NDM Index

1) Institution: the impact of Google on the newspaper industry
2) Ofcom report: how news consumption has changed
3) The future of newspapers: Build The Wall analysis
4) The decline of newspapers: the effect of online technology
5) The future of journalism: John Oliver and Clay Shirky
6) The decline of newspapers: Media Magazine case studies
7) Citizen journalism and hyper-reality: Media Magazine article and questions
8) News Values: theory and updating them for digital media landcape
9) Marxism & Pluralism: Media Magazine article and questions
10) Alain de Botton on the News: lecture and questions

Marxism & Pluralism: Alain de Botton on the new

1) To what extent do you agree with Alain de Botton's views on the News?

I strongly agree on Alain's view of the news. The fact that the two possibilities of keeping control of the population is very fascinating. People aren't being informed of how the content has developed and established itself over the years which means we would neglect its legacy and take it for granted. The news give the audience so much news that they will forget about it. This is something that still is in use today, as there will be so many news headlines the audience member will find it hard to keep track of what they just read a few hours later.

2) How can you link Marxism and Hegemony to de Botton's criticisms of the News?

Most news corporations are very much trying to control and influence the consumers by the content they give out. This links in with the Hegemony theory as the news tires to inflict its power amongst those below it, be it the lower class etc. Alain says particularly in economic news, people aren't listening to more ideas and opinions through news because news institutions like BBC want to have balance and sugarcoat some panics in society. This is because of people in power controlling what should be news (ruling classes) so preferred readings can be met.

3) How could you use Pluralism and new technology to challenge de Botton's views on the News?

We could argue that new technology has lead to audiences having more control on what news they want to view. Alain de Botton believes that news is constantly publishing/presenting news of any scale which audiences aren't too worried about. However, there wasn't a lot of reflection on the other side of the argument. That digital media has allowed audience members to challenge those views.Things like blogs and comment sections allow the audience to give their opinion on a news story and if a particular issue is found, it can quickly raise awareness than it previously wouldn't have had.

4) Choose two news stories from the last six months - one that supports de Botton's views and one that challenges his belief that the News is used for social control.

News story: US election
This is a story that again that made the consumers sick and tired if learning more about it. News coverage of the candidates for the election was non-stop for the last 6 months leading up to election day. so much coverage, although it got people knowing about the event, it made people (including US citizens) uninterested in learning more about the election as they had been fed too much of it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/us2016

News story: De-railed train
This news story of a train that de-railed in England was a story that was quite significant locally, but was a story that the majority of society had forgotten. Stories such as Andy Murray's number 1 ranking was one of many stores that week that overflowed this stories significance. Even as a consumer myself, I had completely forgotten that this story even existed as there was so much news being pumped out that it was hard to remember what had even happened yesterday. So much news is being reported, that there will only be 30% that we will remember the next day and will probably forget the next week entirely.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-165524/London-train-carriage-derailed.html

Index

#1 NDM one: NHS legalise cannabis
#2 NDM two: NDM Drug Enforcement Administration 
#3 NDM three: NDM- What is Malia Obama smoking?
#4 NDM four: NDM: Teenagers need to be better educated on sexting
#5 DNM five: NDM: Slug spotted with cigarette in east London #5
#6 NDM six: NDM: Fake news clampdown: Google gives €150,000 to fact-checking project #6
#7 NDM seven: NDM: Snapchat TV #7
#8 NDM eight: NDM story: 14/10/16- Netflix and corporation tax #8
#9 NDM nine: 
#10 NDM ten: 

Marxism, Pluralism and Hegemony

NDM: Marxism, Pluralism and Hegemony

Research the Ian Tomlinson case. What would the traditional, hegemonic view of the police be in a case like this? How did new and digital media create a different story? What does the police officer's subsequent acquittal suggest about the power of new and digital media?

The family of Ian Tomlinson, who died after being pushed to the ground by PC Simon Harwood during the G20 protests in 2009, has received an unreserved apology and out-of-court settlement from the Metropolitan Police. Mr Harwood was found not guilty of manslaughter last year.

