INSTITUTION/ REPRESENTATION

AGENCIES • Who or what is represented and

• Who made it and for whom? by whom?
• Who owns or controls the • Who or what has been omitted?
production processes? • Why is the subject represented
• How is the text distributed? in this way?
• What are the final effects on
production?

IDEOLOGY/ MEDIA LANGUAGE

MESSAGES/ • How does this text convey its
VALUES message?
• What values are explicit? Film
• What are the denotative and
Advertisement
• What values are implicit? connotative levels of meaning?
TEXT • What cultural codes are
Television programme operating (speech, body language,
Book dress etc)?
• What professional codes are
operating (camera perspective,
editing, sound etc)?

PRODUCTION/ GENRE/CATEGORIES AUDIENCES

TECHNOLOGIES NARRATIVE • To whom is the text addressed?
• What technologies have been • Where does this text fit in with • In what conditions might it be
used to produce the text? other texts? received?
• What roles were involved in the • Are conventions followed or • What might the audience do
process? subverted? with it?
• What is the impact of the • How is the narrative organised? • What are the possible range of
technolgies/roles? • Who are its heroes and villains? readings?
 MEDIA EDUCATION IN THE STATUTORY CURRICULUM FOR ENGLISH
Key Stage 2
Requirements
• No specific mention of the word media or
of moving image
• Reading for information (para 3) requires
pupils to “draw on different features of
texts, including print, sound and image to
obtain meaning”
• Non-fiction and non-literary texts (para
5) need to be studied in terms of “different
formats, layouts and presentational devices”
• Non-fiction and non-literary texts (para
9) should include newspapers, magazines,
articles, leaflets, brochures, advertisements
• ICT Advice suggests that pupils could use
moving image texts to… “support their study
of literary texts and to study how words,
images and sounds are combined to convey
meaning and emotion
Key Stage 3/4
Requirements
• Media studied to include print, images and
sound, and moving images as well as print
• Texts should be studied in terms of form,
layout and presentation
• Context should be considered in terms of
the impact of nature and purpose of media
products on content and meaning
• Audiences and readers to be considered in
terms of their choices and responses
• Reading for meaning (para 1) requires that
pupils should “consider how meanings are
changed when texts are adapted to different
media”
• Non-fiction and non-literary texts (para
9) should include “media and moving image
texts”
Comments
At Key Stage 2 the emphasis in Reading is upon
reading strategies for responding to print.
However, it is difficult to imagine covering this
reading curriculum without addressing some Media
principles.
The most significant ‘absence’ is any reference to
“moving” before the use of the word “image”.
“Sound and image” together certainly implies film
and television, but the overall impact is to place
print at the heart of this curriculum.
Comments
Media occurs only within Reading. Its absence from
Speaking and Listening and Writing strongly
reinforces the notion of Media Education as an
analytical rather than a creative process.
The emphasis on analysis (rather than pleasure) is
reinforced by the absence of any Media reference to
narrative, whole texts or authorship.
Pupils must study the moving image. This
requirement ensures that the curriculum is not
entirely print centred. However, there is no
requirement that pupils are examined on their
understanding of the moving image.
Media in English is about text rather than context.
Context. How the industry functions, who owns
what etc, is left to the specialist Media Studies
syllabuses.
ICT and Media are in separate paragraphs. It is up
to the teacher to draw connections or make
distinctions.
 MEDIA EDUCATION IN THE NATIONAL LITERACY FRAMEWORK

Year 7
Reading Objective 10 Identify how media texts are tailored to suit their
(Reading for Meaning) audience, and recognise that audience responses
vary e.g. popular websites

Reading Objective 11 Recognise how print, sounds and still or moving

(Reading for Meaning) images combine to create meaning

Reading Objective 13 Identify, using appropriate terminology, the way

(Understanding the author’s craft) writers of non-fiction match language and
organisation to their intentions, e.g. in campaign
material

Year 8
Reading Objective 8
(Reading for Meaning)
Reading Objective 9
(Reading for Meaning)
Year 9
Reading Objective 4
(Research and Study Skills)
Reading Objective 8
(Reading for Meaning)
Reading Objective 10
(Understanding the author’s craft)
Investigate how meanings are changed when
information is presented in different forms or
transposed into different media
Recognise how texts are shaped by the technology
they use e.g. the use of sound and image in a
computer animation
Evaluate the relevance, reliability and validity of
information available through print, ICT and other
media sources
Analyse how media texts influence and are
influenced by readers, eg. interactive
programmes, selection of news items
Comment on interpretations of the same text or
idea in different media, using terms appropriate
for critical analysis
 PLANNING TO TEACH MEDIA IN THE KEY STAGE 3/4 CURRICULUM FOR ENGLISH

• At Key Stage 3 / 4, the NC requires an understanding of how “meaning is conveyed in texts that
include print, images, and sometimes sounds”. Pupils also have to know about Media presentation,
purpose, and audiences.

