Author: Sanya Kakkar

Media Show by BBC talks all about channel 4 and how the privatisation process of channel 4 will completely change the content of the channel,  this is the concern of more than 80% of the viewers of the channel. 

Channel 4 was set up in 1982 by the Thatcher government, and the channel has been constantly reinventing itself since. The way they work, they don’t cost the taxpayer anything, in fact, they make money commercially from advertisers. They take all the money about a billion pounds of revenue a year. And recycle it for small and medium businesses across the UK. Channel 4 spends 50% of its revenue outside of London and the rest 50% in London. That’s a big focus for them, making sure that they spread it across the UK. Lots of small or medium creative production companies produce programmes that channel 4 air.  They are owned by the public, and they are for the public.  It entails utilizing their powerful brand and extensive reach to promote unheard voices, including those from diverse communities, emerging writers and producers, and individuals whose experiences or points of view differ. Inspired by the conversation between three individuals on the BBC media show https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-media-show/id292525828?i=1000526638482

They vision making a change in the more extensive world through their main principles as a whole: from television to streaming, social media, and film, as well as their daily responsibilities at Channel 4. It’s how Channel 4 affects society, viewers, British culture, the creative industries, and the economy as a whole.
The concern of channel 4 being privatised as expressed in the podcast that some of Channel 4’s less commercial programming, like drama and news and current affairs, might suffer.  Further, Channel 4’s passion and inclusion will vanish as profit reigns supreme. The level of depth of the news as one aspect of the schedule might come under pressure, as well as programs that featured voices that were not represented in the media. Privatisation will have implications on the jobs of broadcasters as well as the economy of the United Kingdom. In the first scenario, it may

result in destroying the unique publisher-broadcaster relationship leading to a 29% reduction in the broadcaster’s content, ultimately affecting the supply chain. 

Channel 4 had always tried to include programmes like the Paralympics, and even in covid, they focused on producing cooking content, without critically thinking about the profits or they have a Muslim women’s band playing regularly on the channel. Some of the most famous shows on Channel 4, are ‘The Great British Bake Off, Taskmaster, Lady parts.

Channel 4 creates content which is liked and viewed by consumers. A mutual ownership model, a sale to a private buyer, a flotation, or the sale of a minority stake are all possibilities for the new ownership structure. However, opponents of privatization point out that Channel 4 does not own any of its popular shows, like The Great British Bake Off, and that the channel’s mandate to “be different” would prevent it from making a lot of money. Since Channel 4 does not have its own production house and it has the mandate to telecast the shows within London or on streaming platforms but it cannot commercialize these shows outside the UK. It could be detrimental to the numerous independent production companies that are in charge of making them if that were to be altered or if it were permitted to produce its own programs. Once the factor of profit arises there might be less focus on generalised content and more on bringing in the high TRPs.

Any buyer of Channel 4 would drastically increase the margins and commercial profits for the company, ultimately changing the model of the Channel. There is no other commercial broadcaster who will be interested in investing in the kinds of films and programmes that Channel 4 produces. Options in front of the government are to either sell outright or part of the stake in channel 4. Thus, stating that it is not a profit-maximising owner!

But analysts believe that an ownership model is better as it will pay regular dividends to the government and this will be more profitable than any sale. Most politicians, from their comments, also appear against the sale and they are against the thought of a sale of their “precious public asset’ to a likely buyer from outside the UK. Discovery and Warner brothers( US) are likely to make a joint bid. BT, a British company was at the forefront prior to covid and this was still favourable to all as BT is a British company but post covid BT has its own problems. So a likely complete sale to a third party will also not be easy. 

The Misogynist World of Tik Tok!

The four-time kickboxing world champion, Andrew Tate is the new star of Tik Tok. An influencer who professes profound misogyny got famous in no time, this was cleverly manipulated by social media algorithms, particularly TikTok. Concerning Tate’s rise to fame and subsequent social media ban, numerous articles have been written. From marginal fame to stardom, Tate got everything.

Andrew Tate thinks that women belong in the home and they are a man’s property. He has also blamed the rape victims and stated “bear responsibility”, as it is a woman’s fault that she got raped. He has faced backlash from various charities and celebrities because of the way he ‘promotes’ domestic abuse, he could actually be influencing young men. 

The tailored choice;

Social media tend to isolate users in a filter bubble and provide them with tailored feeds depending on our search history, and shared or saved videos. Being trapped in this bubble means interacting with one point of view, whereas turning a blind eye towards the other side of the coin. 

