British Life and Visual Media Final
Land issue in Ireland
***Irish Catholics vs. English and Scottish Protestants -Major rebellion in 1641 that resulted in Catholics owning 2/3 of their land -End of 19th century, protestants owned 3/4 of their land, s they confiscated the land and took over -Ireland had a large number of landless laborers and farmworkers
History of BBC
-WWI was impetus to wireless communication -BBC founded in 1922 -BBC given a monopoly -1925: BBC was made a public corporation and public service broadcaster to guide, inform, unify, strengthen the nation
Thomas Cromwell
-Wales was only partly under UK's control in 1530s -Thomas Cromwell declared Wales as incorporate into England at that point -Was a military man and expansionist (similar to Henry VIII)
History of the UK
-16th century: Scottish King James VI united the three kingdoms of England, Scotland and Wales -UK dates back from 1801 with the inclusion of Ireland -1916: UK classified as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
What is the BBC like today?
-19,000-21,000 employees -9 million viewers -5 billion pound income
What was the Irish Free Stage?
-1922 formed -6 northern countries that stayed in the union, so northern Ireland part of UK
The rest of BBC's history
-1947: BBC Three and BBC Radio 2 (light programs) were launched -1953: queen's coronation -1954: new conservative government decided to license a commercial rival to the BBC, which was Independent Television (ITV) -1964: BBC Two was made as the second channel with more adventurous and popular content, which reflected societal changes -1967: First color broadcast in Europe -1973: competitions from commercial radio with more specialized channels and stations; BBC One Radio made as a pop station after pirate radio stations illegally broadcasted off of the coast of Britain -1999: Radio Five: sports, live talk shows, children -2000: digital stations -2008: i-Player
Describe Wales and its relationship to the UK
-5% of UK population (3 million people) -Has not been treated like a kingdom -Its flag is not included in the UK flag -Overlooked -British state does not fully control it
How much do Scots make up the British population?
-8.4% of the British population -5.6 million people out of 64.1 million
How popular is the BBC today?
-96% of British people use BBC services -BBC Tv has audiences shares of 33.3% (ITV has 22%)
Why was there a rise in nationalism at the end of the 20th century?
-At end of industrial revolution, UK industries lacked investment, so they started to decline, nothing else replaced them and working class men lost jobs -Westminster politicians did not understand life outside of the city, especially people far away in Scotland
Timeline of the BBC: 1925
-BBC became British Broadcasting Corporation instead of Company -the government decided that radio broadcasting was too important to be left to private interests and did not want it to be driven by commercial interests
What are the top BBC facts?
-BBC is Britain's first broadcaster -BBC defined the idea of the public service broadcaster: influenced all others, the standard -The public funds the BBC rather than the government or advertisers -No presence of ads -It has a wide remit that appeals to all people -It has a large platform: rain, TV, news, online, iPlayer
Describe the BBC
-BBC original charter gave it the broadcasting monopoly, which lasted until 1954 for TV and 1972 for radio -The funding for and structure of the BBC has remained the same since -It has legal independence from the government -It has funding from the universal license fee
Nationalist Movement
-Bloody uprisings against the settlement to achieve an independent republic -Wanted a state that would represent them
What is the BBC's influence today
-Brings the nation together -Influences other broadcasters in UK and culture -Free to air channels aspire to be like the BBC -Most famous and trusted export brand in UK
What is the British press's political stance?
-British press is more likely to be considered right winged than the press in other countries -Conservative with health, crime, economy, housing, immigration than others
Welsh National Party
-Called Plaid Cymru -Holds 1/6 of the seats -Not the same kind of traction in Wales as in Ireland because there is no real movement for independence in Wales -In Wales, they assert their independence through culture and not politics
The Independent
-Conservative -First paper to cease print
The Daily Mail
-Conservative -Intersted in its female readers -Has 1.6 million readers -Most popular online newspaper and most read online news site in the world: 15 million browsers a day
The Daily Telegraph
-Conservative -Paywall -480,000 readers
The Times
-Conservative leaning -Covers topics, like politics, international news, business, science -Has a paywall -400,000 readers
The Sun
-Conservative tablid -Highest daily circulation of over 1.8 million
What did Northern Ireland do?
