning to their devices. Having a huge impact on the newspaper industry as one is able to access news anywere sometimes before it's even published and without having to pay for it. Giving audiences more of a choice as to which newspaper they wish to read & therefore getting more power. 

In conclusion I believe that with the developments of new and digital media the audience has managed to gain more and more and more power over the years which could eventually lead to fully citizen journalised news articles, no newspapers, more and more opinions being spread & a potential payment required for the use of online newspapers! 

New and Digital Media Stories

Royal Mail says Amazon Delivery service will hit its UK parcels business

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/nov/19/royal-mail-amazon-delivery-service-uk-parcels-profits

This article desribes the way in which the new way in which Amazons new delivery service is going to have a huge impact on Royal Mails delivery service. The reason being because of the lower charge, additionally the option to get delivery on the same day for free; Prime Customers.

- The drop knocked more than £360m off Royal Mail’s market value and left the shares languishing below the 445p they soared to on their first day of trading after being floated at 360p. 

- Operating profits before transformation costs dropped 21% to £279m in the six months to the end of September.

This article is quite interesting as it shows the different ways in which institutions are changing and are becoming more and more competitive. ie. the introduction of the prime customers benefit of same day free delivery.

'Revenge Porn' Facebook post leads to jail sentence
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30307657

This article is about a man putting up a video of a female having sex with his friend. The reason behind doing this has been said was because of wanting revenge, his punishment was being arrested.

- "This sort of industry-wide approach is what we should all expect from a mature, multinational sector of our economy," she said.

- "We should not expect the burdens of removing illegal images from commercial websites to be solely the responsibility of the police.

- "And if websites are hosted in more obscure countries then splash pages should be used to block illegal pornography images from being viewed in the UK in exactly the same way as they have been used to block child abuse images."

I believe that this article is interesting and it should encourage other legislations to consider the same rule, of being punished for actions similar. As the offence has an effect on ones private life and could lead to severe problems, mentally and physically. 

Google plans launch of child friendly products

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30328078 

This article is about the way in which Google aims to create a search engine which is suitable for those of younger ages (up to the age of 12). The main difference between the original Google and the one they plan on releasing is the fact that, this one will be more safe and secure, keeping children away from the wrong things, ie porn and similar. Another feature will allow parents to see what their child is doing and allows one to block specific websites that they don't want their child using, ie games while studying. 

- These novel versions of its products will be likely to go further than the "safe search" tools found on browsers and search sites available from Google and many others.

Google's initiative follows other projects it has run that are aimed at children. These include its virtual Maker Camp, a Doodle 4 Google competition for young people and its Made with Code initiative.

- The company's plans could be limited by the US Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (Coppa), which specifies how much data can be collected about children and how it can be used. Heavy fines have been levied on firms that flout Coppa.

I find this quite interesting as I have a younger sister and other younger nieces and nephews and this will allow me to make sure that when they are with me that they are secure and wont access anything they aren't meant to.

Tesco joins retail stampede to social media in bid to create brand chatter

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/dec/04/tesco-retail-stampede-social-media-create-brand-chatter

This article is about the way in which Tescos have realised that people spend more money when they find something through social media. They are therefore more engaged and will want to get it. For this reason Tesco are now trying to reach out to their audience through Twitter and Facebook. 

- In the first half of this year UK spending on social media advertising rose by 73% to £396m, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB). 

- The clip helped lift visits to Mulberry’s website by 30%, according to chairman Godfrey Davis. “We thought we could have a bit of fun and we seem to have hit on demand,” he said.

- Waitrose has seen its number of fans and followers rise 31% on Facebook and 36% on Twitter since last year, when social engagement doubled over Christmas.

I find this quite interesting as I make use of social networking sites quite alot and sometimes what I do see on twitter or facebook, if I like, I will purchase, ie updates of new trainers or clothes.

No makeup selfie: Cancer Research's lesson on benefits of quick thinking

http://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2014/dec/03/no-makeup-selfie-cancer-research-fundraising-benefit-quick-thinking

This article is about the way in which the no makeup selfie for cancer research was turned into a major fundraiser through social networking sites, and wasnt made official until it was put all over twitter, facebook, instagram, etc. 

