There have been many changes in media from 1900 to present day but with no increase to national identity, or you could say that national identity has decreased over the years, cause by changes in newspaper, people watch all different films, and foreign business men like Rupert Murdoch, and the effect of other countries media sources being shown on TV and in films.When you look at the changes in media over the past 100 years, there have been many, some which cause a fragmentation. The changes in newspapers have effect everyone that reads them, from Broadsheet, to Tabloid and the group they aim at, like The News Of The World has always been aimed at the working class, and when it started it was the cheapest Broadsheet aimed directly at the newly literate working classes.Say that paper have always caused a fragmenation, because people read different papers, with different view, shows the ligher side of news like, entertainment industry, gossip concerning the British monarchy, and sports, as well as news and politics for its content, with many items revolving around celebrities, but also immigration, security scandals, domestic abuse and paedophiles are also frequently news stories, but say The Times has a differenet out look seen by some as a serious publication with high standards of journalism and it has played an influential role in politics and shaping public opinion about foreign events.A change within Newspapers has effect everyone from the changing is size of the paper, to changes in ownership and new paper being introduced. The size of the paper have an effect on who reads it be it Broadsheet or Tabloid or Berliner. The Independent, The Guardian, The Financial Times,The Times, The Daily Telegraph were all Broadsheet which is traditionally associated with ‘higher-quality’ journalism. People that are associated with these papers are middle, upper class who class with these paper, who are noraml right winged or center in there political view.
Then you had a change is size, many of the papers like The Times went from a Broadsheet to a Tabloid, this upset its readers who vocally opposing the change, because it was now seen as a Tabloid, and the links with Tabloid papers “junk food news”, and the traditionally view of the upper classes. The Guardian changed size, but went to the Berliner which some would say it better then going to a Tabloid paper.Tabloid paper also now as gutter press, can be put in two groups the Red tops like The Sun, or Black tops like the Daliy Mail, are very different they are simply and sensationally written, and to give more prominence than broadsheets to celebrities, sports, crime stories and even hoaxes, they also more readily take a political position (either left- or right-wing) on news stories, ridiculing politicians, demanding resignations and predicting election results. Broadcast media, Radio and Television have effect the way we look at National identity.Television first broadcast in 1936, but not many people had them because they cost too much, so only the very rich could afford to have one.
During World War 2 Television was shut down. This allowed the Radio to take over as the main home entertain under the control of the BBC, it cost less so more people had one. They played an important role in World War 2 in that it give public information, it was entertain and it give a link between the forces and family, which would of help moral be high, so the war effort would go on.Television never really had a big impact till 1953 the Queen’s Coronation, first time every show on TV, and a big event for the country as it was view lift moral of the country. Around this time was a huge increase in the amount of Television being sold, and you also had on the day of the Coronation, lots of people going around someone house who had a Television to watch, view as a great time for the country to come together.
Also in the 50s you had the ITV the commercial television.The 60s started a new wave of television, as there was full employment which meant disposable income so Television sales went though not everyone had a TV, the 60s also brought about Top of The Pops, and music was big in the 60s. 60s also saw Coronation Street the longest runging soap shown for the first time on ITV. In the 70s you had more choice with 3 channels, running from 7:00 am to 11:00pm, and it would finish by playing the National Anthem, though there where still people who didn’t own TVs.One of the biggest ranking shows on TV was Only Fools and Horses, which on one episode got 24. 3 million, record audiences for a British sit-com.
Cinema both has caused changes and has changed it self over time, from being the single screen cinema, to the outer town multi-screen, they have effect leisure habits, attendance has gone up and down, the impact of Hollywood and the impact of US films more generally on British society, as well as British home make films and the effect of being more Americanized.Going to the cinema has always been seen as a leisure activity affordable to all, you had the fact that 20s 30s for some people it was the first time they saw carpet, in these great big cinema, that looked like palaces, mainly Odeon cinema. Cinema become a import role in World War 2, it was a source of information as it play news reels before each showing, way to escape the reality of war. Though during this time when we stated getting American films over, as we stop making films along with most of Europe, which allow Hollywood to take over and pump films out, many about singing and dancing, or cowboys like Jesse James.You would have had films that where aimed at teenagers like Grease, and other films base on High school life or college.