• This Key Stage 3 / 4 Media curriculum can be minimalist, or fundamental to your approach to
teaching English. It is up to you as the teacher in the classroom.

• The NLF, year 7 sees Media as about sounds, moving image and audience; year 8 NLF Media
focuses upon changing from one medium or technology to another; Year 9 continues the notion of
movement between media, but also introduces the relationship between text and audience in the
interpretation of evidence – the issue of ‘influence’

• Planning for Media Education in GCSE English depends largely on syllabus choice. EDEXCEL and
one of AQA’s new syllabuses put Media Education in coursework and thus allow for more flexible
study of the moving image. WJEC and OCR put Media in the terminal examination, meaning that
assessment must focus on the still image and printed text. AQA places Media in coursework, but
assesses it for writing (analyse, review comment) rather than reading. OCR, in its terminal
examination, uses Media to examine reading, with the emphasis on distinguishing between fact and
opinion, and evaluating the presentation of information.

• Media Studies is an optional subject at GCSE and A level where the emphasis is more broadly on
context, institutional and ideological issues.

• There is also one Film Studies syllabus – at ‘A’ level only - WJEC
 MEDIA EDUCATION

Some principles

• Media education is based on the principle that the media REPRESENTS the world in ways that make it
appear NATURAL. The role of the teacher of Media is to make what seems to be natural
PROBLEMATIC, so that pupils develop critical autonomy.

• The greatest media product is the AUDIENCE. The media industry creates audiences and sells them
to advertisers. However, audiences (individually and collectively) can reject DOMINANT readings of
texts, and produce their own OPPOSITIONAL readings.

• Media teachers have to be able enjoy media products, or, at least, understand why and how they can
be enjoyed.

• Media teachers help pupils to produce their own media readings. Media teachers help pupils to
realise that every image is a combination of signs, each one replaceable by another.
MEDIA TERMINOLOGY

Some media

• Television, radio, print, film, broadband

Some forms

• News, advertising, documentary, fictional narrative in film, television drama, magazine (tv/print)

Some genres

• Comedy, film noir, science fiction, reality tv, soap

Some texts

• Newspaper article, advertisement, book, film

Some fundamentals of Media Language or Professional Codes

• Set: production design, set, location, actors, costumes, make-up, gesture, proxemics, extras, props,

• Camera: perspective/angle of shot, composition/framing, colour, light

• Sound: soundtrack, voice, voice-over, sound effects, music

• Editing: ordering of images or words; relationship between sound and image, print and image

Some examples of Media Vocabulary: film and television

extreme close-up, medium close-up, medium shot, long shot, establishing shot, two-shot, pan,
zoom/reverse zoom, track, tilt, crane, dolly, point-of-view, high angle shot, aerial shot/bird's eye view,
low angle shot/worm's eye view

Some examples of Media Vocabulary: print

tabloid, broadsheet, local, national, free newspapers, bias, propaganda, mode of address, tone, register,
news agency, stringer, masthead, strapline, byline, typography, house style, cropping, typeface, layout,
double-page spread, copy, editorial, leader/lead article, advertorial, feature, headline, sub-headline.

Some semiotic terms

Connotation, denotation, sign, signifier, signification, myth, paradigm, syntagm, binary oppositions,
commutation test, codes, modality
For a very good introduction to semiotics, go to:
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/semiotic.html
 MEDIA EDUCATION IN GCSE ENGLISH 2003 (YEAR 11) AND 2004 (YEAR 10)

AQA (NEAB) Year 11

• Media assessed in course work – one of four pieces, contributing to reading and writing
• Analysis of film or video of text is the focus, analysis must address the medium used

AQA (SEG) Year 11

• Media assessed in one of two examination papers (alongside, but separate from non-fiction)
• Media texts in pre-release booklet - selected from magazines, news, radio, tv, film

WJEC Year 11
• Media assessed in one of two examination papers (alongside, but separate from non-fiction)
• Texts (ads, reports, newspaper and magazine articles, brochures) will always include visual material

OCR (MEG) Year 11

• Media assessed in one of two examination papers (NOT separate from non-fiction)
• Texts include newspapers, magazines, ads., leaflets, handouts, letters, journals, biographies,
travel lit

EDEXCEL Year 11
• Media assessed in a n examination paper – not associated with non-fiction
• Only the reading question tests media understanding - writing questions use media text as stimulus

AQA (syllabus A) Year 10

• Media still in coursework, but providing evidence of writing only – analytical writing
• Reading of Media assessed in exam paper where media and non-fiction tests are conflated

