A Comparative Analysis of television channels FIVE and BBC Essay Example for Free

A Comparative Analysis of television channels FIVE and BBC Essay ? Television is a powerful media source, bringing stories to billions across the globe. It has been called â€Å"the most awesome God-less force in the modern world† and it is now seen as a major part of everyday life. The average person spends 4 hours a day watching TV – becoming roughly 1/3 of a person’s typical waking hours. Television is a constructed view of reality, sometimes exaggerated extremely, solely to create entertainment. In the UK, there are five major terrestrial television channels, (four organisations) with some being vastly more successful than others. The BBC is the only organisation not to make money from advertising. Their money is generated from the TV Licence fee, and this type of broadcasting is known as Public Service Broadcasting. Channel 5 is perhaps seen as the least successful of the five TV channels, possibly due to the fact that it is the youngest. The channel began in 1995, but it was not able to broadcast nationally as many of the population’s televisions could not receive it. The company offered to retune every TV that couldn’t receive it, before the big launch in 1997. A long advertising campaign was launched, known as â€Å"Give Me Five† in an attempt to draw in viewers. On the 30th March, 1997, Channel 5 was launched at 6pm, attracting an audience of 2. 4 million people, a figure higher than the launch of Channel 4, fifteen years earlier. This new channel neither had the money or reputation to buy and broadcast potentially successful material. Perhaps getting off to a bad start, the main schedule consisted of home and cookery programmes, cheap US exports, and late night pornography. However, Channel 5 did receive praise for its news programming, and soon the ratings became consistently acceptable. The channel gained more money, and was soon able to buy better quality shows, such as Home & Away. In 2002, Channel 5 underwent a major image modification. The name changed from Channel 5 to simply, Five, and progressed itself as a serious rival to the other 4 channels. However, the channel has not been without its flaws. For example, Friends spin-off series, Joey, was bought by Five in 2005. Despite a high-profile launch and ad campaign, the program received poor ratings and was eventually cancelled. Similarly, other shows such as Robot Wars and CD:UK proved to be a flop for the channel. These unsuccessful shows have seemingly increased the channel’s poor reputation. In the channel’s first year of broadcasting, five receives its lowest audience shares of 2. 3%, but this can be expected from a debuting channel. Fifteen years earlier, Channel 4 received even lower audience shares on its opening night, although it could be argued that people watched less television in the 1980s. The audience shares increased, and peaked in 2004. The channel has the lowest audience share of the terrestrial channels, but, in its defence, Five is not received in all of the UK’s homes. Like all of the other terrestrial channels, Five now has â€Å"sister† channels, Five US and Five Life. These two channels are both somewhat successful, but other â€Å"sister† channels, such as ITV2, E4 and BBC Three are proving to be more viewed. Nowadays, Five is able to branch out and buy successful US shows such as Prison Break and House, as well as buying programmes from other channels – in 2008, Five bought Neighbours from the BBC. The BBC was established in the early 1920s, but it was not until 1936 that the channel began its regular television broadcasting as a public service TV channel. However, it was further suspended after WWII began, until 1946 when the permanent service was established. The BBC’s mission was to â€Å"inform, educate and entertain† and is still taken into account today. The BBC broadcasts a wide variety of programmes on both of its channels, BBC1 and BBC2. The BBC’s major programme is EastEnders, the popular primetime soap. On a weekly basis, the soap receives the highest rating of all terrestrial shows, with only the ITV1 soap, Coronation Street, (and occasionally reality shows such as The X Factor and Dancing On Ice) playing as its rival. Other BBC shows, such as Top Gear, Doctor Who and Little Britain have all been a success throughout the last decade, further improving the channels ratings and reputation. In an attempt to branch out and widen its audience, the BBC has recently made some unlikely purchases. In 2007, the channel brought the successful US show Heroes to BBC2. The show quickly became a phenomenon, and is different from what would usually be broadcast on BBC2. The BBC continues to dominate terrestrial TV, by finding ways to bring in more viewers. The programmes vary from food, to lifestyle, to documentary, to political. The BBC is now contending with ITV in the reality market, as it now features shows looking for new west-end stars, and the ever popular series, Strictly Come Dancing. BBC1 receives the