- Within 24 hours, Cancer Research UK had received £1m in donations. Their next No-makeup selfie tweet reported this achievement and became the charity’s most retweeted tweet ever, with over 14,200 retweets. Following this tweet, the number of text donations hit their peak at more than 700,000.

- By the end of the week, Cancer Research UK had raised £8m. As a final thank you, they announced the money would be spent on ten important clinical trials that they previously couldn't fund.

This article is quite interesting as it shows how social networking sites play a major role in getting anything accross to millions of people & that social networking sites are only for communicating, but can also be used to spread the word to everyone, everywhere across the world. 

Sun+ signs up 225,000 paying subscribers 

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/nov/24/sun-plus-paying-subscibers-news-uk

This article is about the way in which the Sun has managed to get 225,000 subscribers to its digital service for £2 extra.

- The publisher said that the figure has been stripped of any subscribers on a free trial, with the vast majority paying £7.99 a month.

- About 2%, or 5,000 subscribers, have a quarterly or annual package.

- The company has spent tens of millions of pounds buying internet and mobile highlights rights to prime sports events, its deal with the Premier League alone is thought to have cost at least £30m over three years.

-In October, the Sun fell below 2m sales for the first time since 1971, with 1978324 average daily sales.

- When the Sun first went behind a paywall, analysts guessed that it may take 250,000 to 300,000 paying subscribers to break even, but that was before the considerable amount News UK committed to its extensive sports rights portfolio.

- Duncan argued that the best metric of success is to look at a combined print and digital paid for sale, which puts the Monday to Saturday Sun at 2.2m and 1.84m for the Sun on Sunday.

- In February, News UK said the Times and Sunday Times, which went behind a pay wall in 2010, have digital subscriber bases of about 120,000 and 113,000 respectively.

This article is interesting as it shows how the sun have created a feature on-line which is considerably cheap and gives access to the readers to on-line news. The downside is the fact that it will not encourage anyone to read newspapers. Declining the newspapers even more.

Mail online revenues grow 41% to £62m in 2014

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/nov/26/mail-online-revenues-grow

This article is based on the way in which the revenue of Daily Mails online website has grown by 41%. It has stated the way in which wowcher got together with it, and gained revenue from it, by creating deals and showing them to the readers. 

- The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday reported a 5% decline in total revenue to £536m. Print advertising revenues fell 5% while circulation revenues dropped 4%.

- Total ad revenues across the Mail businesses hit £252m, a 4% year-on-year increase (£9m). Within this, Mail Online grew ad revenues by 46%.

- The company said the Mail Online’s revenue growth of £19m year-on-year outstripped the £10m decline in print advertising revenues.

- The growth in Mail Online, which just exceeded a management target of £60m in revenues for the financial year, stabilised total revenues across the Mail businesses to just a 1% fall at £598m. Overall operating profit at the Mail businesses grew 13% to £71m. Daily commuter freesheet Metro’s revenues fell 3% to £75m.

- Profits for Metro are combined with daily deals business Wowcher, which saw revenues grow 73% to £24m, which fuelled a 92% surge to £14m.

- The newspaper operations are part of DMG Media, which also includes operations and income such as DMGT’s stake in regional newspaper business Local World. Overall profits for the division rose 19% to £95m year-on-year.

This article is interesting as it shows the way in which Daily Mail have created more revenue and the way in which institutions work by combining themselves with another online website and advertising for them. Making it not only easily accessible to find out deals online, but also meaning more money for the business. 

Twitter unveils new systmen for reporting abuse

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/dec/02/twitter-new-system-reporting-abuse

This article is about the way in which users of Twitter will be able to report abuse in easier and quicker steps. New features will allow one to block people and not allow them to see anothers page. The director of product management and user safety stated that this had to be done in order to improve the way in which one was able to report abuse.

-Twitter’s reported 23% year-on-year user growth in the third quarter, though analysis showed that people are engaging with the site less. Throughout November, the company’s top executives sold off millions of stock holdings with the company.

In my opinion I believe this is a good article as it makes sure that twitter users are aware of the features that are going to be available, and will mean that one is able to use it when need be. Allowing victims to report their abuse and do something about it, rather than dealing with the same thing again and again. 

Build the wall

The first section is regarding how and for what reason as the audience one should pay for journalism, whether traditional or high quality.