TikTok’s most negative innovation in my view is that, in contrast to the previous systems of algorithms, it does not simply wait for the user to indicate that they like a video by giving it a thumbs up or satisfy itself by judging what the user chooses to view. Instead, it seems to actively test its own predictions by showing videos it thinks might be fun and measuring how people react. Based on how the views are accumulated TikTok tends to serve each individual video to a small batch of people, and if the majority of users in a batch have a high number of positive interactions with the video, and the number of users in these batches increases with each successful round. Thus, it provides every user “a chance to be famous”, even if it is someone like Andrew Tate, published in the guardian https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/06/andrew-tate-violent-misogynistic-world-of-tiktok-new-star. 

Finally proving that TikTok algorithms played a major role in this, as in 2022 when his video got more than 12 billion views. In the video he was seen choking a woman, gripping her neck and calling her ex-girlfriend a hoe, because she accused him of cheating. There is a piece of evidence, proving that tate asked his followers to share his most controversial clips, in order to achieve millions of views and Tik Tok engagement. In less than four months he made millions of pounds with over 127,000 followers on the internet. 

However, the majority of articles fail to acknowledge that Tate’s ability to utilize platform algorithms was the only thing novel or innovative about his rhetoric. The example provided by Tate exemplifies how proponents of misogyny are utilizing technology to amplify their message. As a user of TicTok myself, I use to hate this personality but still saw his video on my feed every single day. Because, tik tok algorithms are set in a way that if you watch, like, share, or save a video, your feed will revolve around it. There is no going back!. This has created a vicious cycle of misogyny, as Tate’s fame didn’t stop there the videos which had his name tagged in them were viewed more than a billion times. 

However, the platform appears to have done little to limit Tate’s spread or ban the accounts responsibly, despite the fact that much of the content appears to violate TikTok’s rules, which explicitly portrays misogyny. Instead, it has pushed him into the mainstream by allowing clips of him to spread throughout the internet and actively promoting them to the young generations.

 

TikTok is a hypocrite, as the community guidelines for TikTok state that the platform is “inclusive and supportive” and prohibits content that “praises, promotes, glorifies, or supports any hateful ideology,” including misogyny. However, much of it appears to meet the definition of hateful content. In addition, the terms of TikTok explicitly state that they prohibit accounts that “impersonate” other users by utilizing their name or image in a “misleading manner.”

Tate, whose content is still widespread on TikTok, an extreme misogynist remains in the headlines.

Glossier is a groundbreaking beauty brand that is well-known for its online cult following, realistic advertising campaigns, and pink aesthetics. There is no other way to describe Glossier in the beauty industry than as a unicorn. In terms of engagement, the direct-to-consumer (D2C)  strategy has risen to unprecedented heights. Customers of Glossier buy their products, take pictures of them using the product, and post them on social media.

Every aspect of Glossier’s brand https://www.glossier.com/collections/skincare?sort_by=manual content that can be shared, from pastel-coloured products to engaging stickers that come free with products. Thus, every product has a chance to increase social media engagement. Not only does one campaign of glossier have a user-generated content element but glossier focuses on having consumers as their models for the promotion of their product. Content is the queen for glossier! The diversity of representation demonstrates that there is no “ideal” customer for the brand. Glossier products are for everyone.

#MaskForce

Just like any other campaign, glossier came up with the #maskforce campaign in 2015. Glossier came up with a new clay-based putty called “Mega Green Galaxy pack”, designed to detoxify pores.

Soon after the launch of the product Instagram, was flooded with a chain of selfies with women’s faces covered in the face mask appearing: opaque, smooth, and slightly grittier than usual. there were selfies clicked inside the tub or even while sipping wine, and everyone used the hashtag #maskforce.

Glossier makes their consumers or the customers experience what it means to be the face of a brand. They make their customers a part of their brand story, rather than just liking or retweeting what their consumers post about them on any social media, they celebrate their customers. This makes the consumer happy and helps build an honest relationship with the brand. 

What do consumers gain from posting their content? Recognition! How astounding it is to be featured on the social media page of one of the biggest brands in the world. As this brand focuses more on natural beauty and has launched campaigns which revolve around “realness”. This #mask up force was one of the most effective campaigns of glossier. The user-generated content (UGC) has been used effectively by Glossier to turn numerous brand supporters into micro-influencers who promote the company’s products online.

Glossier in their campaign #maskforce shared user-generated content (UGC) promoting the new face mask that followers actually used. The best creators of their products were invited to become brand ambassadors on Instagram. These creators get a particular promo code, which gives them a percentage of a sale every time someone uses their specific code. 

