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 questions for revision practice and discussion 

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EWSPAPERS, PRINT & ONLINE NEWS  SAMPLE QUESTIONS FOR INDEPENDENT STUDY & 'STUDY BUDY' DISCUSSIONS
 
Question Bank A  For each front cover you study, answer the following questions. Each question is worth 5 marks.   ** questions are worth 10 marks 
  1. Do a radial 'spider' diagram using as much print terminology as possible and explain the effect of certain conventions.
  2. How do the tabloid's Codes & Conventions (C&Cs)' grab the reader? Do they trivialize, commercialize (monetize), sensationalize or personalize news events?
  3. Which particular codes (techniques, C&Cs) appeal to a) a mass-market less well-educated readership b) more educated, niche readers?
  4. ** Show the importance of construction in shaping media narratives and representations in order to suit particular audiences.
  5. How successfully does it appeal to different audience types (GEARS)?  Does it apply to Young and Rubicam's 4Cs model (MARS)?
  6. How useful are Hypodermic and Uses & Gratifications UGT models in discussing tabloid newspapers.? Consider the role of Moral Panics. 
  7. **How useful is Gerbner's Cultivation Theory in an analysis of tabloids?
  8. ** How useful is Clay Shirky's audience theory in a discussion of tabloid covers and online  platforms  ?
  9. **Which News Values feature most prominently in these products? (elites, negativity, personalization? Proximity? Expectedness? Unexpectedness?) Look at Galtung & Ruge's definitions of what helps editors decide if a story is newsworthy.
  10. **Can you find evidence of Chomsky's Propaganda Model (5 news filters)? Are there ethical issues of privacy/intrusion/ Corporate control? 
Question Bank B         10 marks each .   The harder 2 star ** questions are worth 15 marks
  1. Compare and contrast the C&Cs in a tabloid and broadsheet front pages. How are they adjusted to match particular audiences?
  2. Discuss and compare the representations on 2 front pages. Apply other RAILING concepts.
  3. Show how the covers present news events as a 'narrative' – a constructed story to arouse opinion, emotion,. controversy and connect to other areas of media interest such as sport, celebrity, TV/film.
  4. **Look at the how the covers fit into concepts of genre (Neale, Lacey);
  5. To what extent do they feature stereotypes or countertypes?
  6. **Are there examples of Moral Panics?
  7. **What does the cover tell us about newspaper ownership?
  8. **Link the front pages to theories of patriarchy, readings (Hall), connotation, van zoonen, Mulvey & Berger, Cohen (Moral Panics)
  9. **What does the cover tell us about issues of regulation and control (press complaints post-Leveson enquiry)
 
QUESTION BANK  C -online  .
  1. How does the Mail Online hook its audiences? What relationship, if any, is there with the print edition?
  2. Analyse the Mail Online's 'sidebar of shame'. What do the items have in common in terms of the way women are represented? – look for examples of objectification, body-shaming, women as male fashion accessories; women  as eye-candy; women as coat-hangers; women as child-bearers.
  3. **Analyse the Guardian's Online presence. What is the effect of the Guardian's paywall?
  4. **Look at  the online edition and see if you can identify differences with the print edition in terms of attracting online audiences and stimulating comment, reaction and participation.
  5. **Look at the Guardian's Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram feeds – how do they reflect the target readership? Do you think do they give prominence to users' opinions rather than the views of experts? Are there obvious commercial aspects?
  6. **Do the same as the above for the Mail Online's social network feeds.
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