(82) Chris Evans slams Top Gear’s critics as catch-up viewing lifts ratings

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jun/06/chris-evans-top-gear-ratings-bbc?CMP=share_btn_tw

 

Summary:

 

The Sunday night audience for the long-running motoring show fell to 2.8 million at the weekend, down from 4.3 million viewers for the opening show the previous Sunday. But there was encouragement for Evans and his BBC bosses after the consolidated audience for the first outing, which includes people who recorded it and watched it in the subsequent seven days, boosted the opening show’s audience by nearly 50%, to 6.4 million. Evans accused his critics on Monday of living in the past for not taking into account catch-up viewing and how the show was “repositioning the way” people watch TV.

(81) Independent looks to the US to drive digital-only future

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jun/03/independent-us-digital?CMP=share_btn_tw

 

Summary:

 

The Independent is to ramp up its presence in the US as it becomes the latest news publisher to look across the Atlantic to drive revenue and readership. After the publisher imposed brutal staff cuts following the closure of the print editions in March, it boosted Independent.co.uk’s editorial operation from a core team of about 50 to about 90, creating about 25 new roles in the UK. More than 60% of the Independent’s monthly web traffic is from non-UK readers, some 38 million, with about half of that from the US, according to Audit Bureau of Circulations figures.

(80) Labour MP says she may leave Twitter over trolls' rape abuse

Link: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/31/labour-mp-jess-phillips-says-she-may-leave-twitter-over-trolls-abuse

 

Summary:

 

A Labour MP has said she may leave Twitter after trolls sent her more than 600 messages in one night about raping her. Jess Phillips spoke out after a wave of abuse was launched against her, apparently after she replied to one person who said: “I wouldn’t even rape you.” She said: “Until Twitter makes this sort of thing stop happening and stops accepting that this sort of dogpiling and mass bullying can happen, their business model is totally flawed. People who don’t like this feral side of the internet are just going to walk away.”

(79) EU referendum poster aimed at minority ethnic vote causes controversy

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/may/25/eu-referendum-poster-minority-ethnic-voters?CMP=share_btn_tw

 

Summary:

 

Operation Black Vote, the campaign group that aims to persuade more minority ethnic people to get involved in politics, has produced a provocative poster with the slogan “a vote is a vote” as the deadline for registering to take part in the European Union referendum looms. The deliberately hard-hitting campaign depicts an aggressive-looking skinhead on a see-saw, jabbing his finger at an Asian woman – who nevertheless sits level with him, to convey the message that everyone’s vote carries equal weight. Designed by Saatchi & Saatchi, it is aimed at persuading adults from minority ethnic communities, who tend to be under-represented on the electoral register, to sign up before the 7 June deadline so they can cast their votes in the referendum. But the poster immediately sparked a row, with Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader campaigning hard for Britain to leave the EU, describing it as a “disgusting” example of “sectarian politics”.

Key data/statistical information:

• It estimates that there are 4 million BAME voters in the UK – plus 400,000 British Commonwealth voters who are eligible to vote in the EU referendum – but around 30% are not registered

(78) Twitter abuse - '50% of misogynistic tweets from women'

Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36380247

 

Summary:

 

Half of all misogynistic tweets posted on Twitter come from women, a study suggests. Over a three-week period, think tank counted the number of uses of two particular words as indicators of misogyny. It found evidence of large-scale misogyny, with 6,500 unique users targeted by 10,000 abusive tweets in the UK alone. Abuse on social networks is not new and neither is the revelation that women contribute to the problem.

Key data/statistical information:

• The Demos study also looked at international tweets and found more than 200,000 aggressive tweets using the words, "slut" and "whore", were sent to 80,000 people over the same three weeks
• A 2014 study from cosmetics firm Dove found that over five million negative tweets were posted about beauty and body image. Four out of five were sent by women

 

(77) DMGT issues profit warning after double-digit fall in print ads

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/may/26/dmgt-print-ads-daily-mail-mail-online-metro

 

Summary:

 

The owner of the Daily Mail has issued a warning to investors after reporting a 29% fall in profits, driven by a double-digit decline in print advertising, at its newspaper operation in the six months to the end of March. Daily Mail & General Trust, the parent company of the Daily Mail and Mail Online, said that overall financial results for the business are “broadly in line with expectations”. However, investors took fright at the performance of the newspaper operation sending DMGT’s share price down 9% in trading on Thursday morning. The company issued a warning to investors downgrading the performance of DMG Media, the division that houses the Daily Mail, Mail Online and freesheet Metro, which will miss its full-year targets.

