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Representations of an Event

Whitney Houstons Death and the Olympics

With reference to your own detailed examples, explore the representation of events in the media today.
The news media is central to the representation of events. The news is information about an event which is communicated to an audience. For an event to be newsworthy it must be of importance and relevance to the target audience. Media news is a construction like any other media text.

Terminology revision: Primary definer: someone who has first-hand knowledge of the event, e.g. an eye witness, journalist or emergency services. This includes information from Twitter, YouTube etc. Secondary definer: usually the news agencies or journalists who construct a story out of the event. They do this to meet the needs of their target audience.

In order to consider why an event is newsworthy and how it is represented, you need to use your knowledge of news values. News values are what makes a story important and decide how it is constructed and prioritised.
News Values The power elite Description Stories involving powerful people or organisations

Celebrity Entertainment
Surprise Bad news Good news Magnitude Relevance Follow-ups Media agenda

Famous people Stories that feature human interest, sex scandals, show business or animals; opportunities for humour, photographs, headlines etc.
Stories which contain an element of unexpectedness or which contrast with other stories which are currently in the public sphere The majority of news tends to be bad news as this is what is judged to attract audiences and engage their interest Heroic rescues or cures for illnesses etc. The size of an event in terms of the number of people affected or potential for impact Stories featuring issues, social groups of countries that are seen to be relevant to the target audience Continuation of stories that have already been in the news and have engaged public interest Stories which fit in with the producers own agenda on a range of issues, especially its stance on politics, social affairs and culture

We can use news values to develop an understanding of why certain events are represented in the news and how they are represented. News values are applied in the selection and construction of stories, in order to suit the purpose of the media t ext and its target audience, e.g. a local paper will have a different news agenda than a national paper; the popular press (tabloids, appealing to a mass audience) will place more emphasis on celebrity and entertainment than the quality press (broadsheets, often more focused on politics and foreign affairs).

How has the death of Whitney Houston been represented in the media?

1. Watch the BBC news article on the death of Whitney Houston and fill in the tables on your sheet. http://youtu.be/uUTw-USnL4I
News Values The power elite Celebrity Description

Entertainment
Surprise Bad news Good news Magnitude Relevance

Follow-ups
Media agenda

Representations:

Star/talent /legacy Diva/self-destructive Representation of Bobby Brown Narrative of her life/ use of song lyrics Event itself: use of images / expert opinion Positioning of audience Emphasis of report

How has this representation been selected, constructed and anchored? Why has it been created in this way/how is it being used? Is this a typical representation in this context? What issues and debates surround this representation?

Textual Analysis and News Values:

Whitney story is on the masthead, in full colour, alongside a sports-related story (the Suarez race row) and a Twitter/BBC story. The main story, indicated by the largest typeface, is political, and the largest image goes to Meryl Streep at the Oscars. Both of these stories have relevance to the target audience indicated by their British links. A follow up piece is alongside, referring to the ongoing narrative re: Rupert Murdoch. This news agenda is dominated by the power elite: Rupert Murdoch, the BBC, the Oscars and politicians worldwide. Whitney is part of this, occupying the role of celebrity alongside the high-brow Oscars, which gain more page space. Entertainment is not as important for the target audience of the Independent as it is for the target audience of The Mirror.

Representations:

The wording of the Whitney story avoids sensationalism: she is referred to by her full name Whitney Houston but referring to her as the ultimate pop diva puts her firmly in the role of celebrity. Life and death promises an insight into the constructed narrative of Whitney Houstons story. It balances the importance of her life alongside the event of her death, suggesting they are equal and avoiding a sordid interest in the details of her death (whilst still suggesting they will be dealt with). Bad news is present but in a less sensational way.
The audience is positioned to admire Whitney: the image of her is shot from a low-angle, suggesting power and dominance, and she is pictured mid-performance, reminding us of her star power. The ultimate pop diva anchors the image in positive terms, although diva does have more negative connotations of demands/irrationality and links the audience to Whitneys history of substance abuse.

Uses and Gratifications: Entertainment: the narrative of Whitney is connoted as complete and the newspaper offers an insight into it from start to finish. She is not here represented as the self-destructive star but diva does make some link to this. Personal identity: This works in the same way as the Mirror article, in a less sensational fashion.