Here are details of Mr Tomlinson's death and the subsequent events that led up to his inquest and the court case.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10728685

People have started to video tape the encounters that they have with police officers, and while this is not particularly a bad thing, it is being used in a bad way. The videos that we see on the media are strictly the videos that people are treated negatively by police officers. Most People believe that the police is 'good' and unlaw-breakers who enforce the law and it is seen as 'common sense'. People would deem the death to have been a 'natural' event, as the police stated that 'they believed him to be part of the protest', which in turn makes the viewer believe them without challenging the opposition. The Hegemonic view of this (without the cell phone footage) would be that it was absurd to blame the police for committing such a crime. During that time, there hasn't been any major police brutalities being seen in England ever, and therefore to here of it during then would have been absurd. 

In your opinion, does new and digital media reinforce dominant hegemonic views or give the audience a platform to challenge them?

I believe there is some form of hegemony seen across news papers, but it isn't as used, or seen often than it previously was. This was because before the digital age where consumers could have the voice and ability to challenge stories, they were passive readers. The news was something far more than information, it was a way of life. It was the only way to know what was actually happening on the other side of the world, and since there was no media platform to challenge this, readers grew passive and believed (consumed) every peace of news given to them. This had lead to news  organisations obviously noticing such patterns in their consumers and would therefore use this to their advantage. Since their content has essentially paved a way for news organisations and the media to spread their views and ideologies for the people lower down to consume and believe it. Consumers had fallen blind in to believing that any news stories presented to them is for their best interest and nothing else. However, since the birth of the digital age and that the internet has allowed more accessibility for audience members across the world to challenge these views, hegemony through-out the media has come to a stand still, if not, then to a decline. This is largely because the ability to control the audiences minds and give them what they need rather than what they want has been broken due to the internet breaking down this wall.

Do recent world events such as Brexit or Donald Trump's election in the US suggest dominant hegemonic ideologies are being challenged or reinforced? There are arguments for both sides here - explain your opinion and why.

I also believe that the media will find any possible event or news story to attempt to use hegemonic ideologies in their piece. This is because it is something that the whole world 'cares' about and that they will consume every piece of news to benefit their interest. Since demand for news stories such as the ones above were so big across the world, this gave the media the ability to try regain their power and influence amongst its audience. News stories by The Sun did this to a large extent where they shared their views on the US election showing who they believe to be better and focusing their entire article slamming the other candidate. Why?. Because they know how passive their audience members will be, and internet is of no power when it comes to stories such as this. Broadcast and newspapers are the ones that gain the most power during events like these.

NDM: News Values

Galtung and Ruge (1981) defined a set of news values to explain how journalists and editors decided that certain stories and photographs were accepted as newsworthy, while others were not. 

Come up with a news story from the last 12 months for each of the categories suggested by Harriss, Leiter and Johnson:

• Conflict- Former Irish altar boy joined ISIS as suicide bomber but only killed himself in botched attack. This links well with conflict as its about war. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/former-irish-altar-boy-joined-9211994
• Progress- Andy Murray: World number one 'may be his greatest achievement'. This is an example of progress as it links to achievement or triumph as Andy Murray finally achieves what he wanted after the long wait hard work and struggles. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/37886422
• Disaster- Nearly 900 people are known to have been killed by Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, with aid officials saying up to 90% of some areas have been destroyed. This is an example of disaster news as it links to Defeat or destruction. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-37596222
• Consequence- Thousands enjoy Littleborough bonfire and firework display. This is a example of community news as bonfire night is and event that is shared by the community. https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/138/community-news/106070/thousands-enjoy-littleborough-bonfire-and-firework-display
• Prominence- Beyoncé Used A Famous Hillary Clinton Quote To Make A Big Feminist Statement. Beyoncé and Jay Z performed at Hillary Clinton’s big get-out-the-vote rally in Cleveland Friday night. But it was a few words that flashed on the screen during Beyoncé’s performance that made the most interesting statement of the night. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/beyonce-clinton-feminism_us_581d5b3ae4b0d9ce6fbc4b2f
• Novelty- Slug spotted with cigarette in east London- This is an example of unusual or weird news. the fact that they spotted a slug out of all animals spotted with a cigarette. As funny as this sounds this was one of the top headlines on the telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/29/slug-spotted-with-cigarette-in-east-london/

What example news story does the Factsheet use to illustrate Galtung and Ruge's News Values? Why is it an appropriate example of a news story likely to gain prominent coverage?

