Rupert Murdoch Questions

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jQxGe_uDYgYDkZLo9Rc8FUgC6DAGsFoWt5qF_HVYdgQ/edit

http://www.themediabriefing.com/article/times-digital-subscribers-reach-140-000-as-paywall-project-reaches-maturity

Q1: Do you agree with James Murdoch that the BBC should not be allowed to provide free news online?

The bbc news should be able to provide the news for free as it is a government funded channel and we pay for the TV license if the bbc was to be removed from the group of free news channels the licence fee for the TV should be brought down so that we can pay for the news, however essentially we are paying for the BBC news due to license fee and technically not getting the news for free.

Q2: Was Rupert Murdoch right to put his news content (The Times, The Sun) behind a paywall?

He was right because to receive quality news you should have to pay for it other wise people can go and rely on news which may be untrue or unreliable. By paying for the news we are guaranteed quality news that professional journalists put together with extensive research on the topic.

Galtung and Ruge

How has new and digital media technology changed Galtung and Ruge’s news values?

Immediacy: Prior to new and digital media news was always out of date as the actual event would have happened a day previous to its publish on the news however now news is almost instantly availibe with post that can be viewed that had been posted only a few minuets previous.

Familiarity: The news consumption now has become a larger variety from local to nationalised news than previous years where majority of the news was more familiar to England. examples of nationalised news include 9/11, Police brutality in America (Trayvon Martin).

Amplitude: Due to the rise of the internet people are able to become apart of events or incidents from around the world the Trayvon Martin case is the perfect example of this as around the world people where able to form opinions including them in the brutal killing of the innocent teen.

Frequency: The frequency of events have become more consistent as people are using social media to spread the news  of incidents and event an example of this is the Woolich behead.

Unambiguity: The growth of new and digital technology and media has led to the development of newer and unclear news products, such as the hoaxes online, also it has led to major news institution becoming narrower minded in terms of only showing the negativity in the UK and the world.

Predictability: The predictability of news has been altered in terms certain types of news stories have becoming so predictable and evident we tend not to give it much importance unless it affects us or we are the victims, for example the Apple iCloud hacking comes under privacy

Surprise: The Growth has affected the news as the news becomes rare and unexpected such as natural disasters, like tsunamis and large scale floods. As the consumer we see repeated incidents of news, which doesn’t affect us on a lot

Continuity: The continuity of news has developed the growth of this as the news stories may appear consistently, for example the Alice Gross case, where the media had consistently been following the story till her body was unceremoniously found in a lake.

Elite nations and people: The growth of new and digital media has developed a growth in the curiosity of elite nations and people, this is because some elite nations may be viewed in role model way or seen as a superpower.

Negativity: The majority of the news that is reported anywhere is predominantly negative and stereotypical, this all down to the gatekeepers who approve of the negativity. The fact that negative news is shown presents the world and all its consumers that we only focus on the malevolence in the world.

Balance: The majority of news that is show/broadcasted is unbalanced and always presents biased towards one side or even stereotypical views of the groups/individuals shown

NDM Post 26

Will Rebekah Brooks really replace Robert Thomson as News Corp's CEO?

Talks of robert Thomson leaving as the CEO of News Crop to work over at News Corp in Australia have been speculating for the past few weeks and rumours states that former News international Chief executive is replacing him as the CEO of News Corp. although the rumour are not confirmed sources from within the contacts of Rebekah Brooks and "everyone" in australia is saying that the arrival of Robert Thomson is due.

Brooks, the former News International chief executive, did spend time at News Corp’s headquarters in Manhattan last month

Brooks - with husband, Charlie, and two-year-old daughter Scarlett - are ensconced in “a new pad in Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

I think that Robert Thomson should leave the spot of CEO only if he is comfortable with moving to australia and if he think that Rebekah is right for the job otherwise what is the point in giving a hard and stressful job to someone that is inexperienced. If Rebekah isn't good enough switch places and send her to australia to see if she can handle the work load there.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/nov/21/will-rebekah-brooks-really-replace-robert-thomson-as-news-uks-ceo

NDM Post 25

Malware spied on companies and governments in 10 countries since 2008

An advance malware application has been detected which spies on private companies, governments, research institutes and individuals in 10 countries since 2008, Symantec Corp the inventors of Norton reprted it on Sunday 23rd November. this specific malware is hard to detected and even when it is detected it isn't clear what the malware is actually doing, it has been described as having 5 layers and each layer has little information on that compleat layer and only once all layer have been discovered it can be analysed properly.

Regin uses what is called a modular approach that allows it to load custom features tailored to targets, the same method applied in other malware, such as Flamer and Weevil (the Mask). Some of its features were similar to Duqu malware, uncovered in September 2011 and related to a computer worm called Stuxnet, discovered the previous year.

About 28% of targets were in telecoms, while other victims were in the energy, airline, hospitality and research sectors.

