Extended Reading: Phone Hacking and The News of the World

There has been a lot going on in the media in the last few days. You need to keep up with all of the latest developments. As an extension to your initial task I'm going to keep track of the News of the World hacking scandal via the internet. Choose a news provider, not The Sun or The Times as these are owned by the same group that owns the News of the World, then follow the updates in the story.

We will be discussing this story and surrounding issues in the lesson on Monday, so be prepared.

Here are some links to a few reputable news sites:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/

http://www.independent.co.uk/

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/

Reading: the internet and social networking

Here is the reading for today's debate topic. Open the link below and read the interactive guide to the history of the internet and then the article by the inventor of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee. Consider the purpose for which the internet was originally developed and how it functions as a media interface (ease of general use).

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/interactive/2009/oct/23/internet-arpanet

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/nov/22/tim-berners-lee-facebook

How has the use of the internet changed since its inception? Is the internet more or less free (on an audience level) that it was?

A2 Reading List

Now the A2 course has officially begun you'll need to start thinking about your reading. I know that it might not be the first thing on your mind. However, you have to read. I'm not joking. Your success in the A2 Media exam relies on you having  a broad range of Media references to draw from, including new Media debates.

What's a Media debate? It is the development of discussion across the Media caused by advancement in technology or social issues- like the current debate about the use of Twitter to break super injunctions. Another good example is the recent sale of a large proportion of  BSkyB to Rupert Murdoch; this has caused a very heated debate in the Media industry about the plurality of the press and the potential for abuses of power by Media moguls.

Here are a few good examples to get you started:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/04/bbc-acts-to-stop-twitter-leaks

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13969338

Every week I am going to ask you to take an overview of the British Media and produce a roundup of the current debates. You'll then post this to your blog, which I will be checking the following week before the lesson. If the work is not there when I check your blog then you won't receive a mark for the lesson but you will still be required to stay. You'll also have to attend a monitored study session during lunch or after school

I am not going to dictate exactly what you read, or what form it takes: print, broadcast or web. And I won't be asking you to write about all of the texts in detail. Your assignment is to read and then sum up the development and issues from your reading in your blog post. You can also link to any interesting texts that you want to share with the group. I'll be doing the same thing on this blog.

Finally, you'll need to set up a Twitter account (if you don't have one already) and follow @SwanshurstMedia. Then you'll need to tweet the link to your updated blog so we know that it has been completed.

Other updates will be appearing on this page on a regular basis, so make sure you check at least once a week.