NDM Story #34 - 7 Times UK News Stories About Muslims Had To Be Corrected In 2016

7 Times UK News Stories About Muslims Had To Be Corrected In 2016

Summary:

This article discusses 7 news stories which have had to be corrected as a result of incorrect information being spread, demonstrating the inaccuracies and lack of regulation as well as fact-checking news stories from within the UK. Even moreso, it is related to the news of Muslims which can be a huge topic of debate since inaccuracies can cause a lot more problems for Muslims which are unreflective of how they should be treated. People may be "islamophobic" due to these stories therefore it is terrible that this is the situation, demonstrating the severity of the issue.

My opinion:

I think this really shows that the media is not always correct and can either overexaggerate or underexaggerate news stories. I personally think that more often than not, these errors are deliberate and definitely have a huge effect on audiences perceptions of Muslims which can really impact wider society, both Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

NDM Story #33 - Just How Dangerous Is Alexa?

Just How Dangerous Is Alexa?

Summary:

This article discusses the new device which is voice enabled and responds to voice commands. The main topic of the article is this ability within devices in relation to users' privacy particularly since the sound recorded is stored in its memory for quite a while even though it is only locally saved and not uploaded online. Therefore, people have concerns about whether this is safe as it is unknown whether these sound recordings are going to be transmitted elsewhere and why they remain in place.

No statistics had been posted.

My opinion:
This ties in with Tanya Byron's research regarding people being aware of how to stay safe using the internet and how such devices could bring problems to someone's life. There is also the risk of hacking which is being taken into consideration which, as we know, even newspaper institutions have done which can cause issues for the public and possibly institutions alike.

NDM Story #32 - Change never stops, but we will always need journalism

Change never stops, but we will always need journalism

Summary:

This article suggests that regardless of how things change, journalism will always have an important place within society. It discusses the authors' history within journalism. In an attempt to persuade readers that journalism is important, this article discusses a range of pros and cons considering both print media as well as new and digital, online media.

• Britain devoured around 15m newspapers each morning. Now it’s 6m and falling.

My opinion:

I think that this article has a good outlook on its topic matter and is very relevant in terms of today's press. It is also good that it considers past elements of the industry, relating it to the present and comparing and contrasting between the two.

NDM Story #31 - I declare 2016 the year of the group chat – social media your own way

I declare 2016 the year of the group chat – social media your own way

Summary:

This lady discusses her encounters with group messaging as a phenomenon which makes an impact in her life - she mentions that she even used this method of communication on her wedding way which shows how important it must be to her daily life.

No stats

My opinion:
I think that this is an interesting article because it highlights how much communication has changed on a mass level. She also compares group chats to singular chats and discusses the variety of group chats she has which is highly relatble - group chats can be used for family, friends and even more recently, coworkers.

NDM Story #30 - Facebook Will Fact-Check Its News Feed and Shame Fake Posts With 'Disputed' Tag

Facebook Will Fact-Check Its News Feed and Shame Fake Posts With 'Disputed' Tag

Summary:

In line with the many previous articles which have been produced as a result of Facebook's lack of fact-checking of false news stories being posted via their site, this article discusses the backlash that has occurred as a result which is being seen as Facebook trying to counteract their previous mistakes by publicly blasting any posts."The most important thing is to give users the information at the time they are deciding whether to click, whether to share," Mr. Jarvis said.

There are no statistics within this article.

My opinion:

I think that this is an interesting approach towards combating this issue as they will be allowing users to be aware of falsified data. The fact that they are using multiple fact-checking organisations for this project is also good as it means that they are both willing to put in the finances as well as attempting to make this process the most effective it could be. The comment made by Mr Jarvis is also very interesting and I agree that this is the right way to go about things as it does allow readers to make an informed decision about what they want to read. However, I will admit that the fact that these posts will be "flagged" could generate even more publicity since the nature of the post would be fake and therefore readers may still be intrigued on what other fake news people are creating, which could cause even more of an issue.

NDM Story #29 - News publishers contributed £5.3bn to the UK economy in 2015

News publishers contributed £5.3bn to the UK economy in 2015

Summary:

According to a report commissioned by the News Media Association, the news industry's trading body, newsbrands generated £4.8bn revenue, supported 87,500 jobs and invested £97m in digital services.

Their £4.8bn revenue was achieved via circulation of these papers as well as advertisement revenue.

However, in order for continued success in this sector, they do need to maintain their monetisation of newsbrand content. As always, reference to possible threats of social media sites such as Facebook and Google have been made, almost serving as a warning for this industry to still be aware of the circumstances yet persevere in their work.

Statistics:

• 90% of revenue stayed within the UK in comparison to 77% of the general revenue remaining in the UK economy by all industries in total.
• Publishers account for 58% of the total investment in news production.

My opinion:

I think this article is interesting and am pleasantly surprised to see this type of data being presented, particularly given that the majority of news throughout this year, regarding the possible successes of brands within newspaper industry have been largely negative and suggestive of a major decline in this sector. Therefore, to read an article that is more positive with regards to newspapers' achievements both within the industry and on wider scale, contributing to the economy in general, is good to see. I'm also glad to have read that there are other benefits of the UK journalism industry which don't seem to have been previously mentioned - such as its effect on increased literacy rates across the country.

NDM Story #28 - Fake news could affect next UK election, warns Channel 4 executive

Fake news could affect next UK election, warns Channel 4 executive

Summary:

This article discusses fake news, yet again; however, this time it is from a UK perspective. People are concerned that the issues that were supposedly caused by "fake news stories" in the US (for example, people being held at gunpoint in a pizza restaurant that was reported to be related to Hilary Clinton) would also occur in the UK when we have our own elections. They believe that these stories affected public votes and suggested that the same phenomenon would happen here. Therefore, three years prior to UK elections, they are requesting government intervention in order to prevent this from happening. They believe that the onus is on companies such as Google and Facebook despite these companies claims that they are merely technology companies as opposed to media associations. They also think that these firms are unlikely to "step up" and take responsibility for their actions which is why they are keen on gaining government intervention.

•A Buzzfeed survey found that 75% of adults believed fake news stories

•Facebook’s recent revelations that it has not been giving advertisers and publishers accurate information about how their content performs on the network as an example of the company’s lack of transparency.

My opinion:

I am quite shocked at the figures which display the number of gullible adults believing these news stories as I would have expected this number to be lower for them but this figure to be more representative of the younger population. This therefore displays ignorance from the public and shows that they don't seem to want to know the truth, as long as it reinforces perhaps their own opinions and vain desires. I understand why UK politicians may be concerned as it definitely could affect votes for the election. However, my personal belief is that the elections are rigged anyway so it wouldn't make a difference to the final result; whoever wins would've won regardless. Therefore, I think all of this hype over fake news is overly broadcast and although I see why it may cause a moral panic, I don't think it would have a huge impact in the future for the UK.