Year 3 Showreel Assessment

The Tablet Takeover - How tablet PCs are advancing the journalism industry

In 2010 Apple announced the iPad, a powerful tablet PC that could replace regular laptops for those who just like to use the internet and play a few games. At the time it was scathed as being a larger version of it’s already overwhelmingly popular iPhone, a cash-cow that Apple could milk with new version releases year after year. Not many outside of Apple could foresee exactly how monumental the impact of this device would be. They have transformed the way we communicate and take in media. If there’s one industry that has never looked back since the introduction of this product (and it’s many copycats) it’s journalism.

There are thousands of magazines on the Apple App Store alone. When combined with the number on the Google Play Store and other digital distribution outlets such as Amazon this number is far greater. These digital copies of magazines offer far more than your regular newsstand copy: you can watch videos, comment on articles, share them with friends and interact with games and quizzes. There is no question that this is a major advancement for the magazine and print journalism industry as a whole, but what does it mean for the paper copies of magazines and newspapers?

Ian Murray, editor of the Southern Daily Echo, sees tablets as being beneficial to the industry:

“What tablets are enabling us to do is present the news back in a form, which is tried and tested over a couple of hundred years, that people like to digest their news in.”

“What’s happening in the evolution of tablets is that newspapers, after going through a rocky period with digital, are now coming back into a form that we understand very well with headlines and pictures drawing you into the story.”

He concedes that newer generations will probably not use the paper edition of newspapers and that they would rather use the digital editions, but they will probably still be reading magazines.

The figures suggest otherwise. A report by Audited Media in 2013 on the 386 consumer magazines in the U.S. that have a digital counterpart shows that sales of digital magazines have risen over 36% since the same period in 2012. The important thing to note here is that although this figure on its own is very impressive, digital sales only account for 3.5% of the total circulation. The digital world is a growing market and it still has a long way to go before it becomes the dominant force.

Ian Murray seems to sum up why this is currently the case very well. When asked if the print journalism industry will still exist in the next 25 years he simply says:

“I travel on the train quite often, I like to have a newspaper, I don’t want to be looking at a screen all the time and I’d lose the Wi-Fi link. As for taking my laptop, or even my iPad into the bath, forget it.”

So it seems that technology itself is holding back digital consumers. Although it is a growing market, until the technology is there to thoroughly support it, customers are less willing to migrate. Maybe when nationwide Wi-Fi links are put into place, or even when the mobile technologies are made more rugged, practical and waterproof, people will find themselves ditching the paper copies.

With that in mind there are many advantages to using tablets as your primary source of news. Not only can you engage yourself with the media with a higher level of technology (imagine watching The Sun’s Dear Deirdre being conducted live on a Skype link), the technology makes everything so much more convenient. If it’s raining outside you don’t have to leave the house to find out what’s going on in the world; if 24 hour TV news isn’t for you or you want something that is a bit more tailored towards your way of thinking, you can simply download the latest edition of The New Statesmen or The Spectator directly to what you are holding in your hands.

Tablets have opened up new ways of advertising and generating revenue for the print media. Not only can publishers offer subscription services at discount rates (they don’t have to print the copies, simply upload them) they can also run tablet-specific adverts that users can click on to find out more, opening an external app or website. Companies pay more money to have their adverts appear in popular digital publications.

It isn’t just traditional print media that’s being affected by the tablet revolution; the TV news has also been infected, along with a number of TV series’. Tablets have opened doors to new ways of presenting the news and digesting our TV shows.

Sky’s coverage of news and sport is a prime example of this – their use of tablets is innovative and mind-blowingly effective. Take a look at the flagship football shows: the studio experts use tablet technology to demonstrate where players should be on the pitch; they can circle them, move them about, draw lines, slow down play and speed it up; this technology has made football easy to understand even for those who are not familiar with the rules. Gone are the days where presenters would use a white board to show the possibilities of every move, now they have been replaced by graphical demonstrations that are as easy on the eye as watching the game itself.

The tablets have earned their place as an on screen companion for newsreaders across Sky and other broadcasters and news networks. They are given more control over the graphics that they use to demonstrate news stories; they can manipulate objects on their tablets and viewers can see the results on the green screen behind them. Has the FTSE market seen a rise today? No problem, get the tablet out and use it to draw some arrows so the graphics can help you tell the story.