Where there weren’t films like this coming out of England at the time. Though there where films base on teenagers life in England, you only got to look at 1973 with Quadrophenia base in the 1960s of a life of a young man who was a mod, trying to found his way in the world, looking at the music, the cloths they wore, drug taking, scooter they went around on, and the fight that they would have against the rockers coming to a head at Brighton.Also with the film scum which show what British Borstal was like for young offenders. Through there are only a few number of film base on British life, against the number films that come out of Hollywood. James Bond one of the biggest films to come out of England, even though the people behind the scenes, people with the money are American, but every thing else is British, from the lead, to where it ids film and the cars he drives.Rupert Murdoch is probably the most inffuentiol and powerful man in the media, today, becauase of what he owns, you have a Australia born, controling many papers in the UK, as well as Sky, a long with a shard in ITV. News papers under his ownership are The Sun, The Times and two Sunday papers, News of The World and The Sunday Times.
The Sun is the highest circulation in the World at around 3 million, and the mot read at around 10 million.So the fact that a man not even born in this country owns the most read paper, could take away national identity. The Sun mainly read by working class people whos political allegiance is left wing labour supports, where Murdoch is right winged, along with the paper being Right-Wing, Nationalist and Populist, which mixed of the two and what the reading are starting to more towards. When Murdoch brought the paper and merges it with News of The World, editorial content of the paper was moved downmarket you had the introduction of the page three girls.At the start of the paper it remain labour, but in the 1979 eceltion it changed to support Margaret Thatcher, as the view that labour had let people down, this drive to vote Conservative casued many people votting, as labour voters voted Conservative for the first time, and the paper remain a support of Thatcher, then the support for John Major in te 1992 election, by having it headline “If [Labour leader] Neil Kinnock wins today, will the last person to leave Britain please turn out the lights”, and twos days later they had the headline”It Was The Sun Wot Won It saying that won the election for the Conservative.Through the 1997 The Sun went back to Labour supporting Tony Blair in 1997, 2001 and 2005 some say down to the paper’s general disillusionment with the Conservative party since Black Wednesday, or it that the fact murdoch would support the person that is most likely to win in the election, as the Conseravtive looked to have no hope, so he would keep on the same side as government and notto be seen as supporting the lossing party. The Sun report in three main area, sex, sport and scandal.They have been linked to patriotism, with its support for the army, by saying our boys, and the headline”GOTCHA”, and along with all Murdoch paper supports the War in Iraq.
The News of TheWorld follows the same line as The Sun, concentrate on lighter-weight news stories. Murdoch owership of BskyBmost popular subscription television service in the UK, with channel, and showing progreamms from all over the world, you no longer have to wacth Bristish made TV on the BBC, so theres more to wacth and not really wacths the same think. New technolgy have effect everything, you had videos and DVD, the internet and mobile phones.Videos and DVDs could of lead to falling number in cinema because they are cheaper, the new leisure habits that followed in that you don’t have to go out to the cinema you can watch one at home, or order it on TV. The internet has had a big effect in that you can watch TV online.
Websites like youtube are anew source of entertainment. This could lead to a change in TV like with the BBC that you don’t pay a licence fee, but you pay fro what you watch like Sky. Mobile phone are also now allowing people to watch TV on, listen to radio on, all in one and as you are on the move.
Media has change, and with this changed its effect the national identity, as it is slowly meaning less and less to people, means less know then it did for someone 60 years ago. Down to the fact of how media has grown, and how now we don’t only see British TV show and film, but we see American, Australia and many more, and with that we now have more choice what to watch not only with the 5 channel, but now with Sky and cable and freeview not everyone watching the same thing. So people are lossing a sence of natioal identity as media grows.