OSP: Teen Vogue & The Voice month in focus

The details: for the next month, you must find a weekly news story from Teen Vogue and The Voice and read, summarise and comment on them on your blog (A*-B candidates will do more).

Teen Vogue
The Voice

You'll also find stories related to the media linked from our Twitter account, @blogmacguffin (access it online here if you don't have the Twitter app) so make sure you're following that too.

Most importantly, you need to do the following on your blog for each story...

1. Provide the title and weblink;
2. Include a relevant image, graphic or screenshot;
3. Summarise the story in your own words;
4. Explain how or why this story appeals to an audience (use media terminology and theory here);
5. Comment on the story: to what extent does it reflect the values and ideologies of the website? Is this an example of quality journalism or simply clickbait? 

You'll be presenting these to the class each week (we'll randomly select a student and you'll be expected to present from memory, so make sure you come prepared) and this will ensure you build up an archive of stories from the CSP texts to widen your media knowledge base and provide examples to use in exam questions and essays. 

What will this look like? Although this was for a slightly different task for the old specification Year 13 exam, this blog post from one of our previous Media students gives you an idea of what a valuable resource these stories quickly become.

Teen Vogue 

Rihanna Jokingly Called Out a Friend Asking for New Music

It seems unlikely that Rihanna actually blocked a member of her team, but this isn't the first time that someone has asked for an update on her music career. She might be closing out the year with a temporary hiatus, but with the star previously dropping hints about a reggae album back in October, there is hope for the future. In the meantime, there are literally countless other ways for you to support the star, and you can always take a trip through her back catalog.


The Voice

Birmingham: Rich in diversity

Birmingham has undergone major re-development over the last decade and a half, with the rebuilding of its iconic Bull Ring Shopping Centre and Library of Birmingham. It is also the home of the largest branch of Primark in Europe, which recently joined the likes of Selfridges as an international retailer making its home in the city’s centre. Set to benefit from the UK’s groundbreaking but controversial HS2 (high speed rail) service, scheduled to open in 2026, Birmingham’s position among Europe’s most iconic venues is secure.