Representations of Youth

Key Theories
 Fake News

• Fake News is pieces of media where the truth is twisted and

changed but still presented in a way that makes it look factually
correct leading to people talking about it. Clickbait is used most
of the time in the headline to get people to click on the article so
the website gets money from the ads, and in reality the headline
is telling one thing but the article proves it is not necessarily true.
This is particularly used in politics to create propaganda to sway
peoples views by stating ‘facts’ that aren’t actually facts but they
are made to believe it is true.
 Cultivation Theory

• Developed by George Gerbner

• People who watch a lot of tv are more likely to be influenced than those
who only watch a little
• People like to consume media they believe in and then the media is used
to reinforce those opinions
• People who consume a lot of media all the time tend to have a rise in
anxiety levels
• Mean World Syndrome – perceive the world to be more violent than it
actually is
• Hyper reality – exaggerated reality
Historical background

• Widespread influence of tv became a concern for many scholars and

policy makers
• His theory now extends to social media and the internet
2 order effects:
• General beliefs about the world today
• Specific attitudes and judgements
This divides viewers into 2 levels:
• Light viewers
• Heavy viewers
Heavy Viewers Demographics
• Young people
• Low socio-economic groups
• Those watching TV more than 4 hours a day
• Being affected by Mean World Syndrome
(They see the world as a nastier and more violent than what it really is)
• Tend to be more fearful of life (e.g. worried about walking alone at
night, overestimating the size of law enforcement , distrustful of
people)
• But they're unaware of any influences of tv exposure on their attitudes.
UK Press Regulation

• Free press vs Regulation

• Before 2012: The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) Closed 2012 due to bad press scandals
• Andy Colson, former editor of News of the World, was promoted to director of
communications for the conservative party for David Cameron
• News of the World Closed 2012 – British Police 4000 victims of surveillance techniques to hack
mobile phones, emails then print them in newspaper
• Hacked ,missing girl, Milly Downers phone and gave her family hope that she was still alive
• 2005 Buckingham Palace thought people were listening into Prince Williams phone calls
• Other newspapers/journalists knew about the hacking of people/celebrities phones and emails
• Brings in to question what other media Rupert Murdoc has manipulated and used similar
techniques
• Government decided to hold an inquire about the standards of press regulation, the PCC was
then set up to ensure nothing like this happened in the future.
Leveson Inquiry

• It was a public, judge-led inquiry set up by Prime Minister David Cameron to examine the culture, practice
and ethics of the press.
• It was established in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal at the now-defunct News of the World tabloid.
• Lord Justice Leveson has made recommendations on the future of press regulation.
What did Lord Justice Leveson recommend?
• He made broad and complex recommendations relating to how the press is regulated:
• Newspapers should continue to be self-regulated - and the government should have no power over what
they publish.
• There had to be a new press standards body created by the industry, with a new code of conduct
• That body should be backed by legislation, which would create a means to ensure the regulation was
independent and effective
• The arrangement would provide the public with confidence that their complaints would be seriously dealt
with - and ensure the press are protected from interference.
After Leveson (2013)

• Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) – Set up by the

press industry themselves.
• IMPRESS – only regulator that is compliant with the findings of the
Leveson inquiry
• What is meant by a free press?
A body of book publishers, news media, etc., not controlled or
restricted by government censorship in political or ideological
matters.
• Do we need to regulate it?
Yes, so that the media can eliminate any sense of ‘fake news’ to
stop fake information being spread around the world.
• What are the dangers of too much or too little regulation?