British Tabloids - weapons of mass deception?

One of my former students at UCE, Ros Tappenden has built up an impressive online portfolio of her work in print and multimedia journalism. Of special interest to this blog is her dissertation which examined and analysed the contrasting stances adopted by The Mirror and The Sun on events related to the Iraq War - the search for WMDs, the death of David Kelly, the Hutton Report and its explosive impact on the BBC - offering useful contemporary insights into the practices of political spin.'In the age of political PR', she asks, '...how does this reflect the ability of the press to act as a fourth estate?'

She includes reference to several key theoretical concepts in the study of journalism - not only 'fourth estate' but also public sphere, hegemony, news values and theories of propaganda. Surf around her site and you'll also find some interesting work on embedded journalists in the Iraq War and the impact of media ownership.

Ros works for ITV Central and the 24 Hour Museum and is about to join Newsquest as a trainee journalist. Any students reading this blog might well want to check out her portfolio for resources and indicator on how to land a first class honours.


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Mirror    Sun    tabloid    Middle East    Hutton Report    BBC    spin    politics   
war reporting    media ownership    journalism education