highest audience share of the 5 channels, with an average of 26%. It is seen as the â€Å"main† channel, and regularly receives high ratings. This major organisation has the money to do whatever it pleases, and this has shown over the last decade. The BBC now has 8 channels – BBC1, BBC2, BBC Three, BBC Four, BBC News 24, BBC Parliament, CBBC and CBeebies. These 8 channels prove to cater for everyone. BBC Three is the most popular of the sister channels, frequently receiving new material such as Lily Allen and Friends and Gavin & Stacey. The channel is a â€Å"lighter† version of BBC1, with a more comedic element. The BBC now broadcasts internationally. A new channel, BBC America, was launched in 1998, and has carried programming from the BBC to the USA, such as Torchwood and The Graham Norton Show. BBC America is part of two international channels, the other being BBC World. A recent feature of the BBC, BBC iPlayer, has recently been introduced. It has become an on-demand online video player, with unlimited access to BBC shows. The iPlayer is proving extremely popular, with more than 3. 5 million programmes downloaded in its opening week. However, despite the BBC being a major empire, the company relies on the licence fee. It is the only channel not to rely on income through advertising. The core belief of public service television is that it is free from the pressures of commercial TV, and, as its income is guaranteed, public service TV is freer to explore. But this does not mean it can become complacent. High audience shares are still needed because, if they were to fall, the licence fee would be in serious jeopardy. For years, there has been a debate as to whether public service broadcasting should continue. Naturally, the BBC wishes for it to continue, whereas others disagree. The BBC has very little to do to secure its funding, whereas the commercial companies have to work to get their income. The opponents of public service television argue that it is simply another form of taxation. With the arrival and expansion of satellite and cable, some people have no interest in the public service channels. For the BBC, public service broadcasting means that certain pressures are put upon them, but their income is fixed. The BBC could be said to have better quality shows due to them receiving â€Å"easy† money, and it also means that their programmes can be longer, due to the fact that they don’t have to make time for advertising. However, for Channel 5, public service television means that there are no pressures. The channel can show what they want (within reason) but their income is variable. Unsurprisingly, the commercial channels are against the licence fee, as it seems unfair. It seems as if the media are in constant debate over whether the licence fee should continue, as many people pay considerable sums for services in which they have no interest in. A Comparative Analysis of television channels FIVE and BBC. (2017, Aug 08).

Symposium by Plato Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Symposium by Plato - Essay Example Diotima’s is a woman who has described the whole concept of love to Socrates, which he describes in his speech in Symposium. This book is the representation of the genesis, nature and purpose of love which was held by Socrates and later by Plato (Plato 179-185). This concept of love, which is illuminated in this book by Plato, is also the origin of his concept of Platonic Love. This paper is aimed to explicate the relationship of philosophy with love as has been explained in the speech of Socrates. It also presents the comparison among Socrates’ concept of love with others’ description for the idea of love in their speeches. The idea of love which Socrates presents completely differs and rejects the positions which were held and proposed by other individuals. The book is consists of several Greek concepts about the nature and purpose of love in the form of speeches by several general ancient Athenians including Socrates. Socrates begins his speech at the sixth pl ace and starts by being skeptic about the speech of Agathon. Socrates tells that a lady named Diotima had taught him about the real idea of love before which he had similar concepts which others contain. Socrates explicates that, according to Diotima love is not any god or any mortal entity which regulates the order of human beings or things existing in the universe. Love is neither contained with any of the divine attributes like wisdom or beauty (198A-201D). Love is a desire to attain these attributes. It is the spirit which hatches by the bonding between the resource and need. Diotima describes that love is attributed to the form of beauty. Every human being is attracted towards beauty; however, this is usually and fundamentally limited to the material world. Human tends to seek beauty in objects and in other humans by which the desire and spirit of love is developed between the object of beauty and the lover. On this material level, human individual desires to reproduce the beau ty in the