Considering the majority of the new papers being from the UK, they tend to report news that is local, or in association with the country. The core story that the factsheet illustrates is the death of the British soldier against the conflict arisen in Afghanistan. Furthermore, it was the first death of a 'female' officer to have been killed and therefore, the news believed it to have been a more heartfelt and shocking story as this even doesn't occur often.   

What is gatekeeping? 

Gatekeeping is the process through which information is filtered from the internet and other forms of communication.

What are the six ways bias can be created in news?

Media uses/photos videos

Titles

Section/mediation

Placement of content

Headline (what run's the story/defines it)

Wording (that editors use instead of another)

How have online sources such as Twitter, bloggers or Wikileaks changed the way news is selected and published?

These media outlets allow the audience/people gain access and freedom over news they want to here from, that may have been mediated for censored prior. This is because news used to be the dominant factor over its audience, whatever they produces their audience consumed. However, the digital ages has allowed news that was censored to give that freedom t the audience who deem it important compared to mediated version. In other words, it gives the audience the true perspective of the story rather than being edited and been shown a specific angle.

Give an example of a news story from the last 12 months that was reported as a result of online technology - Twitter, Wikileaks or similar.

There was a video that was captured using Facebook's latest feature 'Facebook live' which allowed a black woman to record her husband being shot in a car by a police officer. She captured the entire scene and it was used as evidence in court. This was a coverage that wouldn't have been world news as it would have likely to have been sealed in American doors and the whole world would have forgotten about police brutality.

What does this reveal about how Sky views Twitter as a news source?

It shows how dominant the social media platforms are on the audience. If news were to ever break, we (the audience) view it on a social media site like Twitter as that is the most convenient and efficient way of receiving news than compared to Sky as they have to spend hours of filing and checking their facts before publishing their articles, and audience acknowledge that. 

What does it say about how news is being produced?

This effect in tern has changed the role of journalists. In the 21st century we (the audience) are now experiencing a range of citizen journalism being reported to news. Citizens who report the news are effectively replacing the journalists in the news industry as the news is being solved before someone has to go out and solve it themselves. 

What role does the audience have in this process?

The audience have gained a more significant role ever since the digital age rose. It has given the audience the most power, and the institutions have lower power. There is a power reversal where it is no longer the audience being passive and consuming the news, but institutions are the ones consuming the audiences news and reporting it.  

Why might this be a problem for journalistic standards?

Quality. It is said that citizen journalism brings with it a lot of pros to the industry and to news in  general. However, it seems to have brought along many cons, many of which is the loss of quality for news. Previously, news was very top quality report, file checks and numerous hours of source checking to ensure that all data is accurate for the audiences to consume. However this 'new' story telling has lost that quality, shaky footage and screaming really draws the attention away from news as it is not what news is.

Final tasks

In your opinion, how has new and digital media technology changed Galtung and Ruge’s news values?

The introduction of the digital age upon news industries is something that has effected the news values to a great extent. The way in which audiences receive these stories effects every one of the factors that contribute to news story-telling. Things like, immediacy has become irrelevant (to a somewhat large extent). This is because as soon as news is broken by a citizen, social media and the WWW all con tribute to help deliver this piece to as many audiences as possible and it generally comes across really fast. Audiences don't have to look for news, news will be given to them like that.

How would you update them for 2016? Choose SIX of Galtung and Ruge's news values and say how each one has been affected by the growth of new and digital technology.

Immediacy- The news no longer creates the sense of 'need' amongst audience member. The internet has taken that immediate need away, and whenever there is a news story to be consumed, it will find its way to the audience.

Unambiguity- nowadays citizen journalism has created the sense of 'the unknown'. We don't quite understand what's going on and why we are being shown this, it is a story that is kept (often) behind closed doors and creates a sense of anonymous.

