Anjali Lakhani
Media key concept essay

One print text ‘Radio Times (London)’ and one moving image text the opening sequence of ER. The purpose of the print text is to grab the reader’s attention just by looking at the front cover. Then there is the purpose of the institution the BBC, which is, too inform, educate and entertain. The opening sequence of ER is to keep the audiences attention onto the show and to set the pace and tone of the show for the audiences.

On the cover of the ‘Radio Times’ is an image of nurses dressed in a conservative way and with big smiles on their faces. The smiles on their faces suggests that they are happy with their roles, however there status of a nurse is low in a hospital and why are their no male nurses being shown or any female doctors? Whereas in ER there is gender equality an example we can look at is Parmindar Nagra who is represented as a successful Asian female surgeon who is highly educated and independent who is breaking out of the typical out of date stereotypes of Asian women. Females are being shown in a more positive way and this may be due to the feminist movement. ER is a multicultural show and is representing today’s society where in reality it would be more likely to find an Asian or black nurse/doctor in a hospital. By having a more diverse show the makers of ER can appeal to wider audience who can then create a personal identity with the characters (Galtung and Rouge). On the other hand if we look at the women on front of the ‘Radio Times’ cover they are all white thus reflecting society in the seventies, where there was many race riots and a less diverse Britain.

The opening of ER is fast paced. The shots are quick and so is the music, this can be to reflect the pace of a real ER therefore setting the tone for the audience. The fast beating music could connote the beat of a human’s heartbeat, thus basing the genre of this show to be hospital drama. The opening sequence uses iconic elements of a typical hospital drama such as the zig zag lines on the heart machine or the hospital equipment, the costumes of the doctors and nurses this is the mis-en scene. Similarly to the ‘Radio Times’ where the nurses are seen holding an x-ray an iconic element of the genre. The idea of the hospital drama can relate to the wider issues in the country such as the NHS. The NHS has always played an important part in Britain’s culture. The NHS in Britain is an important institution and the service that is provided to the public is free unlike the service, which is provided in America, which is not free.

The nurses in the ‘Radio Times’ cover are all fully covered and are not scantly clad. There uniforms show no flesh or no cleverage. We can link this to Laura Mulvey’s theory that women are only there for the male gaze, however the nurses on the ‘Radio Times’ are not being objectified, neither are the women in the opening sequence of ER, where women are seen as educated professional women with a high status. There is gender equality In ER and this represents today’s society where women are seen to be just as equal as men. They have the same jobs and earn more. The feminist movement helped for this situation to progress and allowed women to have more rights and freedom.

Express Newspapers forced to apologise to McCann family over Madeleine allegations
· Threat of legal action leads to unprecedented move· Undisclosed damages paid to fund trying to find girl


The Daily Express and Daily Star carried unprecedented front page apologies to Gerry and Kate McCann today for publishing more than 100 articles on the disappearance of their daughter, Madeleine, some of which suggested the couple were involved in her death .

After being threatened with legal action over the articles dating back almost 11 months to when their daughter first went missing, the newspapers, owned by Richard Desmond, also agreed to pay out what it called "a very substantial sum".

The apology is expected to be repeated in the Sunday Express and the Daily Star Sunday this weekend, following a statement due to be read out in front of Mr Justice Eady at the high court today.
The Daily Star said it was making a "wholehearted apology" to the couple for "stories suggesting the couple were responsible for, or may be responsible for, the death of their daughter Madeleine and covering it up".

It recognised "that such a suggestion is absolutely untrue and that Kate and Gerry are completely innocent of any involvement in their daughter's disappearance".

Under the headline Kate and Gerry McCann: Sorry, the Express said it had apologised because "we accept that a number of articles in the newspaper have suggested that the couple caused the death of their missing daughter Madeleine and then covered it up", before acknowledging "there is no evidence whatsoever to support this theory".

Earlier this month the McCanns instructed libel specialists Carter Ruck to write to Express Newspapers over dozens of articles believed to contain defamatory statements. Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns' spokesman, refused to comment last night but has previously said the couple were "grievously wronged" by much of the coverage of their daughter's disappearance. The "substantial sum" that Express Newspapers will pay in damages would go to the Find Madeleine fund.

Since Madeleine went missing last May while the family were on holiday in the Portugese resort of Praia da Luz, she has been the focus of intense press speculation.

The family initially courted the media in order to keep the case in the public eye but the coverage changed in tone when the pair were named as official suspects by the Portuguese police in September, shortly before they flew back to the UK.

Noting the spike in sales and web traffic that typically accompanied stories about the McCanns, many newspapers have published thousands of often contradictory stories. The Express titles were judged to be by far the worst offenders.

Often referring to speculative stories from the Spanish or Portuguese press, the titles have repeatedly used the device of reproducing their allegations in quotation marks. But legal experts say that is no defence in the eyes of the law.

"If you are repeating a rumour, you are liable for that rumour," said Caroline Kean, head of media litigation at media lawyers Wiggin. "There is nothing that has been said about the McCanns that could not have been published in a balanced way. It's when you move into over the top headlines and unbalanced reporting that you go beyond the protection that the libel laws give."
The McCanns hope their action will help draw a line under some of the more salacious coverage that has flourished in the absence of new developments.
Edgar Forbes, a media law consultant, said last week: "While much of the media coverage over the past 10 months has been as unhelpful as it has been inaccurate, some of it has been downright outrageous."

Last week, the Express removed all references to the McCanns from its online archive. In addition to sensational newspaper headlines, the online speculation provoked by their speculative articles is also believed to have angered the couple.
The titles have a habit of following a particular front page story for weeks on end - recent obsessions have also included Princess Diana - but Madeleine's case has featured more than any other in the past year.

The only comparable case in recent newspaper history involved the Sun in 1987 when it settled a libel case brought by Elton John for £1m and published the front page headline Sorry Elton for falsely alleging the singer had paid rent boys.

MySpace to host Five news bulletin

Channel Five has struck a deal with MySpace to launch a youth-focused version of Five News with Natasha Kaplinsky.

The deal, which Five claims is the first between a UK news broadcaster and a social networking website, will see the launch of a co-branded daily news bulletin on MySpaceTV.

Kaplinsky will present The MySpace News Bulletin, which will be recorded each weekday after the 3pm TV update on Five and posted online "within two hours" for MySpace users to view. It will be between three and four minutes long.

The bulletin will sit on a newly created Five News MySpaceTV channel, www.myspacetv.com/fivenews, that launches today.

Five's MySpace bulletin will include three highlights from the day's news and will be tailored specifically for the social networking website's target audience of 16- to 34-year-olds.

MySpace users will be able to share news clips and provide "immediate feedback" to the Five News team through ratings and comments on individual reports.

Chris Shaw, the senior programme controller at Five, said that the partnership "underscores our commitment to interacting with our viewers and reaching new audiences for news".

Five's newsgathering team will also use the MySpace bulletin to feed into the Your News section of Kaplinsky's existing TV news bulletin, which is given over to issues raised by viewers. MySpace users will be invited to upload their own content "for possible inclusion in [Five News]".

Five News' deal with MySpace follows the bulletin's relaunch last month with Kaplinsky as anchor.

Five News is produced by Sky News. News Corporation, the owner of MySpace, is the largest shareholder in Sky News parent company BSkyB.

· To contact the MediaGuardian newsdesk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 7239 9857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 7278 2332.

· If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication