Section B: Contemporary Media Issues - Media in the Online Age

The Critical Perspectives Exam – 2 hrs

Section A:Theoretical Evaluation of

Production

Q1(a)25 marks

Q1(b)25 marks

Section B: Contemporary Media Issues

Media in the Online Age

50 marks

Section B: Contemporary Media Issues

Media in the Online Age You are required to answer one question (out of a choice of two) on the contemporary issues and debates surrounding different forms of media in the online age.

Media in the Online Age Past questions

• "For media audiences, the internet has changed everything." Discuss.

• Explain the extent to which online media exist alongside older methods of distribution in 2010.

• How important to change in the media is the idea of convergence? Refer to at least two media in your answer.

• "The impact of the internet on the media is revolutionary." Discuss.

• Discuss the extent to which the distribution and consumption of media have been transformed by the internet.

• You must prepare and use specific case studies, texts, debates and research of the topic to demonstrate understanding of the contemporary issue. This understanding must combine knowledge of at least two media and a range of texts, industries, audiences and debates.

Prompt questionsYou must be prepared to answer an exam question that relates to one or more of these four prompts:

• How have online media developed?

• What has been the impact of the Internet on media production?

• How is consumer behaviour and audience response transformed by online media, in relation to the past?

• To what extent has convergence transformed the media?

There should be emphasis on the historical, the contemporary and the future in relation to the chosen topic, with most attention on the present: • Historical – dependent on the requirements of the topic,

candidates must summarise the development of the media forms in question in theoretical contexts.

• Contemporary – current issues within the topic area.

• Future – candidates must demonstrate personal engagement with debates about the future of the media forms / issues that the topic relates to.

'Candidates might explore combinations of any two media, considering how each (or the two in converged

forms) can be analysed from the above prompts.‘

Examples might be:• music downloading and distribution• the film industry and the internet• online television• online gaming• online news provision• various forms of online media production by the public • or a range of other online media forms.