Audience

1) How has new and digital media changed the audience experience in your chosen industry?

Documentary has become more accessible. The genre was once typically views in cinemas however it has now become something more appealing for domestic viewing. New/Digital media has also meant that people want content to be instantaneous and also shorter. Documentaries are typically a similar length to feature films. People also respond to what is being shown (pluralism) so if there seems to be a biased approached it will be called out and

2) Has new and digital media changed the way the audience consume your chosen product?

It is more accessible, content is more simple or simplified. It will also tend to be shorter or made into series. On one hand consumers enjoy shorter content on the other they also enjoy bing watching.  There may be reason to suggest that the information that is kept is chosen with the audience in mind especially if it isn't the first season. If a character seemed to be favoured there will be more focus on them and the also favoured narrative. this means that we are straying from documentaries and moving into more docudramas.

3) Has the size of the audience changed as a result of new and digital media?
 I do think that the audience size has increased as a result of new and digital media. With regards to Making a murderer, due to it trending across many media platforms, more people were inclined to watch it.

4) What are the positive changes new and digital media have brought to the audience of your case study? (E.g. greater choice, easier access etc.)
Greater access - People can consume content more cheaply and in many areas.
Choice - Sites such as netflix offer audiences a large variety of content across all genres.

5) What are the negative changes new and digital media have had on your chosen audience? (E.g. quality of product etc.)

Documentary as a genre could be slowly dying, and replaced with docudramas because this is what is appealing for the audience.
Rather than it being a factual genre, dramatic reinactments and constantly being used and bias accusations are rife. (with enough evidence and sometimes lack of evidence to support this.)

6) What about audience pleasures - have these changed as a result of new and digital media?

Audiences may find a sense if identification more easily because of how the subjects are presented as relatable characters, in making a murderer the more domestic settings enhances this.

7) What is the target audience for your chosen case study? Write a demographic/psychographic profile.
Netflix don't target an specific demographics their algorithms are based on what people watch and their tastes however looking at who consumes the content I would say their audience is 16-26 year olds. C1 C2 Demographics. Especially those who enjoy the bing watching culture.

Institution

1) How has new and digital media had an impact on ownership or control in your chosen industry?

Netflix isn't regulated the same way the BBC or traditional TV is. There is still much confusion over regulation, hence why bias is such an issue with making a murderer.

2) What impact has new and digital media had on ownership in your chosen case study?

Companies are sharing more of the content, typically it would only be a few institutions who would benefit i.e.. the creators and distributors. However now netflix are also benefiting from this and also partially own the content. maybe this suggests that the original content creators are slowly loosing control of their content but in a more legal sense rather than illegal downloads. They are still benefitting.

3) How has new and digital media changed the way institutions produce texts?
Institutions, particularly those who create documentaries now need to create texts that have a more simple narrative and distribute them on a variety of platforms to ensure they don't lose audiences. this has potentially caused and Binge Culture where people no longer wait for weekly episodes, they much prefer to watch an entire series at once, the increase in acessibility and simple narratives allow for this to take place.


4) How has new and digital media changed the way institutions distribute their product?
Online distribution is more favoured.
Online - tends to be more docudrama
Traditional - tends to be more traditional documentary.

5) How might new and digital media threaten your chosen industry?
Consumers may sway the way the narrative is followed.

6) How has new and digital media changed the way your chosen industry is regulated?

Not traditional like BBC TRUST/OFCOM, little information on it. The ambiguity makes it seem that almost anything can be uploaded to netflix. And other sites for that Matter (FACEBOOK STORIES)
streaming is a particular case where criminal activity is streamed and not deleted quickly.


UGC

1) What examples of user-generated content can you find in your case study?
Home Videos
(Old Interviews?? CCTV??)

2) How has UGC changed things for audiences or institutions in your chosen case study?
It potentially makes people favour Avery and his family. It is further supported by the stories and close ups of his parents.

Marxism, Pluralism and Hegemony

1) What would be a Marxist perspective of the impact of new and digital media on your chosen case study?
Developments in New/digital media and documentary means that it is easier for people to inject others with their own views. The change/confusion in regulations means that it may be easier for people to be explicit with these actions and are less likely to be challenged.

2) How would a pluralist view the impact of new and digital media in your chosen industry?
A pluralist would suggest that this accessibility means that people are more able to be an active audience and choose and challenge ideals. Potentially even going as far as saying that because of online streaming being treated differently, regulators do not have the same amount of power.

3) Are there any examples of hegemony in your chosen industry or case study?
 Making a murder could be suggested to stereotype the less fortunate as criminals, people who are defiant because they didn't completely focus on the wrongdoings of the powerful who in this case were the law enforcers.


