We are now living in a post Ronnie world

I asked who reads a newspaper in all A2 classes and the answer was not many if at all.  I asked how do you get your news?  And the answer was via Twitter or other social media.

Is this a less mediated way of recieving our news ? Are the new 'gatekeepers' the people with the most followers or the celebrities or even friends.

We will consider the impact of ownership of news media on the messages we receive but while it is in the news it is worthwhile to look at the social media sensation that is Ronnie Pickering.

Who?

Ronnie Pickering.

If you missed it somehow here is the original incident in all its glory.

In our online world this video went viral and has since spawned a monster in the form of endless parodies and mash-ups.

This is my favourite.

There are rules in the online world. Vine has become popular as the shorter and pithier the parody the better.  The platform of choice is You-tube and the attention span / time to engage the audience is shorter than ever.   It is a skill to learn and editing is key.

Which brings me on to my point about media in the online age.  This is a media text in all its unmediated glory.  The mediation and representation comes in the comic parodies that poor Ronnie stars in.

The questions it raises are pertinent to our study.

How do we operate in this new world of social media?
How must we protect ourselves when in a moment of madness we do something that could make us overnight celebrities?
Is this the start of true democracy as the populace polices itself through the ritual of online humiliation?
Will it change society for the better?
Will the real unmediated stories come to the fore or will the news media still control the news agenda?
What are we laughing at?
Has real life and real footage replaced the need for mediated news?
Will the best stories, however, mundane create the news agenda?

On a similar note here is a real letter from my neighbour.  As an experiment we will try and send this to various news outlets to see if we can set the news agenda and make something go viral...

If you have not seen Mr Judge's Star Wars trailer experiment check it out. Over 1.5 million views to prove our thesis...

Miss Representation

This is an interesting media issue which came up his week in Japan and then went viral in our online age which goes to the heart of our subject.

Here is the Manga style anime image created by artist Toshiko Hasumi

What do you think the message is?


Now read the text in English

"I want to live a safe and clean life, have a gourmet meal, go out freely, wear pretty things and luxuriate.

"I want to live my life the way I want without a care in the world — all at the expense of someone else.
"I have an idea. Why don't I become a refugee?"

How does the text anchor the meaning of the artefact?

This is what we term 'anchorage'

Now look at the original image taken by photographer Jonathan Hyams that has been manipulated by the artist.

This was taken in a Syrian refugee camp for the charity Save the Children

How does this add to our understanding of the image?


Everything is political. What are the artist's political views on refugees /immigrants?

What reaction has there been to the image?

What does this say about media in the online age ?

How have the artist and the photographer reacted?

Compare the reporting in different newspapers such as the Daily Mirror and the Daily Mail.