How has this representation been selected, constructed and anchored? Why has it been created in this way/how is it being used? Is this a typical representation in this context? What issues and debates surround this representation?

Textual Analysis:

Whitney headline dominates; it is given the biggest typeface, signifying this is the most interesting story for the target audience. Story about the NHS is pushed to the side alongside a puff 3am at the Baftas piece and second, sportsrelated, puff; promotion for free books is prominent on the masthead. Focus on celebrity and entertainment.
Bright, bold and attention grabbing approach; page is dominated by colour pictures: red, white and blue dominate, suggesting patriotism (as does the London 2012 banner).

News Values: The news agenda is dominated by celebrity. Whitney is so well known that we do not need a surname. The lead story also satisfies the news values of entertainment, as this is a human interest story, as well as surprise (this event was unexpected) and bad news (a loved star has died). This reliance on celebrity and sensation to appeal to the readers is typical of tabloids.

Representations:
Main headline is sensational and emotive, as are the bullet points underneath which tease further detail. The last hours promises intimate (impossible?) knowledge of the event; lifeless and slumped are shocking; daughter screamed suggests conflict and drama. These are all designed to attract the target audience to the main story.
The images of Whitney present a juxtaposition: the inset image represents Whitney as a perfect star, smiling, young and beautiful; the main image represents her more negatively: she is sweaty, dishevelled and challenges the camera with her direct gaze. This is labelled as the final photo and is anchored by the erratic and binge text, positioning the audience as a moral judge of her actions prior to her death. She has, it is implied, done this to herself.

Uses and Gratifications: Entertainment: lives of celebrities are constructed into narratives and we wish to follow the next instalment. In this ongoing narrative, Whitney has been represented as the self-destructive star, finally losing her ongoing battle against substance abuse. Personal Identity: we are encouraged to aspire to be like these stars and their glamourous lifestyles, yet are reassured as we learn about the sordid realities and suffering that is part of the myth of celebrity.

Your Turn!

Launch of the Olympic kit

Olympic Kit: How has this representation been selected, constructed and anchored? Why has it been created in this way/how is it being used? Is this a typical representation in this context? What issues and debates surround this representation?

Textual Analysis and Representations: Image of Olympic outfit takes centre stage, in full colour to attract attention of audience. The typeface is smaller than that of the stories around it but is in colour, suggesting a vibrant, fun story; going for gold in style: use of semantic field of sport to create a pun adds to this impression. Full colour image of smiling athletes and designer: connotations of success; focus on fashion. Team GB = national pride; focus on the flag and sporting success anchors this. News Values: The news agenda is dominated by politics and events of magnitude (i.e. tax, alcohol prices, the weather and health). The Olympics piece focuses instead on celebrity, entertainment and follows up the ongoing narrative of preparation for the games. It fits the agenda of British pride which the Telegraph embraces ideologically.

Launch of the Olympic kit

Olympic Kit: How has this representation been selected, constructed and anchored? Why has it been created in this way/how is it being used? Is this a typical representation in this context? What issues and debates surround this representation?

Textual Analysis and Representation: Image of female athlete in full colour takes up large portion of the page. Typeface of Tulisa story is larger, giving it more status, but the image is more prominent and is presented in a way to attract the male gaze. Jess looks fit in her kit anchors the construction of the image in a way which objectifies the athlete: she is presented for our visual pleasure, alongside a sensationalised story about a sex-tape which refers to the teenage girl featured as a babe. This also anchors the representation of Jess (informal name) as sexually appealing. Fashion element of the kit is almost non-existent; British pride is implied via image and Olympics logo but is not the main representation. News Values: The news agenda is dominated by celebrity: the only story of global importance is given a small but sensationalised spot on the masthead. The focus is on entertainment.

Your Turn!

Homework:
Choose an event. Research the different ways it is represented. Using the constructionist view of representation, answer the following questions:
How has this representation been selected, constructed and anchored? Why has it been created in this way/how is it being used?

Is this a typical representation in this context?


What issues and debates surround this representation?

Your work should take the form of a handout, featuring a selection of images (and/or screen grabs from audio visual texts) with an analysis of each. Use the samples you have been given in class to help. Include a minimum of four different texts.

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