-Continued to discriminate against Catholics -Protestants were in control
Timeline of the BBC: 1953
-Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was broadcasted on the BBC -Contributed to a massive surge in TV ownership -20 million people watched it -Many people bought TVs because of this event
What is the DUP deal?
-DUP is in a deal to give the conservatives in Westminster a majority -Democratic Unionist Party is supporting Theresa May and conservative party -Unionists wants Northern Ireland to be a part of British state but not nationalists
Effects of industrialization
-De-industrializatoin wrecked havoc in South Wales at the end of the 20th century -Coal mines closed, so the welsh economy suffered -Wales is now the poorest region in the UK
The Troubles
-Decades of tension and violence from 1969-1998 -Erupted in open warfare, so British government sent troops in 1969 -Union and Protestant majority: wanted to be part of UK -Nationalist and Catholic: wanted to be part of Ireland Republic
Religion in Ireland
-Did not accept protestantism -Protestantism succeeded in England, Scotland and Wales but in Ireland -Resulted in disastrous consequences for Ireland — because did not convert
How does the BBC unite people?
-Empowers people of all social status because of the collective viewing experience in which anyone can learn -Accesible to the general public -Highlights modernity, democracy, nationhood -unlimited amount of information presented means that no one has to share -- no division of power or status
Size of the nations
-England is bigger than Wales -Northern Ireland is connected to Ireland -Scotland is large but small in population
What happened after Wales became a part of the UK?
-English law and administration was imposed on Wales -English was made the language of the law courts -Welsh-only speakers were barred from holding political office -Evidence that British culture was dominating and taking over cultural life in Wales -Most people ignored this and counted to seal Welsh but could not govern their own country
Timeline of the BBC: 1922
-Established as the British Broadcasting Company -Private radio manufacturers and engineers set up the BBC -Radio was an experimental technology -It was born during a time of nationhood, democracy and modernity, so it thrived because its purpose aligned with the times -It was set up as the first modern institution -It was the first time people could experience the same events and information at the same time, so it was equalizing and democratizing
Who is John Reith
-First BBC founding figure -Engineer -Immortalized the purpose and ethos of the BBC with inform, educate, entertain
Describe England's size
-Largest part of Union -Population is 53 million, which makes it 5 times the size of the rest of the nations combined: 84% of the UK population
Describe the BBC's revenue today
-From the license fee: 307 million pounds -From commercial ventures: 134 million pounds
Describe BBC Radio during WWII
-Had important role in WWII efforts -Crucial as propaganda and morale boosting -Churchill broadcasted speeches on the BBC -BBC played light entertainment for the women during the daytime -Encoded programs for spies -Radio was an escape from he nightly bombing raids -BBC was embedded in the lives of those during the war
What was the Great Famine?
-Happened in 1840s -Contributed to the movement against the Union -Ireland was huge agricultural economy -Became the breadbasket of the empire and UK -Failure of potato crop and no back up -Grain was still being exported to England and Scotland -Mass famine -1 million (1/8 of population) died of hunger -2 million people emigrated -Ireland felt abandoned and symbolizes contempt for the Irish
Political setup issue in England
-Has no assembly or parliament of its own, so does not have own political representation -Has Westminster but not own parliament
Early beginnings of Ireland
-Henry VIII declared himself king of Ireland in 1541 -English and Scots sent settlers to Ireland, which gathered the pace
What was the Scottish referendum?
-In 2014, 45% voted to leave UK and 55% voted to stay with the UK -Before the vote, Scotland wanted to stay in the EU but be independent from the UK -Because there were questions about whether Scotland could do this, people were uncertain and just decided to remain with UK
Industrialization in Wales
-Industrialization came to Wales in 19th century -Large percentage of British coal industry came from Wales, so was influential for the empire -Welsh coal fueled the Royal Navy and the Empire -South Wales was the biggest coal producer in the world
What are criticisms of the BBC?