TV news broadcasters have also expanded into using applications to allow viewers greater access to their services. The Sky News and BBC News apps allow you to watch reports as well as reading the written version. You can also watch the news live so you never have to miss out on following a breaking story. The portability that tablets have offered to news organisations is remarkable. They can now target a whole new audience: the commuters. These are the people who would have to wait until they got home to catch the news at 10, now they have the option to watch the 6 o’clock news live in their hands on the train from London to Birmingham.

Television shows have also been able to take advantage of the greater levels of interactivity that tablets can offer, with companion applications springing up left, right and centre, for entertainment shows and documentaries. These offer viewers the chance to take part in the show, maybe with exclusive polls and competitions, and find out more information about the different subjects covered in the episode.

With all this in mind it is very easy to get carried away when you consider the possibilities of tablet technologies, but they do have their downsides.

The first is an obvious one: they are very expensive. The latest iPad Air currently retails at £399, that’s more than some laptops and even more than a daily newspaper costs over the course of the year. On top of that price you have to purchase monthly subscriptions to have access to each newspaper. The costs quickly add up. Talking of expense, if you want to get a cover for your immaculate and shiny gadget you’re looking at another £20 for an unofficial one or a whopping £65 for an Apple one. The fact you can use one on the Tube also makes you a target for potential thieves and muggers, certainly far more so than reading a newspaper.

These technologies are also marketed as being portable but there are some cases where being portable and being practical are different entities. Ian Murray notes that you can screw up a newspaper and put it in your pocket or bag, whereas a tablet gives you no flexibility here, it is how it is.

Another disadvantage of a tablet is that they are rather impersonal; where one might take notes on a newspaper I would not scribble over my tablet screen. You also have to have the screen backlit so you can read it. This cannot be good for your eyes in the long term and it gives your face an inhumane glow.

So the tablets offer a whole range of possibilities for the world of journalism and television, the problem is getting people to adapt to them. Usage of tablets is on the rise so the industry will have a lot of clout in the years to come. It is now down to the news organisations and TV executives to make the most of the gold mine that is developing under their noses.

An Interview with Ian Murray, Editor of the Southern Daily Echo

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Advanced Media Law - REVISION NOTES

Law Revision Notes

Legal framework in the UK

Two divisions of courts

Criminal

State prosecutions

Civil

Family, contracts, etc. 

Supreme Court > court of appeal > high court

Highest court in uk is Supreme Court, sits in Middlesex guildhall in parliament

Three functions of crown courts - indictable offences (serious crimes with sentencing over five years), appeals from mags, sentencing

Three functions of magistrates court - summary trials, committals, family courts, youth courts, licensing appeals

Difference between civil and criminal offence

Three sources of uk law - common law, statute, case law

Standards of proof

Balance of probability in civil court

Beyond reasonable doubt in criminal court

Crown prosecution service 

Director of public prosecutions - Alison Saunders

Minister of justice - Chris Grayling

Attorney General - make sure government and ministers are acting properly. Enforces contempt of court guidance. 

Reporting crime and the courts

PREJUDICE and CONTEMPT

PREJUDICE

Where publication of information could harm someone's defence or have them treated unfairly in trial

CONTEMPT

Publishing information that is in breach of the rules of crime and court reporting

Case is active when

Arrest warrant issued

An arrest is made

Stages of reporting crime

Stage one - crime is reported, police hunting, appealing for witnesses, descriptions, no risk of prejudice

Stage two - police make arrest, issue a warrant, person is helping with inquiries, case is legally active,risk of prejudice

Stage three - Police lay charges, trial is a prospect, only incontestable facts can be reported

Stage four - magistrates court hearing so restricted to saying seven things

Name, age, address

Identity

Name of court and magistrates

Name of solicitors

Legal aid

Bail - whether they get it or not

Date and place where case is adjourned

Charges

Types of offence

Indictable

Either-way

Summary

Magistrates Court

Maximum sentence is 6 months

Conditional discharge -

Section 49 order - gives anonymity to U-18s in youth courts

Section 39 order - gives anonymity to U-18s in adult courts

Jigsaw identification - anything that can link together to give away identities

Crown Courts

Can't report proceedings if the jury is not present

Absolute privilege

Reporting must be fast, accurate and contemporaneous

Can report shouting from public gallery but not what they're saying

Libel and Defamation

Defamation

Lowers someone in the mind of right-thinking people

Causes people to be shunned or avoided

Causes damage to their reputation

Puts life in danger - hatred, ridicule and contempt

Libel

 Identification

Defamation

Publication

Standards of proof

Balance of probability

Picture libel caused by juxtaposition

Defences

People need to prove that they have been subject to serious harm

Honest opinion based on fact

Public interest

Absolute privilege - as long as reports are fast, accurate, without malice, and on a matter of public concern.

