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BRR! It was COLD in the History of Magic classroom on the first morning of December, but Gabi wasn't phased at all. She'd lit numerous bluebell flames in jars around the room, setting them up so they levitated at different heights around the classroom and helped keep those chilling temperatures at bay so that it was nice and comfortable. The students couldn't very well concentrate on her lesson if they were freezing and worrying about their numb fingers and toes, yes?
Gabriela Recard was sitting at her desk, sorting through homework as the students filed in. Behind her on the blackboard, a number of publications had their covers ripped off and taped to the board:
SPOILER!!: Click me for pictures!
Come on in, have a seat and take out your things. Class will be starting shortly!
OOC: Hello hello hello! Welcome to your first OOC HoM class of the term! IC however, it is already December meaning you've had MANY lessons with Gabi already, so please RP accordingly. As always, please read the SSRPG rules and HoM Classroom rules prior to playing. Class will move on in a little over 24 hours! CLASS HAS STARTED!
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
“Morning,’’ Claudine replied as Ashley joined them. It seemed as though her younger friend was in a decent mood. As the Snakette got her books out, her attention couldn’t help but being drawn to Ash’s doodling. Anything artistic interested her, you know. Hearing another greeting, she looked up. “Hi, Lisa.” That lively first year got a smile. As did Fiona when her dormmate took up a seat close by. Then there was Heath who got his usual greeting. “Hi, you.’’ Look at the boyfriend making a new friend! Claudine was sure he and Daniel would get along just fine.
And the lesson was beginning. Was she cold? Not at all. Claudine’s attention instead went back to the publications on the board. Media happened to be today’s topic? It was an interesting one. Naturally Claudine was going to answer this on her own. She’d just make a note of the points she wanted to speak about first.
When that was done, the Slytherin raised her hand. “Seeker Weekly seems to be a sport publication. Maybe it’s just Quidditch in general that it's geared toward or maybe it just happened to be Quidditch as this is a special edition. The Quibbler just seems to be doing an edition on advertising Spectrespecs. Like Fiona said, that could simply be a way to attract more readers.” Here, Claudine paused to look at her notes. “Daily Prophet… definitely a news publication, given the headlines. Witch Weekly… a magazine equivalent to those beauty magazines which female Muggles enjoy reading. The witch on the cover as well as the colour and name of the publication are the reason for my answer.’’
Made of Awesome | Ern-la the Best-wa | TZ's Apogee
Phoebe gave each of those covers a close scrutiny, or as close as she could get from her seat. Some people had strong opinions about Witch Weekly, although Phoebe figured that one cover didn't really give an accurate depiction of the whole magazine. Her grandmother loved that magazine!
"Ummm, the Daily Prophet is a newspaper that deals with current events, based on the headlines and the layout. But it doesn't seem as interested in the truth as it does in making a splash and getting attention. It looks like it wants people to have a strong reaction either way, and then the more they react, the more they buy the paper to keep reading and reacting. And no one believes Fudge was a snappy dresser."
Slytherindor ♛ The Crazytastic Besties ♛ Shan Watson ♛
After glancing back and forth looking for a potential partner to brainstorm with, Lisa decided to take this one solo. Well so what did she think? She had listened fo several of her peers thoughts in regards to the various different magazines. The Daily Prophet did look like it was just going for the biggest buck. Lisa found herself nodding in agreement with Eden. Just cause a magazine or newspaper wasn’t directed at the reader or it was directed at a specific audience, it didn’t mean that others couldn’t read it.
Pheobe’s comment intrigued her. She remembered what her mother and eldest brother had often debated on the matter of biased articles and unreliable narrators. “I agree with Phoebe.... but .... Well it could be someone’s truth, right? Doesn’t mean that it’s right for us... but it’s an interpretation of facts. The articles are almost like mini stories angled at grabbing the reader in. Hook. Line. Sinker.” She paused, gathering her thoughts once more. “ It’s hard to find news articles that aren’t biased towards a certain opinion...Muggle or magical ... apparently.. I think the Prophet is far more biased than other selections that you have here. ”
Baguette | there is no D in my name | TRAITORclaw | Queenie of Narnia
Ohh, this sounded interesting actually, looking at historical events through the media published at the time. Though the Daily Prophet one seemed the most historical of the examples given. Well, maybe the Quidditch one too.
A little bit of a bummer that a copy of the magazine her dad worked for wasn't up there, but there were a lot of different types of media out there, so of course not everything could be selected. And these were kinda the biggest ones, so it made sense.
"I do think the use of colors definitely plays a role, like Noah mentioned," Ivy said, raising her hand. "The Daily Prophet is supposed to be more serious since it's about events going on at the time, so it's using a simpler, black-and-white sorta color scheme where the focus is on the big bold headlines and the articles. The others cover more specific and more fun topics, so they've got more colors that fit with their subject and really catch your eye."
