Sophie Rawson Influence On Media

Meet Sophie Rawson, a twenty year old on her year abroad from the United Kingdom to intern at her top choice in the United States: the University of San Diego, California. Graciously, the International House on campus got me in touch with the lovely lass to talk politics and media over a phone call. As a program and marketing communications intern there, she was more than willing to explain to me her insight into the media systems she was exposed to living in the UK. The two of us covered various topics during the interview, though focused among them were media faucets such as online articles, and television both serious and satirical. Through her experience, I explore the analysis of Hallin and Mancini’s Northern Atlantic media pattern in

This is where the social analysis described in the book connects to Sophie’s understanding of her country’s social trust in the renowned British public broadcast. The BBC, surpassing that of any other, claims the favorability of the UK society, at least in Sophie’s personal case. It seems this level of stature and intellectual capitol has been transposed and duplicated on channels even here in the US, such as BBC America and most notably, BBC World News. “It’s really the only one that is consistent,” Sophie tells me, “I watch all of their channels, among my favorites are Scotland 2016, Newsnight and anything that’s on BBC One really, all the platforms are a bit connected”. Again, the question arises how BBC gained and continues to deliver such a reputable reputation in both press and television mediums. The explanation, I believe, can be found in one of our own lectures from January 26th, when we covered just how autonomous the BBC is. It is the “trust regulation buffer” than can be majorly attributed to their robust sense of professionalization, as it creates a body comprised of an independent, proportional mix of council members to regulate business and editorial interests. Therefore, private interests are deterred, and the news can be delivered in the public interest, outside of private ones, as is

Though I wondered, was there another source that she deems worthy of delineating news to the public? “There’s a - like a comedy-type show called Have I Got News for You, it’s funny, but it takes on real issues as well,” she answered, but then admitted that this show was also televised on BBC One. Despite also being from the same source, this comedy format intrigued me, and I soon learned it was the format I was expecting from her description - satire. Similar to The Daily Show in the US, Have I Got News for You focuses on the lighter perspective of the week’s news, offering a critical and comical engagement for the audience. Differences between the two shows, however, are apparent, as the UK design is modeled after a game show rather than a mock newsroom. There are three recurring cast members, she explained to me - the host, and two men who are identified as comedians, but also as “political celebrities” like those discussed in class, and one is in fact a journalist! The two men are paired with guest celebrities, both journalistic, political and well known personalities such as Russel Brand to form teams. The set teams are then quizzed on the news events of the week, earning certain amount of points for correct