Glossier also pays attention to its customers. To an extent that when”Glossier released Glitter Gellée, a wearable eye glitter, as part of its Glossier Play collection. The company received complaints about the non-biodegradable glitter in Glitter Gelée. As a result, Glossier has stopped selling the product and has promised to make more environmentally friendly business decisions in the future.  

Finally, glossier is making money from every aspect of its marketing. The “Into the Gloss” blog, on Facebook (with 100,000 followers), Twitter (with close to 200,000 followers), YouTube (with 130,000 followers), Pinterest (with 1 million monthly visitors and 76,000 followers), and Instagram (with 1.5 million Glossier fans and cross-pollination with nearly 700,000 “Into the Gloss” Instagram followers) are all places where Glossier continues to post content. Customers of Glossier are extremely devoted to the brand and recommend it to friends and family looking for beauty products.

Not only this they made a net profit of $ 52 million capital infusion in 2016. This company was listed in Forbe’s “most successful brands in five years”. All these things have not only attracted people to buy their product but also spread it through word-of-mouth marketing. 

Hennes & Mauritz also known as H&M came out with a campaign in the year 2016, for their autumn collection. The campaign tried to confront modern ideas of femininity and portrays women of different ethnicities, characteristics and ages. The women in the advert are portrayed in their rawest form and they embrace their natural selves. Each woman appears to be comfortable and self-assured. 

H&M had tried to portray the message of individuality through the diverse characteristics of women ranging from their hairstyle and colour to their age and body shape. The advertisement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-RY6fWVrQ0 features a female boxer, natural haired singer, a plus-size model, a transgender, a septuagenarian and a Swedish model famed for being who she is without hesitation. Another major element of this advert was representing lesbianism in their advertisement, as in the closing scene we see two women embracing. This further eludes Hennes and Mauritz’s theme of inclusivity, representation and diversity for all. 

The campaign is set across such a pace that it has a perfect balance of both personal and public settings performing their everyday task, while the brand can effectively showcase a large clothing variety from its autumn line. 

IMPORTANCE OF SETTINGS 

The spaces in which the women are featured are critically important in aspect to the message that H&M is trying to showcase. 

The opening scene of the campaign is a plus-size model in her bathroom, the model is in her exposed and raw form, fearless and appreciating her body. Another “private” space is the hotel room where a girl is seen unzipping her pants and eating chips on the bed, representing her carefree nature and how women wearing H&M clothing can be free and easy. As there is a mix of public and private space, the advert shows women in  a restaurant, office environment, and a bar acting raucous, free-willed and badass. As a result, the advertisement has a rebellious vibe, which is refreshing but necessary to defy stereotypes and let these differences become the norm.

IMPACT ON THE SOCIETY

The advertisement is trying to convey a sense of belongingness, unity and equality among all the characters regardless of all the factors that make them different. H&M is trying to dive deep into the idea of celebrating diversity even if they are distinctive concerning beauty standards. H&M is advocating a powerful message that suggests they adhere to the same important and positive values as their clients relating to individualism and resilience, showcasing the key elements of neoliberalism.  An ideology and policy model emphasising the importance of free market competition. 

Moving on, the market analysis of H&M they are trying to focus on the target group of females between seventeen to twenty-five years of age. 

Over 75% of the fashion apparel market is made up of people in this age range.H&M is focusing on both low and big-league salary clients. To put it another way, customers with low and high incomes are the primary demographic that the company’s products target.

This advert was watched by 57 million people on YouTube.On the video-sharing website, more than 1.8 million people have seen the new H&M advertisement so far.

H&M, the second-largest global retailer, has utilized unconventional advertising imagery before. H&M is focusing on both low and big-league salary clients. To put it another way, customers with low and high incomes are the primary demographic that the company’s products target. So, here the market helped to foster a particular relationship between the consumer and the goods or services they use or consume, which is known as culture consumerism. 

Wrapping up, H&M’s autumn 2016 advert, “she’s a lady” aimed to increase diversity and diversity and representation

in mainstream media, challenging culturally prevalent contemporary depictions of female beauty. The campaign’s message and goal were clear, but there was some criticism because some people thought the advertisement was excessive. Big brands like PrettyLittleThings included disabled women and females with acne-prone skin and body disfigurements in their recent campaigns, but H&M failed to include them in their advert. 

