opening lesson investigating the bbc
TRANSCRIPT
Investigating the BBC
GCSE Media StudiesB322 Section B
Institutions and Audiences
Starter Activity: What do you know about Institutions and Audiences?
1) List five media sectors and one leading profit-making company for each
2) Name two Hollywood film companies3) Name two independent film companies4) What is OFCOM?5) What is MP4?6) How do websites that offer content for free make
money?7) Who decides on age classifications for films?8) Who are BARB and what do they do?
Media Institutions• Simply, companies which provide media content;
this may be:– Audio-visual– Print-based– Internet based– Interactive (e.g. games)
• Definition: A media institution is an organisation that deals with the production, marketing, distribution and regulation of media products.
How many can you list?• Group them under the following headings:– TV– Music– Film– Videogames
What do these companies do?
• All are making money for providing a product or service
• All have customers / consumers whom they rely on for profits
Public vs Commercial• Some media institutions are publically owned,
whilst others are commercially owned.
• What are the differences between the BBC and Warner Bros? Jot down ideas in terms of:– What they can / should / must provide– Who their consumers are– Who they’re accountable to
How companies provide their “media content”
• In the “old days”, one company provided one type of media for one platform. A newspaper printed its stories on paper and sold them. A film company made a film and showed it in a cinema.
• Can you think of how that might be different today?
KEY TERM: Convergence• This is all about how things join together• In Media there are two types of convergence
CROSS-MEDIA CONVERGENCE
• This is when products are produced and distributed across two different platforms
TECHNOLOGICAL CONVERGENCE
• When different technologies come together on one device.
Media texts…
Note for staff and students
• The following slides are an example of how to gather information about a specific institution, in this case, the commercial channel ITV.
• This provides a template to allow students to investigate the BBC as institution in a similar way.
What does ‘ITV’ stand for?
Independent Television
What are ITV’s institutions?
• ITV is the institution.• It has multiple channels.
What does it do? What Media products does it produce and distribute?
• ITV provides entertainment for the public by airing TV shows, they produce and distribute TV shows such as Coronation Street, The X-Factor, Celebrity Juice, The Only Way Is Essex etc.
ITV’s history.• ITV was first formed in 1954 in the United Kingdom by “Independent
Television” It is a commercial network and today it is split between three owners. ITV PLC, STV Group, UTV Media.
• ITV’s first coloured programmes appeared in Scotland on 13th December 1969 in Central Scotland; in Wales on 6th April 1970 in South Wales; and in Northern Ireland on 14th September 1970 in the eastern parts.
• Some of the first ever shows shown in colour were Road Report, The Growing Summer and Thunderbirds the animated adventure. They would all start in the morning from 9:30 – 11:00am.
Who owns ITV?
• There was three different groups who formed ITV. ITV PLC, STV Group and UTV Media. But the main chairman for ITV PLC was Archie Norman.
How is ITV funded?
• ITV is a commercial institution they are funded by showing advertisement so they’re able to pay for the TV programmes they put on their channels..
ITV’s logos and channels
• ITV have 6 different logo’s...
How many channels does ITV have?What are they?
• ITV have 5 different channels.
• ITV1• ITV2• ITV3• ITV4• CITV
What kind of things can you see on each television channel?
• ITV1 usually produce programmes for all audiences, they show the X-Factor and This Morning.
• ITV2 usually produce programmes for adults and teenagers, they show The Only Way Is Essex and Celebrity Juice.
• ITV3 usually produce programmes for adults and teenagers, they show drama’s such as Murder She Wrote and thrillers.
• ITV4 usually produce programmes for all audiences and include sporty programmes such as The Tour Of Britain.
• CITV usually produce programmes such as Horrid Henry and is usually targeted for children.
What are their target audiences?
• ITV1 – All audiences • ITV2 – Adults and teenagers.• ITV3 – Adults and teenagers.• ITV4 – All audiences.• CITV- Children.
ITV – Further Research
• ITV is divided into 15 regional licences.
• ITV regional branding is long gone. ITV now uses generic branding across its regions. This reflects the loss of regional identity as ITV becomes consolidated and resources (studios and production facilities) are pooled or sold, eg Carlton Studios, Nottingham, has been sold to the University there.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgv3jYSpHbc
Key Points, Ethos, Mission Statement• ITV’s institutional ethos:
– Established in 1955 as an alternative to BBC1– It’s an independent broadcaster.– Was regarded as more ‘down-market’ than the BBC– ITV relies on advertising revenue, therefore large audiences yielded
by popular programming– ITV relies on popular genres such as Soaps and Reality TV to deliver
large audiences to advertisers
• Is ITV’s Public Service Commitment being eroded because of this? Less emphasis on news and current affairs; regional news, in its present format, is under threat due to economic pressures.
What does ‘BBC’ stand for?
What are BBC’s institutions?
• .
What does the BBC do? What Media products does it produce and distribute?
BBC’s brief history.
Who owns the BBC? Who regulates it?
How is the BBC funded?
BBC’s logos and TV channels
• ITV have 6 different logo’s...
How many TV channels does the BBC have?What are they?
What are the other BBC platforms?(look at radio channels and online)
What kind of things can you see on each television channel?
What are their target audiences?
The BBC’ Mission statement
• Website link:
• What are the BBC’s responsibilities and aims?
Further Key Points and Research• The BBC is a public service, but not everyone
agree with the Licence Fee. Try and find out a bit more about it (This year saw a massive review of the way things are done at the BBC)
Are you a BBC consumer?
• Create a list all BBC programmes and other TV you have consumed during the past week.
• Make a note of the day they were shown, channel (if it’s BBC/ITV or one of their Satellite channels) and roughly the time it was transmitted.
Collating Results (when we return in September)
Produce a group breakdown of results for each channel:– What are the most popular programmes?– What are the most popular viewing times?– Which day’s schedules were most popular?
• Are there any similarities or differences? • Which channel is most popular in your group?• Which genre is the most watched and when do the
class tend to watch the most? (Days and times)