Linked Production - Progress Report #2

(22/02/10 - 28/02/10)

What Went Well…

* We developed a mock-up of the front cover for our article on Haiti.

* We decided that our article on Barack Obama would be in the form of an interview.

* We decided that the third pages for each article would be advertisements.

Even Better If…

* We make a final decision into what types of images we will use for both articles.

* We create the layouts for our articles.

* We start producing the text for our articles and create a broken down list of what sort of information we intend to within our articles.

Action Plan…

The plan for this week is to develop the text for our article on Haiti and to design the layout for the article, making a final decision into where the text and images will be placed and what colours will be used.

First Draft of our Magazine Front Cover on Haiti - TIME Magazine

Linked Production - Progress Report #1

(15/02/10 - 21/02/10)

What Went Well…

* We have discussed what our articles will be based on and have come to the conclusion that one of them should be based on the recent earthquake which occurred in Haiti and the media's response to it. The other article will be based on Barack Obama's presidency and the media's response to it.

* From the presentation of which we done last week, we gained a lot of good feedback which allowed us to make decisions into what sort of theories we would we use and the type of structure our articles would follow.

* We have carried out research into how the media has responded to the earthquake in Haiti and how Barack Obama's presidency. We found some articles on how singers and celebrities have helped out in order to raise money for the survivors of the earthquake and how some of the victims have been flown to other countries in order to receive treatment for their injuries. We have also look into the support of which Barack Obama obtained when he was running for president and how people have responded to his new position within politics.

Even Better If…

* We think about what kind of images we'll use within our articles.

* We look in current affairs magazines in order to see how they have laid out their articles .i.e. where they have placed the text, where they have placed their images and what type of colours they have used in order to allow us to get more of an understanding into what type of features and conventions they have used in order to give their articles a meaning.

* We start producing the text for articles and produce a broken down list of what sort of information we intend to discuss.

Action Plan...

The plan for this week is to develop mock-up front covers for both articles and to see what sort of codes and conventions other current affairs magazines have in order to see how we could implement them within our own.

Action Plan

Below is a week by week break-down of what we will be doing in order to produce our current affairs magazine articles.

Week 1 - We will producing mock-up creations of our front covers for each magazine.

Week 2 - We will be choosing our images for the magazine front covers and articles.

Week 3 - We will be drafting and coming up with the text for both magazines.

Week 4 - We will be finalising the first and second copy with the images.

Week 5 - We will finish the front cover and both copies, giving final touches.

Research

We will use some of the information discussed within our critical investigations in order to make sense of the stereotypical images which surround black people within contemporary media.

However, due to the fact that we will be producing a current affairs magazine which will discuss how black people are represented within contemporary media, we are going to be analysing stories which focus on black within current affairs magazines. The Economist and Prospect Magazine are some of the current affairs magazines of which we will be looking into due to the fact that they are either weekly or monthly magazines which feature articles primarily based on national and international news in order to provide their audience with a variety of factual and opinion based information.

By looking in these magazines, we will be able to find out ways in which to address our readers, and to look at what type of codes and conventions we should use within our magazine in order to attract our readers.

Self Evaluation on my MEST 4: Research & Planning PowerPoint Presentation

After my group had presented our PowerPoint Presentation to the rest of our class based on our Linked Production which is a current affairs magazine front cover and articles which will discuss the ways in which black people are represented within contemporary media, we were given feedback in things that went well and things that we could have improved on which in turn could enable us to make an effective practical production.

What Went Well...

* Our slides were attractive and well designed as we had images and a variety of magazine mastheads which allowed our audience to gain a better understanding of our topic.

* Our research was good and we had a very organised approach.

* We were well rehearsed as we knew what we were going to say and the points of which we were going to make.

* We had good use of media terminology .i.e. zeitgeist, connote, denote.

* We referred to theorists .i.e. Propp's character theory, Lévi Strauss' theory of binary oppositions, and Todorov's narrative theory.

Even Better If...

* There was less text on screen which made it look as though we were reading off from the board.

* We slowed down when talking.

* We referred to the hypodermic needle theory.

* We referred to Galtung and Ruge's theory on news values in order to see if our research choices fit in with this theory.

* We discussed globalisation .e.g. how workers in other countries have been affected by the recession.

* We had discussed the software we would be using which will be Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.

* We had discussed which stories we intend to discuss within our magazine, one of which is the recent earthquake in Haiti.

MEST 4: Research & Planning Production Pitch

View more presentations from Jaleesa Denton.

Linked Production related Media Text #1

http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/

Prospect Magazine is a monthly British general interest magazine, which specialises in politics and current affairs. This magazine features frequent topics which include British, European, and US politics, social issues, cinema, the media, and history. The reason as to why I have chosen this text is because I feel that we will be able to use some of these features and conventions within our magazine as we will be able to discuss current social issues which concern black people and the media’s representation of them. For example, by talking about the earthquake which occurred in Haiti, we can discuss how within this context, black people have been represented as the victims. In further relation to social issues, we will also be able to discuss the impact of how representations of black people have affected those within society, where we could relate it to the film “Kidulthood” which portrays black people as criminals and in turn could relate to society by creating a moral panic.

Linked Production related Media Text #2

http://www.economist.com/

The Economist is a weekly British news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. It mainly features articles which primarily focus on world news, politics, and business. Every two weeks, the publication adds an in-depth special report on a particular issue. Due to the fact that it features articles on world news, this once again will be able to relate to the earthquake which recently occurred in Haiti as we are able to get stories which relate to ethnic groups from other countries. The reason as to why I have chosen this text is because I feel that we will be able to discuss how black people are represented within contemporary media in terms of broadcasting news. As a result of this magazine featuring articles which focus on world news and politics, in relation to our linked production we will be able discuss the media coverage of the 2008 US elections where Barack Obama became the country’s first black president which in turn shows how black people are represented in a positive way within contemporary media.

Linked Production related Media Text #3

http://www.time.com/time/

Time Magazine is a weekly American magazine which provides its readers with daily updated news articles. It is currently known for its signature red border which is one of the main features of the magazine. In relation to our linked production, I feel that by using a signature border for our article(s), we will be able to allow our magazine to be easily recognised due to its signature colour scheme. It mainly consists of articles which contain information on environmental issues, and world news. Due to the fact that this magazine alongside the others focuses on world news, we will be able to discuss current events which focus on the representation of black people within contemporary media. In this way, we may be able to relate it to the 2009 biographical drama film which focuses on the life of Nelson Mandela after he is released from prison. The film puts into perspective how far black people have come within society.