Balance- Most often when a  news story is to be told, their is a twist and a turn to which and how the story is told. It isn't the original core story and therefore has been mediated to a large extent. Now, thanks to the internet, we have the audiences to argue this change. They may know the bitter truth that audiences are hiding through their titles, their wording or even their views. The digital era has opened to doors for the audiences to fight back and they are no longer passive. 

Citizen journalism and hyper-reality

Examples

The natural disaster of the Asian Tsunami on December 26th 2004 is another example. Much of the early footage of events was provided from citizen journalists/

Citizen journalists use devices e.g phones to record live events and use the internet to post the content. Leading to certain videos becoming viral which can then be used for evidence depending on the scenario of the story

Rodney King. Brutally beaten by four Los Angeles police officers. Rodney King, an African American, who was in a high speed chase was tasered and then beaten with clubs. It was recorded by a onlooker from his apartment window and made prime time news and became and international media sensation. Racism was obviously being portrayed here by the officers and they were all charged. 

The news had dominated its stories at the time, it would create news and deliver it to a passive audience to consume and believe. Now, due to the rise of technology, audience members are no longer passive to news, but creating their own form of content. Audience have become the users, and the users have become the publishers. We are now in the era where UGC has now eroded the dominance of institution over audience members.

Receptive audience= an audience member that receives and consumes the news without having their own opinion and believing what is being shown to them

UGC= content created by audience members and spread around to the public, becoming creators of news content.
Power reversal= institutions have now lost some of the power to dominate the audience, as audience members can now voice their opinion using technological advances.

What is meant by the term ‘citizen journalist’?

Citizen journalist is someone who is not doing journalism as a career, and rather captures news/evidence in public and submits it for the whole world to see. The difference is, is that it is the public who do citizen journalism as anyone present at an event can capture moments and key details that can draw up concern for the government such as racism caught on streets etc.

What was one of the first examples of news being generated by ‘ordinary people’?

One of the first examples of news being generated by 'ordinary people' is the case of Rodney King, who was a victim of police brutality. The event was filmed by an onlooker from their apartment window and made it to prime-time news, and led to the charges of four police officers.

List some of the formats for participation that are now offered by news organisations.
One of most news organisations now include formats for participation such as message boards, chat rooms, Q&A, polls, have your says, and blogs with comments enabled. Social media sites are also built around UGC.

What is a gatekeeper?

A gatekeeper is someone who is in an organisation (preferably a news co-operation) who decides whether or not to publish a form of news that they have seen as well as preventing certain things to be broadcasted. They essentially prevent certain news, regardless of their content, to be viewed by audiences as they have other news that they deem to be more important. 

How has the role of a gatekeeper changed?

Independent media on the web is the way to go around gate keepers. This is a system where UGC can be submitted and it can reach a niche audience, and often people who before thought they didn't have a voice, to now feel as if they do. 

What is one of the primary concerns held by journalists over the rise of UGC?

One of the primary concerns that journalists have over the rise in UGC content is that news corporations may decide to rely on citizen journalists to do the stories for them, as they don't have to pay them for their work, and it will cut down their costs. Journalists are afraid that their jobs may no longer exist as there are people doing their jobs for them.  

Offer your own opinion (critical autonomy) on the following:

What impact is new/digital media having on:

news stories

A wider variety of news is available than ever before. People are not restricted to a few pages of content, like traditional news papers did. They can see a whole range of stories and ones that are of best interest to the reader.

the news agenda (the choice of stories that make up the news)

It is having a major impact on the news agenda. This is because online sites such as Twitter and Facebook may own a 'hot' news story that one of their users have broken out. This will become the 'hot' topic of the week, and it will influence news companies to get hold of that information and attempt to do their own news coverage in order to gain more readers.

the role of professionals in news

NDM is having more of a negative impact on professionals. This is because the internet allows their content to be published and shared around for free, and they are not getting paid for the work they done. This will appose a threat to this job position as the company wants to survive and to do so, they must cut down their costs such as employees.

Hyper-reality and the digital renaissance:

The article was written in 2009. Offer three examples of more recent social networking sites or uses of technology that support the idea of a 'digital renaissance'.