The program was apparently withdrawn in 2011, but resurfaced in 2013.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/24/malware-regin-surveillance-companies-government-individuals-symantec

NDM Post 24

Facebook ‘newspaper’ could spell trouble for traditional media

traditional news is in threat as facebook has fulfilled its ambition to become a more personal news feed which is more appealing to the viewers as it to appeal to the likes of the user specifically unlike newspaper which provides newspaper about stories that only the editor finds sufficient enough to be on the news. Other institutions are trying to copy the algorithms used for the users preference used by Google and Facebook so that they too can have a user base that have personalised news feed however the major internet institutions have kept these algorithms under wrap extensively to ensure their user base stay large.

Facebook is a source of news for at least 30% of Americans

Facebook has so many engineers and data scientists to continually make the algorithm better,

Facebook can tailor its feed to the interests of the individual, delivering a mix of world news, community events and updates about friends or family.

Facebook should continue with the work that they are doing to better themselves because they are succeeding at it but other traditional news institutions should hire a team of expert coders to improve their online news feed.

http://www.bdlive.co.za/world/americas/2014/11/24/facebook-newspaper-could-spell-trouble-for-traditional-media

NDM Post 23

Now e-cigarettes can give you malware

E-Cigs now carry Malware that can corrupt computer's hard drives often from untrustworthy products or untrustworthy distributors such as local shops that may not buy authentic brands fro cheaper. all of the e-cigs have been made in china including the fakes, these fakes had malware hardcoded in the charger of the product and when plugged in to the usb port it phoned home and infected the system. Production line malware has been around for a few year and Rik Ferguson stated that it has infected MP3, photo frames and more.a photo frame produced by Samsung shipped with malware on the product’s install disc. it is advised to stick to well known brands and look for scratch checkers on the box to confirmation of authenticity.

Recent proof-of-concept attack called “BadUSB”, which involves reprogramming USB devices at the hardware level

USB controller chips, including those in thumb drives, have no protection from such reprogramming

Any electrical device that uses a USB charger could be targeted in this way, and just about every one of these electrical devices will come from China

Stick to buying from respected e-cig brand, back up the content on the computer and ensure that the computer is protected.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/21/e-cigarettes-malware-computers

NDM Post 22

Pro-independence The National newspaper details revealed

A new newspaper has been launched in scotland as a result of its success in the scottish referendum however the publisher of the newspaper required to see independent supporters  of the newspaper to be convinced that it had a market and had only committed to publishing The National for five days as a trial. it will cost 50p and will be available in newsagents and online by subscription it was argued  by Hydro that the paper should cost 45p to match the percentage of supporters in scotland Richard Walker stated, "We are no longer the 45. We are the 50-plus and we will become the 60 and the 70."

It is the first time in many years that a new daily newspaper has been launched in Scotland

Richard Walker told a 12,000 crowd of SNP supporters at Glasgow's Hydro that The National would be published from Monday

The news paper should be launched however only if successful and if supporters of the newspaper rises evidently. Having a trial for this is a good strategy however if the newspaper fails opinions will be formed about the publisher for supporting the newspaper.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-30160999

NDM Post 21

Google to test-fly balloons which transmit internet over Australia

This article is about Google X next venture after the Google Glasses and the driver-less cars.Project Loon, Internet balloons, beaming 4g like signal to homes and phone, using antennas that each balloon is carrying, at twice the altitude of passenger jet. In December Google in partnership with Telstra will test 20 balloons in western Queensland they hope to create a ring around the earth with these balloons bringing internet to the estimated two-thirds of people who are presently unwired and one day provde coverage to areas struck by natural disasters. telstra will provide base station to communicate to the balloon and access to space on the radio spectrum.

1. Web-connected base stations bounce signals up to the balloons, which float at about twice the altitude of passenger jets.

2. The signals hop forward from one balloon to the next.

3. Each balloon transmits internet signals down to an area more than twice the size of Canberra.

4. Card table-sized solar panel powers on-board gadgetry. Balloons can stay airborne for about 100 days.

5. Plan is for a ring of balloons to circle the Earth on westerly stratospheric winds.

The idea of providing the internet using balloons is brilliant as its claimed in one of their hopes that people can have access to the internet in areas which have been struck by natural disasters and in developing countries underground fibre caballing will not be required eliminating the costly process which is needed to fit them underground.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/17/google-test-fly-balloons-transmit-internet-australia

Build the Wall Analysis

Section 1: We should only receive good quality news if we pay for it or we should be able to receive any news as we haven't exchanged anything for it

Section 2: The gate keepers of the big industry newspapers need to jump in and take control of the viewer's ability to receive news and make them pay for it, enabling professional journalists do their job rather than leaving it to citizen journalists.

Section 3: The internet wasn't perceived to be what it is and was underestimated by the big conglomerate newspapers at the start - it was just ignored and turned out to be the biggest medium in the world.

Section 4: Three scenarios are presented by David Simon, the first being the pay wall is successful and that the audience is willing to pay for quality news, the second scenario being that newspapers become local to their regions and online pay walls are put up. The final scenario states that all small newspapers are deprived of its essential content and only unique and essential newspapers would have survived.