The second section shows the way in which newspaper giants should do something in order to change the landscape where the high quality news is reported by those whom are professionals.

The third section is about the way in which the newspaper industry are ignoring the threat of the increase in people using internet, from being something so small, and not so popular. 

The fourth section Simons discusses the three scenarios, the first one being about the pay wall and the way in which it is successful as the audience are all willing to pay for it. The second where they state that newspapers are becoming more local to their regions and the on-line pay walls go up. The last scenario, being the way in which only the essential newspapers have survived, and the small havent. 

In this article, David Simmons has discussed his view about the way in which the news industry has developed and changed over the years. He starts off by discussing what the newspapers that are considered to be on the top have and why audiences are so willing to pay for them and also the fact that it is the professional journalism that is being paid for. He also mentions the way as to how there is a threat of new and digital media, but was not established earlier, and therefore has created damage and has only been realized after the damage has been done, making it into more of a threat. To sum it up he then discusses three different scenario, one that is beneficial to all, one where the the industry itself only survives through unique institutions and one where there is a complete balance.
My personal opinion about this article as a whole is that newspapers have always been the foundation and the original source of news that people first used to turn to as news. However the fact that there are now on-line sources and apps that can be used that show the news in shorter forms, means that more people turn to on-line sources and easier forms. Including social networking sites, ie Twitter, Facebook and Bebo were everything is discussed, also known as User Generated Content. In my personal opinion, I believe that the pay wall should go up as the world is dumbing down and more audiences are turning to shorter forms of the news and this is causing people to dumb down, most importantly this will allow readers to read more of a high quality journalism.

News and Digital Media Summary

1. The dizzying decline of Britain’s local newspapers: do you want the bad news, or the good news?
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/

2. To keep its stars happy, youtube may let you pay to skip ads
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/

3. Dropbox and Microsoft Team up, placing Office in the cloud 
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/

4. Man Jailed for Whatsapp 'Revenge Porn' after posting images of woman online
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/

5.Changing Channels: Cost of top pay bundles rises to £100 a month
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/

6.Media jobs website Gorkana sold to Cision in £200m deal
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/

New and Digital Media Stories

The dizzying decline of Britain’s local newspapers: do you want the bad news, or the good news?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/the-dizzying-decline-of-britains-local-newspapers-do-you-want-the-bad-news-or-the-good-news-9702684.html

- Sales are in freefall – down by an average of 13.5 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2014. The poor South Wales Argus fell by an eye-watering 33.2 per cent and the Doncaster Star sold barely 1,000 copies a day.

-  Most impressively, the papers’ websites have built a collective audience of 16.4 million users a month.

- The Echo grew its web traffic to 2,159,267 in the first half of 2014, a rise of 78 per cent on the previous six months. It is also Britain’s best-performing local paper on Twitter, with 158,000 followers.

This article discusses how there has been a huge decline in the amount of newspaper sales, and also shows that user generated content is being believed more than what is shown on the news, therefore resulting in this loss. To be specific it is the reason for less jobs in journalism and other related roles.

In my opinion this is a very interesting article as it shows how users are having an impact on big industries, ie the news industry. As technology now allows everyone to make videos and take photos, therefore being able to send them via social network sites and similar ways, mean less people are reading the news, as they are able to access simpler things, such as Twitter, Facebook, etc. 

To keep its stars happy, youtube may let you pay to skip ads

http://www.wired.com/2014/10/keep-stars-happy-youtube-may-let-pay-skip-ads/

-  YouTube’s valuation even independent of Google could be as much as $40 billion—nearly 75 percent higher than the value of Netflix.

This article is purely based upon how the audience are going to get sick and tired of seeing advertisements and are therefore looking at different ways in which as a business they could charge consumers for the use of it, However it does discuss the way in which they failed back in 2013, when they attempted to charge their consumers via 'Subscription'. 

In my opinion this is a very interesting and informative article as it informs those who use youtube regurlarly, like me, what youtube may consider doing. This not only makes the consumers think twice about using it, but could also create a conflict in the future, as the net is becoming more and more like the TV, day by day.  