• Snapchat
• Instagram
• Twitter

This is because, on these sites, users can create there own perception on how they want to be viewed online. These three examples support the idea of the digital renaissance as users have the ability to communicate and interact with people of different cultures and they also develop their perception of cultures and society in the developed world. 

How do live streaming services such as Periscope or Facebook Live fit into the idea of a 'digital renaissance'? Are these a force for good or simply a further blurring of reality?

This means that what people see, is the reality of what is actually happening and there is very little, if any' editing actually being presented. This is more of reality than anything else. This is because the apps and services mentioned all have a key feature; being live. This is the difference that videos and these services have different. Services such as FB Live are showing the reality whereas videos have been edited and are not showing the reality of it.

How can we link the 'digital renaissance' to our case study on news? Is citizen journalism a further example of hyper-reality or is it actually making news more accurate and closer to real life?

Yes, to an extent the footage captured can be showing one side of the argument, however it is content which the viewer can relate to. Citizen journalism if anything, is making us a viewers/audience becoming closer to real life than ever before. It expresses the emotions which current news doesn't have, which is why news needs to be changed. It needs to feel more like 'news'. News is information that is informing the viewer on events and real life issues, however they need to express emotions and power, which is why news isn't as effective as it doesn't succeed in that prospect. Citizen journalism can really change the way news comes across the the audience/viewer. 

The Decline in newspaper: MM and case study

MM 57 Case Study

1) What was the New Day trying to achieve?

 The new day newspaper was designed to help the decline of traditional media print and target a new audience which is more traditional by appealing to them. It was a modern day newspaper but wasn't there to replace the traditional print media that we have.The New Day aimed to reach a different audience, they didn't want to take readers from other news businesses, but to establish a new audience; a new market. They wanted to create a newspaper that would tap in to peoples modern lifestyles, which was something that other newspapers were't doing. They have stated that the decline of readers over the last two years can begin to slow down, as the 'right' product will be given to them. The New Day will use no political line which the other newspapers are very much known for. As well as, giving news on any given day.

2) List the key statistics on the first page: how many people buy newspapers in the UK? How has this declined in the last year?

Roughly about 6 million people buy the newspaper a day and there's been a decline in the amount of people that buy the newspaper over the last two years by over a million.

3) What audience were the New Day trying to attract?

They were trying to attract an equal split of males and females around the ages of 35-55 who are now accustomed to a new modern lifestyle rather than and older traditional one however the majority of the stories they published carried connotations and tones of a much different audience. It didn't keep the promise of a male and female split, rather having stories for one particular gender compared to the other. 

5) Why do you think the New Day failed so spectacularly? There are several possible reasons listed in the article but do develop your own opinion here as well.

One of the reasons that is suggested in the article is the price increase from 25p to 50p and i think this was the main reason that they failed. People who are modern and want to live that lifestyle are already keeping up with the latest technology and with everything becoming free the need for paying for something they can already get is a waste of money. I also think that people would want more content in a shorter space of time and with everything being accessible online it is easier to do this from their phone. The planned to target ages 35-55, however the stories they were printing were more to do with youth culture or young mom's, making its demographic fall out of place. Finally, the stores seemed to attract more of a female audience as there was no mention of sports or any male content that fitted their target of having an equal gender audience base,

The Guardian

1) List the key statistics on page 10: How many unique digital browsers used the Guardian website in June 2016? What are The Guardian's latest print sales figures? How does this compare to the Telegraph? In terms of finances, how much did the Guardian lose in 2015? 

• The Guardian online is the third most read paper on the internet, with over 120 million monthly unique browsers
• In 2015 the Guardian lost £70 million this led to cutbacks of 20% 
• Sales of newspapers have been in steady decline since the explosive growth of the internet in the 1990s
• print circulation of the Guardian was only 161,000.

2) What has been The Guardian's strategy for reversing this decline?

They are relying on people to invest into their business and there were no cutbacks in USA and Australia which kept them going.The Guardian didn't apply the cut backs for Australia and the USA because it had a 'backbone' of the ability for the Guardian to bid news for a global audience.

3) What global event did The Guardian's digital coverage win awards for?