physical sense which is the basis for human reproduction through the course of sex (200B-201-C). The love is the desire to have the object of beauty to posses its beauty, as has been stated in the book that, â€Å"Eros would be nothing else than love of beauty† (201A). This love of beauty in the material sense requires refinement to acquire the actual of love that is the desire for the form of beauty. According to Diotima, every object which is beautiful shares the form of beauty. Human beings lack in identifying and realizing the essence of that beauty and tend to possess the object itself which shares the form of beauty (202D-204B). However, the actual love is with the beauty as a form which is pure rather than the object which shares that form and manifest in this world. This realization occurs by the assistance of philosophy. The actual love for wisdom leads an individual to identify the difference between real, which is ideal love, and material love. The essenc e of love is to desire for the form of beauty which is the purest of all love. The desire for the pure form of beauty is the most refined desire which is the gist of love (204C-207A). By this explication of Diotima, the relationship of philosophy and love is prominently clear. A man is necessarily contained with the desire for beauty which he initially seeks in objects and other humans in this world. Objects can be possessed and kept; however, the element of beauty in other human is represented to be attained through the course of sexual reproduction. After reproducing beauty, the desire for beauty still remains in the individual which is required to be realized (207A-208B). This realization is acquired with

The Treatment of Women in the Old Testament Research Paper

The Treatment of Women in the Old Testament - Research Paper Example This essay will demonstrate an argument against this point of view in conjunction with numerous examples in order to back it up. Such examples will include the major Old Testament characters of Eve, Rahab, and Ruth. In the first couple of books of Genesis, we read that Eve was created and thus was the first women to exist. The Lord decided that Adam needed a helper because he could not do everything on his own. So, the Lord put Adam into a deep sleep and took one of his ribs, which He used to form the first woman, Eve. After this, we understand how a woman must be connected to a man: â€Å"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh† (The Holy Bible, Gen. 2:24). This tells us that women must be treated with respect because they become one with their husbands. In the very next chapter of Genesis, Eve comes across her first challenge—this sets the tone for women throughout the rest of the Old Testament. In Genesis 3:6 (The Holy Bible), after being tempted by the serpent, Eve decided to taste the fruit. Once she had tasted it and found that it was good, she gave some to Adam so he could also eat some. This was the beginning of mankind, but more specifically women in general. Once God had found out what Adam and Eve had done, he cursed them for their disobedience. He said to Eve: â€Å"I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you† (The Holy Bible, Gen. 3:16). Even though Adam was also punished, his penalty was not as severe as Eve’s. This begins a theme that is seen all the way through the Old Testament—women are inferior to men because they were the first ones to sin. However, there are examples of women who went against the stereotypes of those times. Further along in the Old Testament, we can see in the book of Joshua how Rahab is treated. This wom an is a very interesting case because she lived in Jericho; she was not from the Israelites. Additionally, she was also described being a prostitute. These types of people were the lowest of the low back in those societies. At that time, the Israelites had sent spies to the city of Jericho in order to capture the city. They just happened to stay at an inn where Rahab was also the inn-keeper (Word 7). Instead of turning them over to the authorities, Rahab took them up to the roof and hid them under stalks of flax that were placed on the roof (The Holy Bible, Josh. 2:6). When asked why she risked her life for her enemy, Rahab said that she believed in the God Jehovah because of the miracles that occurred down in Egypt. For her help, Rahab asked that her and her family would be spared once the Israelites took the city. The spies replied, â€Å"If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the LORD gives us the land† (The Holy Bible, Jos h. 2:14). An agreement was then made to work out how the plan would come to fruition. When the Israelites did take the city of Jericho, Rahab and her family were spared because of Rahab’s obedience. After the Israelites had gained control of Jericho, Rahab and her family were allowed to remain along with the Jews. This story shows us how even though a woman may be considered dirty and unclean, if she displays obedience, then she can be used for good. This example of Rahab is a little