Globalisation

1) How has globalisation impacted on your chosen industry or case study?
 Globalisation has impacted documentary in the sense that it is not only easier to explore global events but people are becoming more interested in it and feeling more connected. However if we look towards Americanisation, we may be connecting but we may also be slowly having a complete American viewpoint. ( Death note whitewashing)

2) In your opinion, has globalisation had a positive or negative impact on your chosen industry and case study? Why?
I think that globalisation has had a positive impact to a certain extent due to the aforementioned reasons. Globalisation may be negatively impacting in the sense that negative stereotyping is more apparent and people can 'more accurately/convincingly' portray these stereotypes

3) Can you find examples of cultural imperialism in your case study or industry? (The 'Americanisation' of the world)
Making a murderer - focus on American laws and  culture
Death note- characters being completely changed to American characters in America 


Social media

1) How has your industry or case study used social media to promote its products?
Netflix and their original shows have a heavy social media presence, especially when it comes to promoting their new shows. Many of the Originals successfully trend online, more consistently than other content showing that the product and the promotions are incredibly successful.


2) Provide examples of how your case study has used social media and explain the impact this would have on audiences.

A heavy media presence is reciprocated by a heavy media response, audience not only feel more connected by have an actual influence on creators, this is both positive and negative in the case of documentaries. If people prefer a certain aspect of the investigation they may follow that in more of a docudrama genre. However it may also allow them to zoom in on an aspect of the case that can be more easily followed accurately without being interrupted by other narrative arcs.

3) Is social media an opportunity or a threat to your industry and case study?
Social media is a threat to traditional documentary because of the aforementioned influence. But it allows docudramas to thrive.


Statistics

1) What statistics can you find to illustrate the impact new and digital media has had on your industry or case study? For example, in news, the UK newspaper industry sold more than 12m copies a day in 2001 but in 2014 it was below 7m.

Netflix's The Crown supposedly spent spent £750,000 in just one day. (Almost half of some film Budgets.)

 Andy Harries says he is creating a "viewing experience that is somewhere beyond top-end television and much nearer to big-budget feature films".

2) Looking at these statistics, what impact has new/digital media had on institutions in your chosen industry?

NDM has meant that there is a lot more funding for content, especially on netflix. And they can continue to do such funding because there is a demand. However with regards to documentary the docudrama series format is preferred again contributing to the decline in documentary.

3) What has the impact been for audiences? These may be positive and negative.
Audience may be getting the content they want, but whether it is completely accurate and in their best interests is arguable, they influent the progression and creation of the content, it is not longer just about what the institutions want to make,


Theories

1) What media theories can you apply to your chosen industry and case study? Select THREE media theories and explain how they are relevant to your case study. Note: these can be ANY of the theories we have learned over the whole of Year 12 and 13.

Pluralism + Marxism - Fight between who is in power and whether audiences are passive or active. Theres an argument for both sides with relevant evidence. Online streaming and the docudrama sub genre are relatively new in a sense so an established outlook cannot be confirmed.

Todorovs theory of equilibrium - the disequilibrium is manipulated across all content to entice the audience, but the manipulation can easily mean narratives change.

Issues/debates


1) What media issues and debates can you apply to your chosen industry and case study? Select THREE media issues/debates and explain how they are relevant to your case study.

Representations - Advances in NDM and the influence of social media means that there is more representation of POC in particular however due to the different way netflix is regulated it may not always be positive.

Based on an event and then the way the media responds to the event
• a violent act; a natural tragedy; a celebrity death; a scandal; a political event, a sports event etc. 
Docudramas may be created so quickly after an event that not a lot of thought goes into the effect it will have on the victims, they would much rather find something that trends than to do something accurately and sensitively.

Reality TV - Documentary - Using Real footage of real people - Enigma Narrative

– using real footage of realpeople (not actors)

Wider examples and secondary texts

1) What other texts or institutions are also relevant to your case study? What would be good secondary texts or examples to use to support the findings of your independent case study?

The Thin Blue Line
Randall Dale Adams who was convicted and sentenced to death for murdering Texas Police Officer: Robert W. Wood. The film ‘is cited as being instrumental in his exoneration the following year.’This is similar to Making a Murderer and the pressure/influence the active audience had in ensuring that Dassey’s case was taken as seriously as it should have been. Despite the changes occurring with the Halbach case, it was not the same with the Woods case. In 1989, Adams was released but it was decided that there was to be no prosecution against the real murderer due to the length of time since the crime. Perhaps this was due to the lack of new/digital media, it wouldn’t have been easy to share your opinion and try to make a stand, the investigation into the original case may not have ever happened had it not been for social media. If this film/case had occurred 20+ years later there would be reason to believe that a retrial or even official investigation would have taken place. 

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19/04/17 - Here's how to protect your internet browsing data now that it's for sale

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/mar/30/privacy-protection-web-browsing-history-data-congress

'Congress voted this week to allow internet service providers to sell the browsing habits of their customers to advertisers.' Reducing the amount of privacy online consumers have. Rules are continually changing which may easily be confusing people. Some don't want to share details but they may be a lot harder to find. And consumers are often charged to opt out.

I think that even though we lose some of our privacy by being online consumers, it shouldn't be exploited for profit. and it shouldn't be difficult to find out whether our data is being sold on. Its creating a new market, a very annoying market that doesn't need to be made. Making it difficult mainly exploits the most vulnerable.

19/04/17 - Facebook killing video puts moderation policies under the microscope, again

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/apr/17/facebook-live-murder-crime-policy

FACEBOOKS COMMENT:

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Olivia Solon in San Francisco

Monday 17 April 2017 23.08 BSTFirst published on Monday 17 April 2017 21.39 BST

“This is a horrific crime and we do not allow this kind of content on Facebook.”