Key data/statistical information:

• DMGT said that print ad revenues across all its titles declined 13% in the six months to the end of March and, worryingly for investors, worsened to 15% in the first quarter of this year
• The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday alone saw print revenues fall 16% in the six months to the end of March
• Total revenues at the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday fell 7% in the six months to the end of March from £260m to £242m
• Digital advertising grew strongly in the six months to the end of March, up 23% on an underlying basis with total revenues at Mail Online climbing to £44m, helping to limit the overall ad revenue decline to 4%
• The continuing tough market for newspaper led DMGT to warn investors that it will miss its stated 13% operating margin target for DMG Media this year that it set in November, instead expecting it to fall to 10%

(76) Suddenly, national newspapers are heading for that print cliff fall

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2016/may/27/suddenly-national-newspapers-are-heading-for-that-print-cliff-fall

 

Summary:

 

As advertisers turn their backs on newsprint, publishers who have been in denial about the digital revolution are confronted by an uncomfortable reality. Declining circulation figures tell us that people are switching week by week from print to screen. It is simply a matter of time before it becomes unprofitable to continue publishing newsprint papers. The EU referendum may have had a negative impact, but its effect has been marginal. The trend could not be clearer: advertisers have taken flight. It is time to recognise that the whole UK newspaper industry is heading for a cliff fall, that tipping point when there is no hope of a reversal of fortune. It does not mean the immediate closure of papers because the lesson from regional owners is that it is possible to continue publication through cost-cutting. Papers can be produced with skeleton editorial staffs. Indeed, Richard Desmond has been doing that at the Daily and Sunday Express and Daily Star for several years.

Key data/statistical information:

• The news that one of the strongest publishing companies, Daily Mail & General Trust, had to issue a warning to investors after its newspaper division reported a 29% fall in profits should be seen as a landmark moment
• It was largely due to a 13% decline in print ad revenues at its titles - Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and Metro - over a six-month period
• There was some compensation in the growth of digital advertising at Mail Online, up to very healthy £44m, which must be seen in the context of the Mail’s print advertising of £80m

What's my view?

This article shows the downfall that the newspaper industry are facing. Publishers are now facing reality that the digital revolution will shut down the newspaper industry in the very near future.

(75) The Independent's website traffic rises by more than 6%

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/may/19/independent-website-traffic-guardian-panama-papers

 

Summary:

 

Site makes progress in April after closure of print editions, as Guardian’s traffic is boosted by Panama Papers revelations. The Independent’s focus on building its web operation continues to pay off, with traffic up by more than 6% last month.

Key data/statistical information:

• Evgeny Lebedev, who shut the print editions of the Independent in March, will be cheered by the progress, with the website boosting daily unique browsers by 6.54% month on month to 3,284,608
• Across March and April the Independent has seen its traffic rise by 12.4%, according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations figures published on Thursday
• The Guardian also performed strongly boosting traffic by 5.38% to 9,296,081 in April, fuelled by news stories including the Panama Papers revelations
• Express.co.uk rose by 14.92% to 1,400,270 and Dailystar.co.uk grew by 8.83% to 768,589

What's my view?

This shows that the news is not all doom and gloom as news websites such as the Independent and The Guardian are doing well as their website traffic rises. The Express and the Daily Star also seem to be doing well.

(74) Facebook accused of censoring conservatives, report says

Link: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/09/facebook-newsfeed-censor-conservative-news

 

Summary:

 

Facebook’s trending bar deliberately suppresses conservative news, according to a new report. Facebook, now arguably the most important distributor of news online, has cultivated the idea that its bar is an impartial algorithm that responds to “likes” and gives users only what they’ve indicated they want. But in a bombshell confession on the tech blog Gizmodo, a former editor says popular conservative news would be kept off the “trending news” sidebar.

Key data/statistical information:

 

• If five of the 10 put a story on the front page, it could be made to appear more often on Facebook Paper; if 10 put the story on the front page, it was added to the “trending” bar.

 

What's my view?