Dropbox and Microsoft Team up, placing Office in the cloud

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/04/dropbox-microsoft-team-up-office-cloud

- Today, Dropbox has 300 million users, of whom 70% are international, and a ton of them use Dropbox to get work done.

-These people have uploaded something like 35bn Office files. Today, they get a great experience on the desktop, but what we're doing now is taking that experience to mobile and the web

This article is based on how both Microsoft and Dropbox are both partnering up. Both being very big online media institutions, they are both going to be integrating Microsoft Office into the cloud regardless of the fact that they already have their own service known as One Drive.

This article is interesting as it shows pure teamwork by the way two huge institutions are becoming one in order to create future success for themselves.

Man Jailed for Whatsapp 'Revenge Porn' after posting images of woman online

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/nov/14/man-jailed-revenge-porn-whatsapp

This article is about a person named Luke King, who has been jailed for three months for being convicted of Whatsapp 'revenge porn'. After threatening and harrasing a victim without violence, King published intimate images of the woman on Whatsapp. This is known to be the first ever case on Whatsapp, which has become a huge threat for any other users.

In my opinion, this is a very interesting article. as it makes people like me who use whatsapp on a daily basis, more aware of the things that could happen to me or anyone else I know who uses Whatsapp. This allows me to discuss the topic with my peers and make sure they do not find themselves in the same trouble. 

Changing Channels: Cost of top pay bundles rises to £100 a month

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/nov/14/changing-channels-top-end-bundles-rise-to-100-pounds-a-month

- The new services, which offer shows any time and on any device, give consumers more viewing choice than ever before – but at a price. The top packages from Sky, Virgin Media and TalkTalk, which include all the best shows and broadband bells and whistles, all now cost more than £1,000 a year.

- The most recent figures show that BT’s overall average revenue per user has grown 7% year on year to £404 a year. Sky’s has increased from £504 four years ago to £574, while Virgin’s is £588 a year – up 2% year on year.

-TV companies are “upselling”, so individuals are also buying more premium online services such as Netflix or better broadband. 

This article is based upon the way in which viewers are going to have to start paying up to £100 a month in order to get their channels and packages with their internet and telephone. The reason behind the prices going up, is simply because of the cost of television itself going up and the fact that current competitors such as Netflix that stream similar services are increasing, therefore by setting higher prices, will allow them to step up.

Media jobs website Gorkana sold to Cision in £200m deal

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/oct/22/media-jobs-gorkana-sold-cision-gtcr

- Cision, which is owned by US private equity firm GTCR, recently closed a $447m (£278m) deal to buy Vocus, creating a giant in the software for the PR sector

- Gorkana was bought by private equity group Exponent, which also owns BBC magazines publisher Immediate Media, in 2010 for about £25

- The company made adjusted earnings of about £15m-£16m in its most recent financial year and had been looking to sell for about £200m

This article is about a recruiting/employment PR company. It is based upon the fact that it has been sold to a competitor known as Cision and is a part of some sort of expansion strategy. 

Similar to the Dropbox and Microsoft merging together story, this also shows great teamwork and is very interesting as it shows that they want to work hard together and create more and more success, which will enable them to expand and get more profit.

News and Digital Media Summary

1. 11/09/14: Channel 4 to replace 4OD with new online hub all 4
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/weekly-new-and-digital-media-stories.html

2. 11/09/14: Microsoft 'in talks to buy Minecraft creator for $2bn'
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/weekly-new-and-digital-media-stories.html

3. 11/09/14: Twitter is this 'Operating system of news'
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/weekly-new-and-digital-media-stories.html

4. 18/09/14: Apple reveals 4m pre-orders for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus in first 24 hours
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/apple-reveals-4m-pre-orders-for-iphone.html

5. 18/09/14: YouTube stars and shows may be heading to your Facebook news feed
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/apple-reveals-4m-pre-orders-for-iphone.html

6. 18/09/14: Google takes down newspaper's positive story about an artist 
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/apple-reveals-4m-pre-orders-for-iphone.html

7. 29/09/14: Apple will not shut down Dr Dre's Beats Music but could fold it into iTunes
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/weekly-new-and-digital-media-stories_29.html

8. 29/09/14: A BENDY iPhone 6, you say? Pah, warp claims are bent out of shape: Consumer Reports
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/weekly-new-and-digital-media-stories_29.html