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if we fall, we will fall together; and when we rise, we will rise together__________________♥♥♥♥ together we are dangerous; together with our differences; together we are bolder, braver, stronger
The chair. Again. When it came to Recard's classes, they just couldn't seem to kick the habit.
If Nem realised how many eyes had turned towards them before class had started - and, on the one hand, why would they, but on the other, it happened so often it was the new normal - it wasn't evident. They just sat and quietly observed the sky outside, apparently oblivious to any greeting sent their way.
They drew their eyes from the window when the lesson got underway, glanced at Recard, and then stared instead at the covers on the board. Nem had no intention of working with anyone else. Probably best for everyone, because they spent the entire time writing down just the one word on a piece of parchment they'd retrieved from their bag, using a self-inking quill.
Quote:
PROPAGANDA
As the time passed, and then as other students began supplying their thoughts, Nem went over the letters again and again. They kept their hand lowered and gave a small shake of the head any time Recard might have looked in their direction, to indicate they would not be speaking up just yet. But Nem was, as ever, paying close attention, even as their expression remained unfalteringly unreadable.
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Chocolate!
Dem Carters | even 🕊🕊 have pride | | Expecto PAWtronum 🐈 | U-NA-GI
”Each one is definitely designed to get attention, either with the coloring, the font usage or the wording.” Dia wasn’t actually familiar with any of the publications in question, though. Nor did any of them seem particularly interesting to her. Nope, not even the one with the cake on the cover. She also didn’t see what any of them had to do with actual history, aside from the Daily Prophet one since someone mentioned that it was actually a newspaper.
A newspaper with that kind of headline, though? Seemed a little too sensational for serious news. ”I do see a bit of an issue with supposed newspaper, though. What does it matter if the witch that survived the explosion of henna was ginger? Also, henna doesn’t typically explode……?” So was that a typo? The name of a place? Someone doing something with henna they weren’t supposed to? They had meant the stuff people use to draw on hands, right?
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Salt!
Otter This World ♡ Catpurrccino ♡ Slotherin ♡ Pandamonium
Normally Lia very much enjoyed working with a partner but as she looked around the room it didn't seem like anyone else had the same idea. No worries though, she wasn't going to let that get her down. The question wasn't all that difficult that she required a partner anyhow.
Turning her gaze back towards the magazine covers on the chalkboard, the second year Ravenclaw studied them in silence for a few moments. Each was different and yet they were still the same. Dahlia raised her hand, waiting her turn to be called on. "Each one is trying it's best to appeal to it's consumer with the most important or interesting news of that time. There's the use of that bright pink and the cake to catch your eye on Witch Weekly but.. why? Witches aren't the only ones that bake?"
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Bread!
sorry professor. he is very much NOT paying attention.
Who Am I? Ern's 2460FUN
Kale loved witch weekly. He heard the mention of it somewhere in the classroom and started to daydream about the first time he ever saw Nigel Barrington on the cover. He was at an impressionable age. Huh. Maybe he was, like, four or five? Had to be round about there. He was the most beautiful man he'd ever seen before and his H A I R? Well. It just about did the toddler version of himself in.
Magazines were cool like that. They showed all kinds of talented people and their hair and faces and smiles off. Kale liked smiles, most. No, wait. Maybe hair. Ugh. It was too hard. People in general were so, so beautiful. Everything about everybody deserved to be hyped up.
SPEAKING OF HYPE.
Kale's eyes started to wander for a flash of blonde hair. Oh where, oh where could a sunshine be?
Ash nodded at the various people around her, not quite feeling like talking today. She almost didn't answer the question, she was so quiet. But then she did answer. By herself. Haha. She barely looked up from her markers though. "They all want you to do something. Whether it means buying whatever product they're selling or believing the ideas they're putting out. And sometimes the products or ideas are good, and sometimes they suck. And you have to decide which is which."Propaganda. That's what these things were. Yeah.
"All the bright colors and long article stuff is just extra, to make the pitch sound better." These magazines all wanted different things, but they were united in trying to sell you something. Whether it was a bad idea or a poorly-made product. Or something good. Whatever.
Rhibear ~ Madam Solo ~ Dark Brooding Girl ~ Accio Jedi ~ Gryffinclaw ~ Just a doll
Heath smiled at Claudine's greeting. He was already looking to the front when Professor Recard began the lesson. Oh, so they were talking about media. That explained why he couldn’t think of a specific person connected with all four of the publications on the board. He blinked, unsure what to make of the activity. Analyzing the magazine covers didn’t sound too hard, but explaining his opinions to the class always made him a bit nervous. He didn’t fancy the possibility of having his thoughts torn apart in front of everyone! Couldn’t he just spare himself the worry and write his analysis instead?