AQA (syllabus B) Year 10

• Media in examination not coursework – pre-release Media non-fiction unseen
• Media texts could include web pages

WJEC Year 10
• No change in Media provision – as for year 11 above - Media remains in examination
• Media and non-fiction remain separate; visual material included

OCR Year 10
• Media still in examination – new distinction between non-fiction and media
• Media texts have emphasis on messages tailored to suit audiences

EDEXCEL (syllabus A)Year 10

• Response to unseen media still in an examination and emphasis still on printed media
• Media texts chosen from newspapers, magazines and promotional leaflets

EDEXCEL (syllabus B) Year 10

• Allows the study of Media within coursework - Media work provides evidence of Reading
• A deliberate attempt to allow study of the moving image and includes possibility of digital media
 SPECIALIST MEDIA EDUCATION:
MEDIA STUDIES - GCSE AND GCE ‘ A’ LEVEL

GCSE WJEC
• Key Concepts: genre, narrative and representation
• Media forms/texts: talk shows, newspapers, tv news, print-based ads, tv advertising, magazines
• Study areas: media texts; media organisations; media audiences
• Examination papers require a response to an audio-visual text and still images or print
• Coursework requires textual analysis, and practical Media work – pre-production and production

GCSE OCR
• Key Concepts: media languages and categories; messages and values; producers and audiences
• Media forms/texts:
• science fiction films, teenage magazines, news and advertising
• Study areas: audio/visual media; print-based media; ICT-Based Media
• Examination papers require response to audio visual stimulus or print, plus cross-media topics
• Coursework requires textual analysis and practical Media work – production and evaluation

GCSE AQA
• Key Concepts: media language (forms and conventions), audience, institutions, representation
• Media forms/texts: (current year) comedy films
• Study areas: television; film; radio; popular music, newspapers, magazines and comics
• Examination papers (‘controlled test’) relate to pre-released material
• Coursework requires textual analysis and practical Media work – production and evaluation

GCE ‘A’ Level WJEC

• Unit/Module 1: Modern Media Forms
• Unit/Module 2: Media Representations and Reception
• Unit/Module 3: Making Media Texts
• Unit/Module 4: Investigating Media Texts
• Unit/Module 5: Changing Media Industries
• Unit/Module 6: Text and Context

GCE ‘A’ Level OCR

• Unit/Module 1: Foundation Production
• Unit/Module 2: Textual Analysis
• Unit/Module 3: Case Study: Audiences and Institutions
• Unit/Module 4: Advanced Production
• Unit/Module 5: Critical Research Study
• Unit/Module 6: Media Issues and Debates

GCE ‘A’ Level AQA

• Unit/Module 1: Reading the Media
• Unit/Module 2: Textual Topics in Contemporary Media
• Unit/Module 3: Practical Production
• Unit/Module 4: Texts and Context in the Media
• Unit/Module 5: Independent Study
• Unit/Module 6: Comparative Critical Analysis
 MEDIA EDUCATION AND MEDIA STUDIES: RECOMMENDED READING

This reading list is divided into four sections. Recommended texts in each section are
asterisked.

Section 1: Media Education: These texts are either research-based or theoretical discussions about the
nature of Media Education – what it is for, what it looks like in schools, how it might be
taught.

Section 2: Media Studies: These texts focus strongly on the specialist subject Media Studies, as it is
examined at GCSE and ‘A’ level.

Section 3: Film Studies: These texts are offered as support for the teacher with a personal interest in
film or one who becomes directly involved in teaching the WJEC specialist Film Studies course
at ‘A’ level.

Section 4: Media in Society: This is an extremely broad category. It includes texts on semiotic and
sociological approaches to the media and media audiences. It does not deal with Media
Education per se. It includes a few selected texts on news and advertising.

Section 5: Websites: This very select list will, of course, lead to many other Media websites. A good
place to start is Daniel Chandler’s excellent [academic] site at Aberystwyth University - The
Media and Communications Studies Site: http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/. Another, with
schools in mind, is the BFI-sponsored http://www.mediaed.org.uk.