The killing of Robert Godwin, a 74 year one grandfather living in Cleveland was filmed by the suspected attacker Steve Stephens and uploaded to Facebook. it wasn't taken down for two hours, but by then it had been copied, saved and reposted. It raises questions about how Facebook is able to regulate content. This hasn't been the first time, only last month the rape of a 15 year old girl in Chicago was streamed. Last year facebook was used by Korean Gaines to broadcast a standoff with police in Baltimore. There have also been videos of torture, police chases, abuse and murder.

'Social media removes the gatekeepers between performance and distribution,” said Raymond Surette' I think that Facebook needs to begin to take regulation their site more seriously. It isn't easy to find a livestream that contains criminal content and stop it then and their but within two hours, something that would have been most likely been reported a number of times should have been removed. The lack of control and editing means that people can actually share their beliefs regardless of whether their offensive or not;

12/04/17 - Media hype about the Westminster attack will only encourage others

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/24/coverage-westminster-attack-media-politicians

When the 'Westminster attack' took place there was instant speculation, by both the media and the political community. Accusations started publicly flying surrounding ISIS and it being a decoy attack. The even was incredibly sensationalised. to evoke more emotion, particularly fear. The speculation was powered by terms such as 'in total lock down'. The article suggests that we shouldn't present London 'as a horror movie set' and to stop pretending. 'To over-publicise and exaggerate such crimes is to be an accomplice after the act. London’s response to the Westminster attack is an open invitation to every crazed malcontent to try it again.'

O Channel 5 wrongly named the perpetrator.

I do agree that media is over sensationalising things. The terror attack, though being incredibly terrible, was made to seem like something on a larger scale. The focus on the terrorist, or even the lack of the use of the term until he was able to be suggested to be committing the act in the name of islam, (because the media has already lost the original meaning of the word terrorist.) in a sense put him on a pedestal, and will definitely encourage others to do the same, not just because they may have been encouraged to by terrorists but because they know that even though they may die, their face, name and story will be shown globally. They, for a lack of a better word, become celebrities.

Westminster attack medics: 'It was a day London has trained for'

 

Read mo

12/04/17 - Apple launches Clips as it bids for a slice of the Snapchat action

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/apr/07/apple-launches-clips-as-it-bids-for-a-slice-of-the-snapchat-action

Apple have created a new app Clips, which mirrors snapchat, like many other companies are doing. Apple acknowledged that social media isn't one of their strengths, so didn't include it in the app. This too is linking on to the trend to copy snapchat but adding their own twist to at least attempt to seem like they are being original.

O The app requires no login, it also has no messaging service.

I think that this article highlights how apps influence each other and also how there are some companies who don't want to seem as if they are copying the other. It also highlights the competition between apps and new media, they are constantly trying to one up each other by using innovative features and adapting them to suit their own content.

05/04/17 - Why one newspaper's reporting could change the face of digital media

http://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2017/04/03/why-one-newspapers-reporting-could-change-the-face-digital-media

The article highlights how 'proper investigative' journalism has become a rarity. The Times, owned by Murdoch, has published a series of articles regarding the 'largely automated processes of ad buying and placement in the digital space' which has resulted in a lot of inappropriate content being shown. This issues has spread across the globe. and in particular on YouTube, this revelation has resulted in 250 companies pulling advertisements from the site.


o Guardian's Expose of Phone Hacking
O The Telegraphs Campaign on MPs' expenses
O 250 companies have now pulled their advertising for YouTube and Google’s display ad networks.
O about 40% of digital programmatic advertising investment reaches the consumer, with value being eroded by the multiple links between advertisers and publishers, fraud, lack of viewability and non-human traffic.

I think that this shows many things. How important advertisements are, How we shouldn't be relying on algorithms, how bigger companies are not easily affected by scandals and how newspapers and journalism is still important even in the decline. Our reliance on algorithms lets people exploit them, advertisements are still influential and Google is still estimated to make over 1bn from ad revenue despite the 750k loss. We wouldn't even notice the extent of the advertisement issue had we not had journalists reporting and investigating it.

05/04/17 - Broadchurch S3 EP 7

The seventh epsiode of Broadchurch highlighted issues faced by local newspapers. The main journalist was at odds with the regional manager whom seemingly didn't take the paper as seriously as it should be. It was also suggested that funding from local newspapers is being reduced in favour of national and regional papers.

o The Mail reported a 19% fall in print ad revenue

o The Telegraph still makes between £45 - £60m a year.

Segments of the third series of Broadchurch really highlight the struggle for local journalists. From the lack of funding, to being encouraged to use low-brow news stories right next to high-brow. Rather than having local journalists covering news stories on site, institutions rely on UGC for the exact same information. It was also insinuated that the people working on the regional papers are 'heartless'. The local journalist continually refused to share the events of Mark Latimers attempted suicide and the only way she could completely refuse and not have anything to do with it was to quit. She then jokingly suggested that she should start reporting on a YouTube channel instead, also highlighting the way the platform can be used.