It received awards for the attacks that took place in Paris because it was a way for people to keep updated which helped them survive and allowed them to go towards safety as there was regular updates to help them. People who were caught up in the middle of the attacks, used the Guardian's online site as a way of safety and followed the updates put on their site. 

4) In your opinion, will the global website strategy be enough to save The Guardian?

I believe so. This is because since the Paris attacks it has delivered a powerful message to consumers of the significance for news. People were using a platform that they never quote actually use on a daily basis, and after the attacks, they see truly how powerful and important the newspaper industry is. Therefore, people would have built some loyalty towards The Guardian due to all it has done tin terms of providing intel on the Paris attacks.

The future of journalism: John Oliver and Clay Shirky

                            Newspaper's are a public good

1) Why does Clay Shirky argue that 'accountability journalism' is so important and what example does he give of this?

He says that 'accountability journalism' is important because it allows big stories to get published and the example he gives is of the Catholic Church scandals which caused a lot of attention but was only published because of journalism which highlights the importance of it. Shirky believes that without quality journalism, such cases like the one previously mentioned would not come to light and the people will be under the power/control of a corrupt person. 

2) What does Shirky say about the relationship between newspapers and advertisers? Which websites does he mention as having replaced major revenue-generators for newspapers (e.g. jobs, personal ads etc.)?

Advertising is a big part of the revenue that newspapers receive which helps them to carry on producing the newspapers and paying the journalists. However, Ford went to The New York Times to remove the adverts from there; with advertising costing more for bigger newspaper institutions it is easier to go to a smaller one and publish advertisements there. He also stated that monopolies were the ones who were trying to change the R&D departments.

3) Shirky talks about the 'unbundling of content'. This means people are reading newspapers in a different way. How does he suggest audiences are consuming news stories in the digital age?

Shirkly talks about how there is more demand than supply in terms of people getting their news. He says that in the future it will become digital because people are so use to the way that the news is just handed to them for free that now it seems weird to pay for something which is suppose to be a public good. Then sees that public's goods rather than commercial ones and it is because of such a saturated market, revenue streams for online advertising is plummeting. He believes that in the future there will never be a digital dime (news for free). 

4) Shirky also talks about the power of shareable media. How does he suggest the child abuse scandal with the Catholic Church may have been different if the internet had been widespread in 1992?

The paper (back then) didn't just attract people. The majority of the audience for Boston Globe were Catholics, and by reader a story that is to do with their religion is something that they will spread across the community. So much so, that the audience numbers were like a chain reaction, spreading and spreading on a global scale. In my opinion I think with this being the case people wouldn't have forgotten about the story due to it being there on the internet for anyone to see whenever they wanted.

5) Why does Shirky argue against paywalls?

He believes that you shouldn't take news away from people, something which is a public good shouldn't be used to generate money and become a commercial good. He states that paywalls are seen as a violation of the contract, and that it won't bring them any value by charging a price for it. The whole point to change for such products is to take an infinite good and turn it into a finite good. 

6) What is a 'social good'? In what way is journalism a 'social good'?

A social good is where people can come together and share it and this links to journalism as it is now accessible online which makes it easier for people to come together and share the story. This makes it a social good as its for everyone to share and see rather than only certain individuals. Shirky states that we need people to come from outside the market and outside managerial culture which can help them provision them self enormous amounts of public goods. 

7) Shirky says newspapers are in terminal decline. How does he suggest we can replace the important role in society newspapers play? What is the short-term danger to this solution that he describes?

Shirky states that news papers are something that is "irreplaceable", as it is the one source where accountable journalism can take place properly. Newspapers are declining rapidly and even though this is the case they are not replaceable as the news which is received is published by journalists so the news is regulated whereas news online is just given out without being regulated but it is down to the consumers to keep alive the newspaper industry.

8) Look at the first question and answer regarding institutional power. Give us your own opinion: how important is it that major media brands such as the New York Times or the Guardian continue to stay in business and provide news?