Because they date so quickly, no particular teaching packs are recommended. However, the English and
Media Centre and Film Education are very good places to start when looking for Media Resources (see list
of websites)

Media Education
• Alvarado, M and Boyd-Barrett, O (1982) Media Education: An Introduction: BFI/Open University*
• Alvarado, M et al (1987): Learning the Media: An Introduction to Media Teaching: Macmillan
• Bowker, J (1991): Secondary Media Education; A Curriculum Statement: British Film Institute
• Buckingham, D (1990) Watching Media Learning: Making Sense of Media Education: Falmer Press
• Buckingham, D (1998) Teaching Popular Culture: Beyond Radical Pedagogy: UCL Press*
• Buckingham, D et al (1995) Making Media: Practical Production in Media Education: The English and
Media Centre
• Buckingham, D. (1998): Teaching Popular Culture – Beyond Radical Pedagogy: UCL Press
• Film Education Working Group (1999) Making Movies Matter - Report of the Film Education Working
Group: BFI
• Goodwyn, A (1992) English Teaching and Media Education: Open University Press
• Hart, A (1991) Understanding the Media: A Practical Guide: Routledge
• Hart, A and Hicks, A (2002) Teaching Media in the English Curriculum: Trentham
• Masterman, L (1980): Teaching About Television: Macmillan
• Masterman, L (1985): Teaching the Media: Comedia*

Media Studies
• Bell, A et al (2001) Advanced Level Media: Hodder and Stoughton*
• Bowker, J (1999) GCSE Media Studies: Hodder and Stoughton*
• Branston, G and Stafford, R (1996) The Media Student’s Book: Routledge,
• Burton, G (2002) More than Meets the Eye: Arnold
• Geraghty, C and Lusted, D (1997) The Television Studies Book: Arnold
• Lusted, D (ed) (1992) The Media Studies Book: A Guide for Teachers: Routledge
• McQueen, D Television: A Media Student’s Guide: Arnold 1998
• O’Sullivan, T et al (1998) Studying The Media: Arnold
• Price, S (1998) Media Studies: Longman
• Selby, K and Cowdery, R (1995) How to Study Television: MacMillan
• Wall, P and Walker, P (1997) Media Studies for GCSE: Collins
• Watson J, and Hill, A (1997) A Dictionary of Communication and Media Studies: Arnold

Film Studies
• Bordwell, D and Thompson, K (2002) Film History, an Introduction: McGraw-Hill
• Bordwell, D. and Thompson, K (1998) Film Art: An Introduction: McGraw-Hill
• Cook, C and Bernink, M (1999) The Cinema Book: BFI*
• Dyer, R and McDonald, P (1998) Stars: BFI*
• Dyer, R (1987) Heavenly Bodies: MacMillan
• Hayward, S (2000) Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts: Routledge
• Nelmes, J (1999) An Introduction to Film Studies: Routledge

Semiotics, Cultural Studies, Communication Studies, Advertising, News

• Barthes, R (1993) Mythologies: Vintage*
• Berger, J (1990) Ways of Seeing: Penguin*
• Brierley, S (2001)The Advertising Handbook: Routledge
• Curran, H and Gurevitch, M (2000) Mass Media and Society: Arnold
• Cohen, S. and Young, J. (1981) The Manufacture of News: Deviance, Social Problems and the Mass
Media: Constable
• Fairclough, N (1995) Media Discourse: Edward Arnold
• Hawkes, T (1977) Structuralism and Semiotics: Methuen
• Kress K and van Leeuwen, T (1996) Reading Images, the Grammar of Visual Design: Routledge
• McNair, B (1994) News and Journalism in the UK: Routledge
• Lacey, N (1998) Image and Representation: Key concepts in Media Studies: MacMillan
• Moores, S (1993) Interpreting Audiences: The Ethnography of Media Consumption: Sage
• Morley, D (1980) The ‘Nationwide Audience’: Structure and Decoding: BFI
• Morley, D (1986) Family Television: Cultural Power and Domestic Leisure :Comedia
• Morley, D (1992) Television, Audiences and Cultural Studies: Routledge
• Myers, G (1994) Words in Ads: Arnold
• O’Sullivan, T et al (1994) Key Concepts in Communication and Cultural Studies: Routledge
• Philo, G (1990) Seeing and Believing: The Influence of Television: Routledge
• Philo, G and Miller, D (2001) Market Killing: Longman
• Stokes, J and Reading, A (1999) The Media in Britain: Current Debates and Developments: MacMillan
• Strinati, D (1995) Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture: Routledge
• Williamson, J (1995) Decoding Advertisements: Marion Boyars*

Some Useful Websites

• The British Film Institute http://www.bfi.org.uk
• MediaED: the Media Education website http://www.mediaed.org.uk*
• Film Education http://www.filmeducation.org
• English and Media Centre http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk
• The Media and Communications Studies Site http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/*
• Internet Movie Database http://uk.imdb.com/
• British Board of Film Classification http://www.bbfc.co.uk/
• Independent Television Commission http://www.itc.co.uk/
• Broadcasting Standards Commission http://www.bsc.org.uk
• Press Complaints Commission http://www.pcc.org.uk/
• Advertising Standards Authority http://www.asa.org.uk/