The whole idea of the campaign suggests that the target market for H&M in this was women who fit in their marketing segment category for “ ladies”, although one ambiguous thing was that this autumn line did not have anything for expecting mothers, there was no maternity segment. H&M chose women who are recognised as the primary consumers of their apparel. 

Although as a consumer I feel, that it is not important to include everyone as the advertisement was just a minute long, still it was very potent and impressive in implementing their strategy for diversity and inclusivity!

India is called the “ largest democracy” in the world, India is one of the largest media markets in the world, there are 896 media channels as of 2022 in India. A healthy democracy is protected by media independence and pluralism, public opinion, and views—including criticism of those in power. The first step towards independence and freedom of choice is to monitor ownership pluralism and ensure that it is maintained. Facts are viewed and debated in society in ways that are influenced by mass media.

With the growing number of news television channels, online and offline newspapers, magazines, and, of course, live news delivered to mobile phones, the media industry in India has experienced tremendous growth. News reaches a staggering audience that is only growing by the day. However, the concentration of media ownership demonstrates that a small number of individuals control Indian media. Media pluralism and ownership structures are the focus of our investigation. This is a significant effort to improve media ownership transparency, which is essential to media credibility and audience relationships.

Although transparency appears to be primarily achievable with some effort, it is still essential to note that the ownership structures of almost all major media houses are characterized by highly complex cross-shareholdings designed to either conceal beneficial owners or to circumvent specific laws – or both. Take the example of “REPUBLIC TV”, https://www.republicworld.com this is one of the top-ranked news channels in India.

This channel was founded by Mr Arnab Goswami, the former editor-in-chief of Times Now, and Mr Chandrasekhar, an MLA of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He mainly funded this venture through his company Jupiter Capital Private Limited.   The thing which astounds me the most is even though he is the sole owner of the channel and a senior journalist, he is noted for his opinionated reporting in support of the ruling party i.e BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party). One of his popular shows: “Nation Wants To Know” gains the highest TRP and is known for no-holds-barred debates which are often raucous and loud. Arnab is said to reproduce government narratives without a critical eye, avoiding criticism of BJP figures, and portraying political opponents negatively. 

Similarly, media freedom fears in India after BJP ally Adani launched a hostile takeover bid in the share market through his Adani Media Networks Limited (AMNL) and took over 29% of NDTV share https://www.dw.com/en/ndtv-takeover-bid-by-indias-richest-man-sparks-media-freedom-fears/a-62959561 . Also, there is a further proposal to acquire an additional 26% of the public shares to become the majority shareholder.

NDTV news channel is known for its unbiased views and opinions and is one of the very few media outlets which is always prepared to criticize Narendra Modi’s government. The BJP government that grew Adani’s empire will now have more media power to fight its critics.

The NDTV was founded in 1988 by Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy who are annoyed and dissatisfied with this takeover, their exit from the media industry, who pioneered India’s TV industry, will end with their departure. Allegedly, on 30th November 2022, all the senior journalists and the board of directors resigned as they have been unquestionably hindered and compelled to work under the apprehension about conceivable criticism activity. 

Even after all these hurdles, there is an online news platform “ Logical Indian”https://thelogicalindian.com which is an independent and public-spirited digital media platform for Indians. They claim that all socially conscious citizens are based in the Logical Indian community.

They want to be a media that is accessible and democratic. They provide a forum for individuals, local communities, and non-profits to discuss issues that require or merit attention. Their main missions and aggregate endeavours have brought huge effects at strategy levels to grassroots levels. To correct something that isn’t right. Logical Indians believe that intent and conviction are more important than power and system.

My undergraduate programme at The University of Delhi, has encouraged me to develop an academic understanding of varied conflicts around the world. The discussions during the course have helped me to hone my skills, although intellectually satisfying I have found these narratives to be limiting, especially the resolution of such conflicts.

My masters programme at The University of Arts London, I believe would be a step forward towards a solution oriented discourse using existing and alternative resources. Well, there are so many astonishing occurring’s around the world and to experience them first hand and deliver the truth to others would be soul-enriching. This can include anything from politics, fashion, travel, amusement and so forth.

As a Beginner in the Industrial field, while making a positive contribution, I would like to build a career, making the best use of my analytical, creative, and logical skills to perform the job efficiently. I want to achieve high career growth through a continuous learning process, keep me dynamic, visionary, and competitive with the changing scenario of the world, and to contribute the growth of the organization.

The power attracts and I have been enchanted by the power of marketing and fashion and Public relations. If you would love to dive more into who I am https://sanyakakkar1610.wixsite.com/my-site.