Qualified privilege - council meeting, police statement,press conference

Copyright

Fair dealing with review and voice over

Got to be relevant

Attribute it

Can use a proportionate bit of it but not all

Can't fair deal a photograph

Confidentiality / Breach of confidence

State secrets

 Info must have quality of confidence such as commercial value

Circumstances must impose obligation of confidence

Unauthorised use of info must cause detriment

Mosley Nazi orgy

Not in public interest

Naomi Campbell drug addiction therapy

Could have expected privacy

Regulatory Codes

OFCOM - broadcasters

Powers

PCC -  print

Powers

Reporting elections

Key dangers

False statements

Impartiality

Exit polls

Not everyone has to be covered equally, depends if they belong to major or minor parties

Freedom of Information

Advanced Media Law - CODES, PRACTICE AND ETHICS

Codes of Practice and Ethics

OFCOM

Not just journalism, across television

Licensing authority

Independent of government

PCC

Press Complaints Commission

On its way out

Ignored phone hacking scandal

Self-regulator

Wasn't in the board's interest to be tough on themselves

BBC Editorial guidelines

Ethical crisis

Phone hacking

Who guards the guardians?

If journalism keeps the rich and powerful in line, who keeps journalists in line?

Independent Press Standards Organisation

Could replace PCC

Royal Charter

Statute regulation for the press, based in law

Could interfere with freedom of the press

Trust is vital

Could have commercial implications

Damage reputation

Facts must be right

Reason News of the World was closed

The main codes

OFCOM - Broadcasters

PCC- Newspapers and magazines

BBC - For BBC staff and license payers

NUJ

How far can we go to get a story?

Bugs?

Secret filming?

Respect privacy

Test of public interest

Undercover investigations

What practices are legitimate?

When do circumstances make a difference?

How much of something do you run?

Funerals

Press conferences involving bereaved families

The law is specified and limited

Codes provide a benchmark for behaviour

Reassure our audiences - build trust

Harm and offence

Swearing

Nudity

Violence

Death

Bombs

Pendulum of taste and decency

Impartiality

Broadcasters not newspapers

Absence of bias or preconception

Considers 'axis of debate'

Work out where fault lines of debate are

Look for where differences of opinion are 

OFCOM powers

Direction not to repeat programme

Corrections or findings must be broadcast

Impose fines of up to 5% of revenue

Revoke broadcast licence

Advanced Media Law - QUALIFIED PRIVILEGE

Law - Qualified Privilege / Absolute Privilege

 Available as a defence is public interest is considered more important than the risk of defamation

Credit Suisse 'aided' US tax evaders - example

Annual General Meetings

Qualified = has to be in the meeting/said by a report

Reports must be fair, accurate and without malice and a matter of public interest

Part 1 areas

Public proceedings

UN etc

Part 2

Subject to explanation and contradiction

Public meetings

Local councils and committees

Tribunals

General meetings

Company documents or extracts

Associations have different status

Findings or decisions are covered

Proceedings are not

Press conferences

Public meetings

Written handouts also covered

Risks of live broadcasting

Delay

No privilege outside of main proceedings

Inquests

Conducted by coroners

Legal procedure to establish if the cause of death appears 'violent or unnatural'

Does not rule on who may be responsible

Inquest juries

In exceptional cases where

Deceased was in state detention

Death result of action by police

Result of workplace accident

Types of verdict

Narrative verdicts - increasingly common

Short form - natural causes, misadventure, accidental death, dependence on drugs

Unlawful killing to open verdict

Media rules

Inquest is court proceeding so protected by absolute privilege

Covered by contempt of court act - no publishing of prejudicial material

Coroner can impose reporting limits

Ethics and treasure

Be are of bereaved families in your coverage - not all the detail

Coroners must decide whether found objects are 'treasure' and subject to reward