-It is too dumbed down (condescending and patronizing because gives people programs they think they should know) vs. too highbrow (not accessible enough because has too many art shows and other niche programs) -Too safe vs. too risky -Accused of political bias -Labour Party and Jeremy Corbyn accuse BBC of covering them unfairly, esp. during the election -Conservative parties typically do not support the BBC because PSB, but Labour parties support the BBC because it is democratizing -Criticisms about lack of diversity and representation (older women not broadcasted as much because seen as ugly, not enough ethnic variation) -Pay gap: women are paid less for the same jobs that men occupy -License fee: why people are still paying for it during an age of accessible information
What are characteristics of broadsheet newspapers?
-Larger format -Much denser with more editorial content -Fewer pictures -More expensive: paying for quality -More serious tone with more news and analysis -More international coverage
Describe the BBC Globally
-Largest global broadcaster in the world -In 28 different languages -Has weekly audiences of 166 million -Carries British and public service values around the world: people learn about British culture -Commercial global services include BBC World News, BBC Worldwide, BBC Studios, BBC Academy, BBC Monitoring
What are the characteristics of tabloid newspapers?
-Less editorial content -More pictures -Larger headlines -Cheaper -More populist and sensationlist: making news appear more exciting than it is -Blurs the lines between news and gossip -Made for a mass market
Describe the funding
-License fee funds the BBC -Everyone pays 147 pound fine despite the number of TVs they own, income made, family size, regardless of whether they actually watched the BBC -Obligatory fine and tax -Causes BBC to have dedication to viewers and feels need to appeal to them
What was the Act of Union in 1800?
-London enforced this act, so Ireland was formally incorporated into the UK -Flag of St. Patrick joined UK flag -Dublin Parliament was abolished
Describe the print media history
-London's first printing press was in 15th century -By 1730s, 31 papers sold weekly on the streets of London -The literacy rate was high: 60-80% of people in London were literate because they needed to read in order to work and understand the politics of the time -Lower classes participated in the animated discussions: more educated then normal -Marshall McLuhan said print media created the public because newspapers gave insights into what the public thought, so they reflected the public
What was Thatcherism?
-Margaret Thatcher was the conservative prime minster who believed in the power of the market -She deregulated the city and privatized businesses -People in Sotland were on the left side of politics, so they were angry and felt like politics were out of touch with them -Decline in the industry made them angry too
What is a free press?
-Media that reports the news as they see it without being censored and without an overbearing state and government -Freedom to express and reflect events -Contributes to plurality of opinions and diversity, which is essential for democracy -Free press is a component in keeping the public informed -Necessary for sharing values that create social harmony and that the nation shares
Devolution in Northern Ireland
-Power sharing arrangement between Nationalists (Sinn Fein and Unionists) and DUP -Whichever party got more votes would be the head of state -The other party would be the deputy leader in the Northern Ireland Assembly -Breaking the deadlock of the lack of trust
The Guardian
-Most left-leaning broadsheet newspaper -Has the lowest circulation of 166,000 readers -Except, its online presence is popular with 7.3 million viewers (second largest online paper) -Online paper does not charge and does not have a paywall, so its currently asking for readers to contribute money
What companies control 70% of newspaper circulation?
-Murdoch News: The Sun, Sun on Sunday, The Times, Sunday Times and TLS (also Sky broadcasting and satellite platform) -Daily Mail and the General Trust: Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, Ireland on Sunday, Metro -Trinity Mirror: Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, Scottish Papers
What are some of the programs the BBC offers compared to commercial channels
-Music -News and current affairs -Natural history -Children's -More British shows -Radio -Nations and regions
What happened to Sinn Fein?
-Nationalist part in Northern Ireland -Sinn Fein leader resigned because of the DUP's refusal -Northern Ireland assembly is not meeting -Sinn Fein does not take seats in Westminster because does not acknowledge the legitimacy of the British nation governing them
Describe social media and news
-News has changed more dramatically in the last five years than it has in the last 500 years -Newspapers are no longer in control of distributing their journalism -Social media has the largest share in ad revenue -More social media means more storytelling tools, more opportunities for readers and more engagement, which increases readership -Facebook is the dominant way to find online news -Facebook's net income has tripled while the NYT has its profits falling by 13%
Why are these giants in trouble?