I think media brands such as The New York Times and The Guardian are a big part in society and they give us news on stories such as the wider issues in the country and world which citizen journalism cannot give us insight to such as Brexit. A story which was generating a wide target audience from all ages and ethnicity cannot be presented online by people on social media or false news stories which shape peoples ideology in a negative way by providing false information. With this being the case we need newspapers to give us the correct information as it is regulated and you'll receive a more accurate view. If someone is against David Cameron, they will look up a newspaper that is very right wing, as it provides audience pleasures. It is this form of interactivity that big named news corporations have developed and therefore gained a big reader base. Due to this loyalty and audience pleasures they provide, people will stay loyal and continue to support the paper as they receive pleasure and entertainment from their content.

The effects of online technology

Newspaper versus online technology

1) Agree.disagree with Rupert Murdoch's decision?:

In my opinion i think that the BBC shouldn't provide free news because this would caused journalists to lose their jobs and as a result it would be people in society recording the news. The quality of news would then be more likely to decrease and so would the accuracy of the news. I think there should be a paywall so there isn't a problem with people getting the correct news from journalists as the news is regulated.I don't agree with Murdoch's decision because, BBC have had a public remit of being loyal and basing their content for the viewers best interest. I do see it from Murdoch's perspective, that news corporations that started this entire empire of allowing society knowing things about the other side of the world, is something that should be available as it has helped many people and saved millions of lives. Without news corporations, corrupt people and crisis in other countries would be kept national and no-one would know.

2) The Times Paywall article:

In my opinion i think that Rupert Murdoch was right to introduce a paywall and stop the news that publishes from being free so that journalists can keep their jobs. I think that they have a big role to play in society because the news reported are regulated which makes the news more accurate than someones recording whatever they want and saying their opinion. Without journalists we wouldn't have been able to access to some of the news stories one of the big ones being Brexit which was reported by journalists. They are the ones who go out to challenge people's ideologies and find the hidden truth behind iconic people. For example, a group on journalists went under-cover and found evidence against the Sam Allardyce corruption values and how he planned to rig the Fifa system. If it wasn't for people paying for news, this news wouldn't have broke and peoples 'iconic champion' would be a corrupt man who would be doing illegal activities without anybody knowing.

3) Two comments analysis:

• "It is so ridiculous if these mainstream newspapers believe that they can "force readership of fee-based news. One can get the same "news" for free almost anywhere on the internet. I'd take a hint from the alternative free weeklies that survive just off their local advertising. I don't think anyone would read them otherwise. These papers are full of paid advertising. The fee model will never work"             -Jerry Harris

I don't agree with this because I think that news can be obtained from easier sources for free but the quality of the news may not be the same which we receive from journalists and the accuracy may not be as high either which means the audience receives news which isn't accurate or of low quality. 

• "The company now has lifetime value and renewable revenue attached to its 
  digital customers where previously it had none' – could this BTW is an analogy for the Labour Party, re shifting from the block vote to individual membership?"

I do agree with this because there are different target audiences and those who are younger are more likely to get their news from an online source whereas those who are older are more likely to get it from a print format.  

4) Why has the "Evening Standard" had such an increase in revenue during the past 2 years?:

The evening standard has bucked the trend because people are now more likely to go on the internet to obtain their news from online newspapers. The evening standard however, has customers who are loyal to the newspaper and would pay to carry on receiving news from the evening standard as it as seen as a reliable and accurate source. This is different to other newspapers as they've moved online and rather than people paying they get news for free from the newspapers online or other online sources. Evening Standard may share ideologies and values that their readers have, and that is something readers can't find in other newspapers. Therefore, for charging for their paper, there audience will not hesitate to pay for the paper.

5) Is there any hope for the newspaper industry or will it eventually die out? Provide a detailed response to this question explaining and justifying your opinion.

In my opinion I think the newspaper industry will die out and become something which is seen to be vintage like vinyl records because people are not willing to pay for the quality which it possess and this is due to the younger generation becoming more reliant on the internet for information as it's cheap and easy to obtain. However, if there is a paywall introduced or another method it would help save the newspaper industry as people are paying which will help keep the industry alive. People are getting rid of journalists because they can't afford to have them anymore which is why there needs to be a method to help the industry or it will decline.