9. 29/09/14: They used to say 'print or digital'. But do we need to choose?
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/weekly-new-and-digital-media-stories_49.html

10. 29/09/14: EE agrees to buy 58 Phones 4U stores for £2.5m
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/weekly-new-and-digital-media-stories_49.html 

11. 6/10/14: BBC iPlayer catch up window extended to 30 days
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/new-and-digital-media-stories.html

12. 6/10/14: Alleged iPhone 6 prototype for sale on ebay for more than $60,000 
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/new-and-digital-media-stories.html

13. 13/10/14; Amazon Fire Phone Review
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/news-and-digital-media-story.html

14. 13/10/14: The Snappening: Thousands of kids, some as young as 10 could have nude photos posted online.
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/news-and-digital-media-story.html

15. 13/10/14: Smartphone users are busy 221 times of the day
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/news-and-digital-media-story.html

16. 13.10.14 21 Emotions we all experience when watching X factor
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/news-and-digital-media-story.html

17. 20/10/14: Twitter teams up with Soundcloud and iTunes to play audio within tweets
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/new-and-digital-media-stories_48.html

18. 20/10/14: Facebook Safety Check will help tell friends youre safe during disasters
http://pavandeepa2unit3.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/new-and-digital-media-stories_48.html

The Rise of UGC

1. What is meant by the term 'Citizen Journalist'? 
   Citizen Journalist is a term used when referring to those whom are non professional and analyse and present news in different ways and forms ie on websites, wikipedia and online blogs such as media mcguffin. Using these allow them to share information on different devices like phones, computers, laptops, iPods, tablets and etc.
2. List some of the formats for participation that are now offered by news organisations. forums, comments, blog
3. What is one of the main differences between professionally shot footage and that taken first-hand (UGC)?  One of the main differences between professionally shot footage and that take first hand is the fact that professionally shot footage tends to always be bias in one way or another and portrays a specific point that institutes want the audience to see. However first hand footage will always show the whole story as it isn't edited or cut. 
4. What is a gatekeeper?  One who controls whether someone can access something or not to do with news is known as the gatekeeper. The main gatekeeper when it comes to news is the editor as they select the stories and edit them according to how they want the story to be shown. Therefore they can limit what the audience view and what they don't.
5. How has the role of a gatekeeper changed?  The gatekeepers role has changed over the years as there has been huge changes in new and digital media. Before it was always the professionals, ie the editors who use to dictate and present what was to go on the news. Now with the introduction of social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and Bebo, ordinary people of the world are able to express their own opinions and give the true story of specific things shown bias on the news.
6. What is one of the primary concerns held by journalists over the rise of UGC? One of the main concerns that are held by the journalists due to the rise of user generated content is the fact that there are going to be very less professionals in the news industry as more and more of the news is being controlled and managed by user generated content.

New and Digital Media Stories

Twitter teams up with Soundcloud and iTunes to play audio within tweets

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/17/twitter-soundcloud-itunes-audio-tweets

This article is about the way in which Twitter is about to become more musical and lyrics are going to be appearing on ones timeline via a new Twitter Audio Card feature which is already being used by Itunes and Soundcloud. While going through the twitter timeline, it will allow one to have music playing in the background.

I think that this is quite an interesting article as it allows those that use twitter often aware of changes that are being made and that are beneficial for them. The fact that I use it on occasions, I am happy to hear about this as it will allow me to listen to music when using the app and I wont have to change the app in order to change the song. 

Facebook Safety Check will help tell friends you're safe during disasters 

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/17/facebook-safety-check-friends-disasters

This article discusses a new feature which is going to be available on facebook, allowing one to signify their status and check that their friends and family are okay and arent at risk or harm in any way. It will allow one to click 'Im Safe' to make sure that everyone on their profile is aware that they are. The safety check allows one to be aware of the risks around them, ie Tsunamis and Earthquakes, etc. 

- They add that the feature was inspired by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in 2011, with Facebook’s Japanese engineers subsequently developing a tool – the Disaster Message Board – to help people make contact during and after disasters. 

I think that this is a very interesting and important article as it allows one to be at less risk of harm and danger, and if one is in danger, everyone is aware of it. This also shows that facebook is looking after its users, which shows that they are a caring institution. 