-Not paying their taxes -Not being transparent about their headquarters, their profits and the taxes -They are reluctant to take responsibility for terrorist, unlawful or violent content because if they do, they become more of a publisher (platforms are not required to police content) -European court are suing Google for using monopolistic practices, which is creating an unequal playing field for other services (search engine is privileging certain content over others and making money off of it) -Unfair balance of power between people producing the content (publishes) and people making money off of it (platforms)
Bloody Sunday
-On January 30, 1972 -Civil rights demonstration through the streets of Londonderry in northwest Northern Ireland -British Army shot and killed 13 civilians -Government inquiry began two weeks later but considered a coverup -Public inquiry began in 1998, which took 12 years to report and absolve the victims
The Daily Mirror
-Only left leaning tabloid paper -Populist and mass market -Covers a wide variety of topics that mainly focus on pop culture and celebrities and gossip -Has 800,000 readers
Partisanship in the press
-Papers have a viewpoint and bias but not TV news -Papers are blatant and tell readers what to do and think -Can detect political stance in editorials -Illegal for broadcast news to editorialize and would lost its license or pay a fine
Effects to Catholics
-Penal laws: -Could not hold office -Could not attend university -Could not purchase land -UK used the political system to assert their power in Ireland
Describe press barons
-Press barons owned and supervised the major newspapers -20th century: press barons played a huge role in British politics because of its role -1931: former conservative prime minister denounced media barons because he saw them as actively campaigning against his reelection and as aiming at power without responsibility
What was Fleet Street?
-Press established itself in Fleet Street, which already had a tradition of publishing -Was main transport artery in London that carried mail and people between the city and Westminster -Known for its ale houses, taverns and coffee shops -Was a place of exchanging information -Was a great place for journalists -Was a lightning rod for political, financial and overseas news and gossip -Editors selected stories to sell in papers and ads -Impartiality in the news did not exist because being partisan was the only way to attract and sustain audiences -Fleet Street was still important until late 20th century
Describe the British Press in the digital age
-Print newspapers are declining, and online readership is increasing -New technology is shaping the content -People questioning how to make money from print operations -Very few British papers have paywalls -Trump and Brexit articles are good for circulation and bring readers to the papers
What are current affairs magazines?
-Private Eye: muckraking, digging and jokes -New Statesman -Spectator -Economist
PSB vs. commercial
-Public funding rather than being funded by ads allows the BBC to do things that commercial sectors cannot -- can appeal to more people -Do not need to be commercially viable but must be culturally important -Need to justify their services and programs in terms of cultural value rather than commercial interest
Why do these orgs want to be a platform?
-Publishers can be sued for libel, incorrect reporting and other issues -Means more regulation and less freedom
Effect of Britain in world wars and empire
-Success in WWI and WWII and British Empire = UK powerful and stable and was symbol of wellbeing an privilege -Gave Britain a powerful place in the world -Offered a sense of stability and safety while everything else was changing
What are the tabloid newspapers?
-The Daily Mirror -The Daily Mail -The Sun -The Star
What did Reuters find?
-Reuters looks at trends every year -Saw social media as a growing source of news, which is changing the way people view and consume news -Mobile and online video is also becoming more important -With an increase of digital, there are more commercial challenges, like ad blocking, so people question how to generate news if no one is paying for it -People are unwilling to pay for online news because of low trust in the media
The nations in the UK
-Scotland -England -Wales -Northern Ireland
What was the Act of Union in 1707?
-Scotland had severe fiscal issues, so Westminster bailed them out in a half bribe and half threat -Caused Scotland to lose its parliament and instead became a part of Westminster and the UK with one ruler, one legislature, free trade and fiscal unity -- part of UK now -Took Scotland 100 years to be formally incorporated into UK political system -Still retained its legal and educational systems
Flags in the UK
-Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland all have different flags -Each of their flags comprises the red, white and blue UK flag, so the UK flag is a combination of the nations' flags
What else is the BBC's role?
