A2 Media Exam Questions
Med4: Texts and Contexts in the Media
Production and Manufacture of News
Med6: Comparative Critical Analysis
Med4: Texts and Contexts in the Media
- In television programmes such as The Jerry Springer Show, Ricki Lake, Trisha and Esther, members of the public are encouraged to use television as a confessional. Does this factor alone account for their popularity with British audiences?
- Assess the validity of passive and active theories of media audience. Illustrate your response with examples from your own media consumption.
- “We must get away from the habit of thinking in terms of what the media do to people and substitute for it the idea of what people do with the media.” (James Halloran, 1970) What did Halloran mean by this statement and in what ways is it still relevant to your own media consumption?
- “We are all voyeurs now, or so it would appear if contemporary television output is anything to go by.” Discuss this view of television audiences.
- To what extent are audiences able to resist viewpoints constructed by the media?
- Why are television shows that feature “real people” so popular? Illustrate your answer with examples.
- How useful are audience theories in understanding media consumption? Discuss.
- “The producers of Reality TV/Documentary are constantly pushing the boundaries of taste and decency in order to maximise the audience for their programmes.” How far do you agree with this statement?
- “As we no longer see the audiences as an undifferentiated mass, audience theories can be of little use.” Discuss.
- Is there still an audience for “reality TV”? Discuss, illustrating your answer with examples.
- The problem with media audience theories is that they ignore the role of pleasure. How far do you agree? Illustrate with examples from your own media consumption.
- “Audience participation is the main appeal of Reality TV.” Discuss.
- Do active theories of audience deny the power of the media?
- “Television has become a paradise for Peeping Toms.” Discuss this view of media audiences, illustrating your answer with examples.
- Does the media construct viewpoints that the audience unwittingly accepts? Answer with reference to events and issues covered in the media.
- Audience segmentation is essential to deliver audiences to advertisers. Discuss.
- Is it still relevant in the 21st Century to think of audiences as ‘passive’?
- Many television programmes invite viewers to participate, for example by voting. This creates an illusion that audiences have power. How far do you agree with this view?
- How useful are audience theories to an understanding of contemporary media?
- “Stereotypes can be very powerful and trigger emotional responses.” Discuss with reference to a range of texts.
- Account for some of the recent changes in the representations of a social group or place that you have studied.
- Are there arguments in favour of stereotyping by the media? Give a range of examples in your answer.
- It is argued that dominant media representations serve the interests of the powerful. Discuss with reference to one or more group or place.
- Does media stereotyping always marginalize whole groups of people? Illustrate your answer with examples.
- “Media representations of the world can appear so natural that we can easily see them as real.” Discuss this quote with reference to one social group or place that you have studied.
- Is it inevitable that a social group that is represented as alternative, eventually becomes mainstream? Discuss with examples.
- How does the media represent a place that you have studied? Illustrate your answer with examples.
- Are we currently seeing more positive stereotypes in media representations, or is there little change? Provide examples throughout your answer.
- Compare the media portrayal of two social groups or two places.
- How are stereotypes used in television fiction? Answer with reference to specific examples from one genre.
- Choose one group that you believe is positively represented in the media. Evaluate how and why this particular group is represented positively, providing examples.
- Do stereotypes change over time? Answer with specific examples.
- How far is it possible for the media to produce fair and accurate representations? Discuss with reference to either social groups or places.
- “Producers exploit audiences’ expectations of genre.” Discuss.
- How do genres adapt to changing social, economic and political contexts?
- It has been argued that all genre texts promote a set of values related to the contexts in which they are produced. How far do you agree?
- How and why do contemporary genre texts play with generic conventions?
- Genre texts have sometimes been criticised for being predictable and unimaginative. Discuss.
- Recent developments in genre have included the emergence of parody, pastiche and hybrid forms. Show how such developments have influenced the nature of media texts.
- “The audience may know what to expect, but are still excited by genre texts.” To what extent is this true?
- “Genre theory is a way of organising similar texts and then discriminating between them.” Discuss.
- Are genre texts produced because their audiences are comfortable with the repetition of formulas?
- Is there a place for innovation within contemporary genre? Provide examples throughout your answer.
- “Genre arouses the expectations of an audience.” How and why does it do this?
- “Genres must adapt in order to survive.” Discuss.
The Production and Manufacture of the News
- Have recent advances in technology had an impact on news coverage? Provide examples to support your answer.
- How are news values affected during “times of crisis”? Discuss with examples.
- How might recent technological developments affect the future of news broadcasting? Illustrate your answer with examples.
- Who selects news and why? Provide examples to support your answer.
- Newspaper circulation figures are on a downward trend. To what extent are newspaper websites part of this decline?
- “News is always unexpected.” How far is this true?
- How do you account for the decline in the mass audience for news?
- Why are some news stories given priority over others? Illustrate your answer with examples.
- “Bias in the news is inevitable.” Do you agree? Provide examples to illustrate your answer.
- Are news values treated in the same way within the press and broadcast news? Give examples to support your answer.
- Discuss the impact of recent changes in the production and presentation of news.
- Which factors cause the news agenda to differ from day to day?
- How have terrestrial broadcast news programmes respond to the impact of digital news services? Illustrate your answer with examples.
- News comes from a variety of sources. What role do news agencies play in the selection and production of news? How does this influence news values? Provide examples throughout your answer.