News and Digital Media Story

Amazon Fire Phone Review: Setting Nothing A blaze

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/07/amazon-fire-phone-review-android-smartphone

This article is about how the release of one of the most recent phones that have been released by amazon have not done as well as expected and have dissapointed a lot of customers. According to the critics the smartphone felt very outdated and the software inside of it, wasn't as great as expected. 

- Instead the Fire Phone is restricted to Amazon’s own App Store, which has around 240,000 apps compared to Google’s Play Store with 1.3m apps.

This article is quite interesting as it shows that some things aren't as successful as others, ie the iphone 6 was more successful in comparison to this. It also shows the way in which media institutions are trying to expand and keep producing more and more things. 

The Snappening: Thousands of kids, some as young as 10 could have nude photos posted online,

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/snappening-thousands-kids-young-10-4417800#ixzz3G1h6NsiI 

Thousands of children, some as young as 10, are facing the horror of seeing nude pictures of themselves posted on the net.

Message boards on a notorious website called 4Chan have been inundated with details of the “The Snappening”.

Hackers claim they have managed to break in to another image-saving service that allows users of Snapchat to store pictures received before they vanish.

As proof, they have reportedly posted pictures allegedly taken from this third party app but have since deleted them.

Half of Snapchat users are aged between 13 and 17, and there are grave fears that tens of thousands of leaked images will be of under-age UK children who have been.

This article is quite interesting as it gives awareness not only to kids but to adults to inform them that such social networking apps can be dangerous and nothing is hidden. Also it warns kids and teens to be careful as to who they send pictures to and when they do what capture do they portray to whom they are sending it to.It also shows the way in which media institutions are trying to inform and make sure people are aware of this. 

Smartphone users are busy 221 times a day

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/books/cheltenham-festival/article4232166.ece

The average Briton spends the equivalent of almost an entire day each week glued to their smartphone screen and uses it 221 times in every 24 hours for social networking, emailing, texting and other tasks.

An animalistic thirst for socialising has made us a nation addicted to our smartphones, often wandering blindly into Facebook without quite knowing why.

This article is quite interesting as it shows how people are addicted to there mobile phones, if its not for phone calls its for texting,emailing and so forth. It shows that many people without even knowing spend so much time on their mobile phones.It also shows the way in which media institutions are trying to explain to people how addicted they are without even knowing it. 

Buzz Feed

21 Emotions We All Experience While Watching the X Factor

http://www.buzzfeed.com/xfactoruk/21-emotions-we-al;l-experience-while-watching-the-x-factor#22pq704 

This listicle is all about the many different ways in which people feel when they are watching x factor. This lists 21 ways and expresses the many different ways, ie panic, anger, etc. They are each shown in GIFS, which relate well. 

In my opinion, this is a very pointless article as it does not state anything interesting and just states pointless information. I believe no one would actually bother reading it as no one would care how one reacts to watching the X factor. 

News Company Research

Who are the major players in terms of news providers in the UK and what exactly do they own?

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) 

The BBC is a UK based international service which is based in the Broadcasting house located in London. It is one of the oldest broadcasting organisations consisting of 23,000 staff, which is one of the largest broadcasters. BBC News is an operational business division for the BBC and is responsible wholly for gathering all the news stories of current affairs. This department of the BBC is one of the biggest organisations for the news as it generates around 120 hours of the radio and television every single day on the television. Additionally broadcasting online, ie iPlayer.

What do they own?

BBC One

BBC Two

BBC Three

BBC Four 

CBBC

Cbeebies

BBC News

BBC Parliament

BBC Alba

BBC Red Button

Sky News UK

Sky News being based in Britain, is a 24 hour multi media news operator. It is specifically for the use of news and provides its audiences and consumers with non stop news online, on the television and a few different devices. Additionally, they also deliver national and international radio news to its audiences to different commercial stations in the UK.

News Corporation

Created by Rupert Murdoch in 1979. It is also the worlds 2nd largest media group according to the revenue. Additionally it is the worlds third largest in entertainment since 2009.

What do they own (UK)?

The Times, Sunday Times, Press Association, The Sun

What do they own (AUS)?

Master Chef Magazine, GO, Vogue