 

This can be seen as an attack on the elites through the use of social media. From a pluralist point of view, social media is given the people the power to express their opinions and potentially censor, if true, what they want people to consume as media. However, in my opinion, I think that the elites are realising the power that new and digital media is giving to the audience, and is trying to find a way to get back this power by making up such stories.

(73) Egypt's activists turn to social media to call for satirists' release

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/12/egypts-activists-social-media-facebook-satirists-release-awlad-el-shawarea

 

Summary:

 

Egyptian activists are using social media to demand the release of five detained members of a satirical street performance group whose video clips mocked the president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. The activists posted pictures on Facebook of themselves holding mobile phones in front of their faces with the caption: “Does a mobile phone camera rattle you?” The performers face several charges, including inciting terror attacks and street protests, attempting to overthrow the government and insulting state institutions, according to their lawyer Mahmoud Othman. The move against Awlad el-Shawarea underlined the government’s diminishing tolerance for dissent and signalled that its next target could be social media networks, one of the last remaining platforms for young, pro-democracy activists and artists to air their views and work.

Key data/statistical information:

• Othman told Associated Press on Thursday that the 5 were being held at a police station in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis.
• Othman said their ages ranged between 19 and 25. A sixth member of the group, Mohammed Zein, has not been detained, he added.

What's my view?

This is an example of how people are now turning to social media to bring attention to a topic that they think should be discussed or to go against the elite people. From a Marxist viewpoint, this will do nothing to change the mind of the government as it is said that they are already considering perhaps censoring social media so as to avoid activists from expressing their point of views that go against the dominant ideology.

(72) Four young Egyptians in custody for video making fun of the government

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/10/egyptian-street-children-detained-by-government-video

 

Summary:

 

Four young Egyptians have been remanded in custody, accused of making fun of the government in a satirical video posted on social networks, according to judicial sources. The move is the latest in a crackdown on voices critical of the authorities in Egypt. Their latest production appears to have touched a nerve as police round up activists involved in April protests against the president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, for handing over two islands to Saudi Arabia. In the group’s latest video, Street Children mock the devaluation of the Egyptian pound as well as the return of the islands to Saudi Arabia. The four are accused of “promoting ideas calling for terrorist acts by posting a video on social networks and YouTube”, Ottman said.

 

Key data/statistical information:

 

• On Tuesday, Mohammed Adel, Mohammed Gabr, Mohammed al-Dessouki and Mohammed Yehya were remanded in custody for 15 days, their lawyer and a judiciary official said.
• A Cairo court on Tuesday ordered the release on bail of 10,000 Egyptian pounds (about 990 euros) for a fifth member of the group, Ezzedine Khaled.

 

What's my view?

 

New and digital media has given the audience the opportunity to state their opinions on-line. However, from a Marxists point of view we are enjoying an illusion of autonomy. As this article shows, the elites are still able to decide what should be said and what shouldn't about the government. The fact that the young Egyptians were arrested shows that the police is trying to scare people into not saying anything bad about the government.

(71) Periscope used by French teenager to live-stream her own suicide

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/11/french-prosecutors-investigate-woman-live-streams-suicide-twitter-periscope

 

Summarise:

 

French prosecutors have launched an investigation after a 19-year-old woman killed herself by jumping in front of a suburban train in Paris and streamed the act live on Periscope. live on Periscope. The unnamed French woman “sent a text to one of her friends several minutes before her death to make them aware of her intentions”, said the prosecutor Eric Lallement on Wednesday. “She also made statements to internet users via the Periscope application to explain her act.” Footage of the woman’s death, which took place on Tuesday at a station in Egly to the south of Paris, was removed by Periscope but some of the video leading up to it was still available on YouTube. Police said they were informed by someone watching the stream.

Key data/statistical information:

• Periscope is a smartphone application that allows users to stream live video via their Twitter account. The video usually remains accessible for 24 hours.
• “We were alerted around 4.30pm by a Periscope user who was connected with the victim and told us that she was not well,” a police source said.
• Twitter, which bought Periscope in 2015, said it did not comment on individual accounts.
• At least 1000 people were watching the live stream.

What's my view?

This is an example of the effects and impacts of new and digital media. People can use periscope to show shocking things on-line to a group of people that are watching. However, in this case, it can be used to bring awareness of problems that occur around the world as the girl died because her boyfriend abused and raped her which is a problem that occurs globally.