-Serves all people: wide array of genres -Entertains and provides information -Delivers news in straightforward way -Gives people access to the entire world--brings world to UK and UK to the world -Represents UK's diversity: representative of the population -Inspires creativity and cultural excellence -Sustains citizenship
What happened with Margaret Thatcher?
-She abolished the large cities' left-wing sentiment
In "This New Noise," what does Higgins compare the BBC to?
-Similar in that the Presbyterian church is one of wealthiest and most influential churches in the area while the BBC is also influential but for different reasons -The Presbyterian church only welcomes members of the wealthy and elite classes, so it is exclusive and there is an apparent social divide -On the other hand, the BBC is a stark contrast because it is inclusive to all people: collective and equal viewing experience that is accessible to all
Describe iPlayer
-Since 2008: people can watch catch up shows online to appeal to online streamers -3.5 billion requests each year -Platform in which viewers can watch shows exclusive to iPlayer
What are criticisms of a free press?
-Some see free press as one that is bound to the conservative politics of wealthy proprietors who have an agenda and who want to reflect the status quo -Concerns that they are connected to power and care about the interests of the powerful and elites -Beliefs that is might not be controlled by the state but is not entirely free because of these implied connections -Press also has an agenda of its own depending on the corporation's values
Welsh music
-South Welsh music is a sign of cultural pride -Many artists do not leave Wales
Scotland: James I
-Succeeded to the English crown in 1603 -First monarch to call himself King of Great Britain -Expansionist and military Protestant who sent Scottish and English settlers to Catholic Ireland
What are the broadsheet newspapers?
-The Guardian -The Independent -The Times -The Daily Telegraph -The Financial Times
What was the response?
-The Scottish National Party rose in 2014 -Scotland had own parliament, so could take seats and be elected -Leader is Nicole Sturgeon
Monarchy and religion
-The name "United Kingdom" alludes to the monarchy, which demonstrates its importance to its culture -The monarchy and religion were intertwined -The monarch is the head of the Church and state -The protestant religion was used as a rallying cry to unite the UK and its nations -Ireland was the only one who defied protestantism -Monarchy is security against political change and controversy
What is the role of the BBC?
-Tony Hall says BBC reflects British values and excitement of being British -Shows the British country to the nation -Impartial and non-partisan -Provides programs that cater to all people
What was the aftermath?
-Two political movements began: Orange Order and Union and Nationalist Movement
History of the free press
-UK has long tradition of a free press -Not a guaranteed liberty in a constitution, like the US -Aftermath of the 17th century English Civil War set the precedent for a free press -Censorship laws were abolished in 1695 because the two political groups did not trust each other to censor without partnership -The solution was print media
Why is this a political mess?
-UK has no political majority without the DUP -Brexit affects Northern Ireland
What are the values of PSB
-Universal service that tries to appeal to all people with diverse content -Not driven by commercial interests or shareholder returns -Not for profit -Has a clear statement of values -British owned, so reflects British culture and its people
What was devolution?
-means a measure of self government -Began in 1997 -Devolution with new Labour government -Power was transferred to the national parliament in Scotland and to the Welsh Assembly and to Northern Ireland Assembly -Allowed for political structure at national level for first time in centuries -Scotland has greater powers than the assemblies
Who is John Reith?
-saw an ad for the British Broadcasting Company and then decided to apple despite no experience in or knowledge about broadcasting -Became the general manager of the BBC
Sottish National Party
-second largest Scottish Parliament -Left-winged -Want national independence from UK
What does the BBC offer people?
-sounds, imagery and words that resonate with people and that inspire them to take adventures -truthful and impartial news
Who was Edward I?
Edward I conquered Wales in 13th century
Who are the digital giants?
Facebook and Google
What is the middle-leaning newspaper?
The i
What is the problem they are facing?
They want to be seen as platforms and not publishers
Aims at peace
UVF (loyalist group in Ireland who wants to maintain Northern Ireland's status as part of UK) and Ira (Irish republican paramilitary organization that wanted to remove Northern Ireland from the UK and combine all of Ireland) agreed to lay down their arms and enter power-sharing talks for peace
Orange Order
dedicated to Protestantism and the Union with the UK
What is the BBC's remit?
inform, educate, entertain
