Definitions

• Fake news – deliberately false and often sensational news created to influence
political views or to be a joke.
• It can also be clickbait, controversial titles designed to get people to access
websites in order for them to make profit.
• Post-truth - objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than
appeals to emotion and personal belief (this is why controversial headlines are
used) . We are currently living in a post-truth era where words are used not to
inform but to engage.
• Populism - the quality of appealing to or being aimed at ordinary people to gain
support and power .
There are even websites where you can create your own ‘fake news’,
here is one made on the website
http://www.classtools.net/breakingnews/ .
Women and Sensational News
• Some news isn’t fake but is simply sensational, The Daily Mail is a
huge culprit of oversexualising women in order to make cheap stories.
• As seen on the next page, the headlines are ridiculous, using perverse
or suggestive words to describe women who are simply living their
lives.
• The articles are un-informative and do not release any information,
many see them as clickbait as they are using women's bodies to get
people to view their articles and website.
Personal News Stories
• Our choice of newsfeed is wide, appealing to different people’s
cultures, interests and needs.
• I use Buzzfeed News as my source of information, they manage to
publish both serious news stories and light-hearted funny articles.
• Their twitter page is constantly updated with serious breaking news,
often being one of the first media outlets to post. On the other hand,
their website and app have funny and happy content that you can
read with ease.
Cultivation Theory
 George Gerbner– Cultivation Theory
The cultivation theory was proposed by George Gerbner. It is one of the Various studies have supported the claim that those who
core theories of media effects. According to the theory, people who watch television more frequently, often display higher
watch television frequently are more likely to be influenced by the
messages from the world of television. The influence goes to such an tendencies of being depressed and lonely, sense of alienation,
extent that their world view and perceptions start reflecting what they have feelings of mistrust and think that the world is a malicious
repeatedly see and hear on television. place.
The theory postulates that watching television frequently influences an
individual to develop certain ideas of reality or beliefs and assumptions The cultivation theory has been widely used in the study of
about life that mirror the most consistent or universal values that are violence in television. The theory has been used to explain how
showcased on television. The more a person watches television, the
more likely he is to be influenced by what he watches when compared to children who watch violent cartoons become violent
others who watch less but share other similar demographic themselves. Repeated exposure to violence on television
characteristics. reinforces existing beliefs that the world is a dangerous and
The theory argues that the media generally presents an image of the unsafe place. Exposure to television further strengthens the
world that does not reflect reality. Television images are an exaggeration position that acts of violence are a natural response to
or fantasy of what actually exists. Over a period of time, a fixed image of situations of conflict. Over the years, research in the field has
various groups of people is formed and viewers start to absorb these diversified and today, cultivation theory is applied to studies on
ideas which they then use as a map to navigate through life. These newly
preconceived notions shape their perception of the world and they health, religion, sex roles, political orientations, etc.
ultimately influence how others perceive them.
Cultivation theory research views television as a system of messages and
tries to understand its function and consequences on an audience. These
messages complement one another and are organic and coherent in
nature. Cultivation analysis focuses on the impact of long term
cumulative exposure to television.
Cultivation Theory – Main Arguments
2 Order Effects
• First Order Effects: general beliefs and the world day
• Second Order Effects: specific attitudes and judgements
• This divides views into 2 levels: light viewers, heavy viewers

Heavy Viewers’ Demographics:

• Young People
• Low socio-economic groups
• Those watching TV more than 4 hours a day
• Being Effect by Mean World Syndrome
(they see the world as nastier and more violent than it is)
• Less selective in what they view
• People that consume lots of media, expect to be involved in
violence
• More fearful about life (e.g. worried about walking alone at night,
overestimating the size of law enforcement, distrustful of people)
• BUT they’re unaware of any influence from TV exposure on their
attitudes
UK Press Regulation
News of the World Phone Hacking Scandal
The story goes back to 2006-07 when Clive Goodman, the then News of the
World royal editor, and Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator were
convicted of intercepting voicemail messages left for royal aides and
subsequently jailed.
Their newspaper said they had acted alone - but the then editor Andy
Coulson quit, saying he took responsibility for what happened.
Two years later, the Guardian newspaper reported that News International
had made confidential settlements totalling £1m to three people who said
their phones had been hacked. By September 2010 a string of well-known
people began legal moves to have their claims looked at again amid
mounting suspicions that phone hacking had been more widely used.
The turning point came in January 2011 when the Metropolitan Police
launched Operation Weeting, a fresh phone hacking investigation which
included looking at the original 2006 case. The investigation slowly widened
to include allegations of improper payments to public officials and separate
claims of computer hacking.
The critical political moment in the affair came when the Guardian
newspaper reported that the newspaper had hacked the mobile phone
belonging to murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.
PCC Press Complaint Commission
 The Leveson Inquiry
The Prime Minister announced a two-
part inquiry investigating the role of the
press and police in the phone-hacking
scandal, on 13 July 2011. Lord Justice
Leveson was appointed as Chairman of
the Inquiry.
The Leveson Inquiry is a judicial public
inquiry into the culture, practices and
ethics of the British press following the
News International phone hacking
scandal. A series of public hearings
were held throughout 2011 and 2012.
Independent Press Standards Organisation IPSO
Impress
• IMPRESS is a regulator designed for the future of media, building on
the core principles of the past, protecting journalism, while
innovating to deal with the challenges of the digital age.
• They provide journalists and publishers with the protection and the
support they need to do their job, hold the powerful to account, and
speak with confidence and security.
• They provide the public with the reassurance that they can rely on
the news sources that inform them, entertain them and represent
their interests.
What is meant by a free press?
The UK’s newspapers, magazine, television and radio stations be able to express
any opinion they wish, whether it criticises the government or other important
organisations without interference and restriction from the government.
Do we need to regulate it?