media in society

Today’s meditation: ... read more »

Courtni Webb, one of your 17 year old high school students, is now facing the possibility of being expelled from your school after writing a poem about the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. In the poem Courtni wrote she understood why someone like Adam Lanza might do what he did. She wasn’t agreeing with it, but in her poem said she understood the oppression in society that could cause such a tragedy. ... read more »

Written in 1995 when I was in my second year of my undergraduate degree, I wrote this essay about Rodney King, the LA riots, and the role of the media. I thought it was apt to upload it here today, on the day of Rodney King’s death.

http://westengland.academia.edu/ShawnSobers/Papers/1732932/THE_DAY_ANGELS_WEPT_Ideology_Television_and_Rodney_King

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In Roland Barthes’ famous book about photography, Camera Lucida, the French theorist writes, “Ultimately, photography is subversive, not when it frightens, repels, or even stigmatizes, but when it is pensive, when it thinks.“ ... read more »

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Front page of every paper is about the hacking scandal and Sir Paul Stephenson’s resignation as head of the Metropolitan Police Force.   All except The Sun, which has The Beckhams’ baby in a huge photo, with just a tiny mention of this story. In the future The Sun should not dare ever complain about the low levels of education in this country, as they are the prime promoters of keeping British society ignorant and uneducated.

Here’s the headlines;

The Times– “Forced Out” ... read more »

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
Edmund Burke

Note: ... read more »

See video direct at – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3hCQcrfg28&feature=share

Lyrics to Message To The Messengers : ... read more »

See below the latest street news video by the South Blessed Community Channel, as a follow-up to their anti-Tesco film, (see previous post).  Last night the local police used vans and deployed a helicopter to stop the screening of a film in a park about last week’s riots.  When the screening moved to a local house, at first the police then attempted to stop that happening too.  Surely the ... read more »

The following is a reply I sent to Rachel MacPherson, a journalism student from University of the West of Scotland.  She was writing her dissertation on the media’s representation of victims of crime, in particular missing person cases, and read my post about Serena Beakhurst and wanted my opinion.  I provided answers to her questions, as shown below.  The topic i ... read more »