January assessment learner response

1) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential).

28/43 (B) 

WWW: Full marks for question 2, good knowledge of industry

Ebi: include other theories in q4 eg dependency theory or moral panics.

2) Read the mark scheme for this assessment carefully. Identify at least one potential point that you missed out on for each question in the assessment.

Q1: The sexualisation and the reinforcement of traditional masculine values.

Q3: Public broadcasting channels give us institutions we can trust. Younger people don't watch live tv in the same way as the older generation use to, the market has changed.

Q4: Talking about techno panics.

3) On a scale of 1-10 (1 = low, 10 = high), how much revision and preparation did you do for this assessment? You may also want to think here whether you had completed all the original blog tasks from last term before doing the assessment.

I would say a 6 out of 10 because I prioritised my other subjects and did not do much practice with media questions. However, all my media work for the last term was completed on time.

4) Look at your answer for Question 2. Did you manage to write about three different strategies and three different benefits? It's vital you read the question and follow it exactly.

I talked about 3 strategies which were horizontal,merging and synergy.

5) Look at your answer for Question 3. Did you follow the question guidance and write about both the BBC and commercial broadcasters? What could you have added to this answer to reach a higher mark?

I talked about the BBC in most of my essay however where I lost a lot of marks was by not talking about commercial broadcasters like channel 4 etc. This could have allowed me to develop my answers further and to gain more marks.

6) Now look over your mark, teacher comments and the mark scheme for Question 4 - the 20 mark essay question on media effects theory. Write a new paragraph for this question based on the suggested theories/answers in the mark scheme. Make sure it is an extensive, detailed paragraph focused on the question and offering examples from the wider media. 

I would strongly agree with the statement that the media has had a damaging impact on people/audiences, one reason why this is the case can be seen through technopanics and their damaging effects on audiences. A technopanic is an online version of  amoral panic and it links to the idea that the internet is dangerous and unregulated because when some audiences view the media they may form firm beliefs on matters/subjects and it could lead to them fearing everything else for example during covid people were terrified of everything and became extremely germophobic. This is an example of how the media can be severely toxic towards an audience as it can distort or change their views but in a negative way in which they become hyper sensitive to everything. One theory called the dependency theory supported the idea that the media causes audiences to be addicted and reliant on short bursts of "dopamine" through the media ie endless scrolling. Rokeach and Defleur quoted that audiences were becoming dependent on the media in 1976. Since then technology has advanced and the distribution of social media has grown to the point that almost everyone on earth can access social media. This means a large percentage of people especially in the western world have become addicted to the media which has lead to lower grades, poorer work ethic etc overall suggesting that the media has had a damaging effect on audiences.