Simon portrays his view about the decline of the printing industry in news by first stating what is unique about about the major gatekeepers of news such as The New York Times and The Washington Post and what it is about these papers that make them sell. He also mentions paying for high quality news rather than receiving it for free due to lack of revenue to the institution and how citizen journalism isn't professional. David Simon speaks on the rise on the internet and how it was underestimated by the news industry and never acknowledged and after they realised the true potential of the internet too much damage to the news industry had been done by new digital media and then provided three potential scenarios one that is beneficial to all, one that is a complete balance and the third is the where that newspaper industry only survives through the unique institutions.

Comments:

If news were not free, there would be enough people willing to pay for it to cover the cost of producing it. But suppose the New York Times suddenly started charging for online access; althought it is a great newspaper, I probably wouldn't pay for it. There are just too many free alternatives that are almost as good. Even if (for example) no other online news source were as good as the Times, the remaining news sources will collectively fill the gap.
The economic parlance, you have goods which are near perfect substitutes. If I can't read Paul Krugman's column, I can go read some other noble prize winning economist's latest available(and accessible) column. Likewise, if I can't read Thomas Freidman, I can get the same kind of hype from a used car lot advertisement.
So I think, maybe, a number of major papers would have to work in concert to significantly degrade the free online news world. In other words - again in economic parlance - they might have to collude.
The news industry needs something like OPEC.

I fully agree with David Simon.
The big dogs of journalism must act soon and decisively if they want to save the virtues and quality that define the very notion of their profession.
I'd really rather pay for a good, interesting, unbiased, informative, product of journalism than read amateur bloggers who jot down a few sentences and then cover half of the screen with screaming advertisements.

Newspaper companies run a business, and businesses need to make money. They need to cut cost and/or find other revenue sources to stay in business. There are news websites that offer premium contents for paid subscription, such as Wall Street Journal. But a large percentage of the contents are free because there won't be enough visiting to generate any meaningful money through advertisements otherwise. In other words, free contents act as "search engine optimization" to bring in traffic from search engines as well as getting repeat visitors. Balancing the two (paid vs. free), with system in place to measure revenue and cost in real-time will separate the survivors and those headed for extinction.

My Opinion:

My opinion is that the gatekeepers of the news industry should put up a pay wall other wise quality researched news will not be provided due to the lack of professional journalists working. if less revenue is being made the news conglomerates will have to make cuts resulting in the the institution making employees redundant. Also, the pay wall would be no more expensive than the newspaper and being abe to receive it with out having to pick it up is a bonus the convenience of online news is enough to put up a pay wall.

UGC Footage

London Riots

Woolich Killing

Killing of innocent dog

Killed by police by choking

NDM Post 20

Marketers turning further from traditional media, study shows

Study shows that Advertisers are moving away from traditional media such as print and TV stating that their money is being wasted on them. They said they would rather move to new digital media using advertising online using sites such as Google and social media sites, polls were taken annually for the past 9 years by research firm Ipsos Reid consisting of an overall of 3000 Marketers and Ad Agencies.

How marketers intend to change spending, on a constant budget

Online: +74 per cent

Social media: +72 per cent

Mobile: +69 per cent

E-mail: +24 per cent

Out of home (billboards, transit posters, etc.): –9 per cent

TV: –24 per cent

Radio: –27 per cent

Direct mail: –31 per cent

Print: –39 per cent

Where online marketing spending is going to increase

59 per cent: Branded content

58 per cent: Online video

56 per cent: Search

42 per cent: Display (such as banner ads) purchased through programmatic or real-time (automated) bidding

27 per cent: Display purchased through a cost-per-impression model

Where social media marketing spending is going to increase

70 per cent: Facebook

70 per cent: Twitter

59 per cent: YouTube

43 per cent: LinkedIn

37 per cent: Instagram

22 per cent: Pinterest

15 per cent: Google+

The move to advertising online is a great and cheaper move for marketers and ad agencies as they can move away from spending hundreds to thousand to get space or a page in the news paper / magazines and create a twitter page and advertise using hashtags etcetera 
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/marketers-turn-further-from-traditional-media-study-shows/article21299043/

NDM Post 19

Hong Kong protests bring crisis of confidence for traditional media

Young people in Hong Kong have turned to social media for the news because the news being presented on the T.V and radio where trying to not offend the political views of Mainland China and young protester for Democracy where fed up of this. Alice Lau , a pseudonym, by day work for a pro government news paper how every by night is volunteer reporter for Facebook News outlet with  roughly 100,000 subscribers. Traditional Media in Hong Kong is dying out as TV news channels and radio stations owned by Local Tycoons have taken great care to keep a conservative editorial line.

- Since Beijing assumed control of Hong Kong in a 1997 handover, it has ruled the the city under a “one country, two systems” arrangement.

- Knife-wielding assailants hijacked delivery trucks and poured soy sauce over stacks of the tabloid, ruining 15,200 copies.

- Altogether, at least 24 journalists have been assaulted while covering the protests, according to Hong Kong journalist groups – some by counter-protesters, others by police.

The situations is complex as and difficult as police brutality is a consequence for those who protest. how ever the turn to social media for news is great because it give the audience a greater variety of news specific to their political views and the ability to select any blog or website for news available is still greater then the 18 news papers and some TV station that are too conservative

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/29/hong-kong-protests-confidence-media