He looked toward the board. The first thing he noticed was the bright, splashy colors and eye-catching fonts. Then he got a better look at each one individually. The first one was clearly a quidditch magazine, as the other definition of the word seeker made no sense in context, probably from the 1994 Quidditch World Cup if the teams mentioned were any indication. Based on the design and freebie included, The Quibbler seemed geared toward more subjective and abstract topics, as opposed to The Daily Prophet. As for Witch Weekly, just the name alone suggested that it was meant to be a women’s interest magazine. Then he noticed something that all four had in common.
“They all cater to a certain point of view,” he said after raising his hand. “For example, Seeker Weekly says “great final”, but the people who were pulling for any team other than Ireland or Bulgaria might not have thought that match was great at all. Spectrespecs allegedly help the wearer see wrackspurts, so by including them, The Quibbler caters to people who believe such things. The negative wording of the Dumbledore headline contrasted with the more positively worded one about Fudge suggest that the Daily Prophet takes a pro-ministry point of view. Even the Witch Weekly cover - the title, the use of pink, the cake - suggests that the magazine buys into gender stereotypes.” There was nothing controversial about that, right? He really did not want to argue with anyone! Just in case, he added, “Whether or not we as readers agree with those points of view is moot; the point I was trying to make is that the covers give us insight into what the publications’ beliefs were at the time.”
He blinked in a daze, not used to talking that much at once. Did he really just say all that? Yeah, he was… just gonna go back to being quiet now.
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Old voices I had thought long since dead whisper of another life I might have led If I could take that second chance, If I could make my life anew, If only dreams came true...
curly haired prefect - "sometimes I get angry!" - 30/90 - *chicken emoji* - probably @ Disney - I speak dog
SPOILER!!: Answers!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chelliephone
They were talking about Media, were they? He couldn't help but wonder if this meant they would also be talking specifically on media intertwined with what happened last term, but part of him hoped they were going to have a lesson where it was not mentioned. It was important but... still often hard to think about.
For now, this was an easy thing to start with. Old magazines. Staring at the publications, he jotted down his answers for each before raising his hand and waiting to be called on. "Seeker Weekly appears to be about a previous Quidditch world cup, Bulgaria vs. Ireland. The title, graphics and even the name all seem to indicate that. The Quibbler issue looks like.. an advertisement. Mainly because of the box on the front for an inquiry to be sent in." It was hard to tell from this far away. He probably should have asked if he could go closer. "The Daily Prophet looks like it would have been dated from around the time Harry Potter was in his... fifth year at Hogwarts, I believe. The title: Dumbledore daft or dangerous? suggests that, since historically that's the biggest time I can think of when the ministry was very openly against Dumbledore and his claims of you know who being back." Was he oversharing at this point?
He stared some more at the last one. Witch Weekly... wasn't that a gossip magazine? "The last one, the pink, looks like it might have some cake recipes in it? Based on the picture of the witch with a cake." That could have just been misleading to get people to read it though because.. who didn't love cake?
Gabi nodded at him with a smile - and he didn't have to worry. She was going to avoid mentioning last term if possible, and focus more on the media from another time. Hopefully. She couldn't control if they others wanted to bring it up, though! "All very good observations, especially the bit about the advertisements in the Quibbler," she pointed out. But how did that help them figure out what the contents were about?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stefan
More and more, Noah was convinced that for today's class, they would dabble in journalism... or writing in general, perhaps to inspire those like himself who were soon bound for University. But anyway, that wasn't the point, for now, at least. From his seat at the very back of the classroom, the Gryffindor summoned a jar of bluebell flame and warmed his stomach with it. Why? Well, let's just say that he's been putting extra effort into those wonderful abs of his, and he was feeling sore from all the workout he's been doing. No pain no gain, correct? And one of the best remedies for sore muscles was heat.
While he cradled the jar against his stomach, Noah chewed his inner cheek in thought as he stared at the Quidditch magazine. Of course, it got his attention immediately as it was his primary interest. He then looked at the others and... well, it didn't tickle his fancy, and immediately went back to Seeker Weekly. Hmm.
"All the magazines do have a target audience, and it's not so much about the colours or the wording for me, but the general interest it could invoke from an enthusiast or a prospective new follower. So for me, it's more of the branding side. The more reputable or known the publisher or author is, the better." he said, squinting his eyes as he stared at all the magazine covers in front of him, "It's like, 'Oh, Snitch Weekly has a new issue, I should get it.' simply because I trust the publisher. But for the sake of new prospects, I suppose the wording and colours come to play. Like the words, 'special edition', or 'free', or maybe the use of colour and good images," like that gorgeous lady on the cover of Witch Weekly. Sure, he can't be bothered with the contents of the magazine, but he'd most likely check it out because, hello pretty face.
"Very good!" Gabi grinned at Noah as he brought up both the credibility of the publication and the words they used on the cover. "Knowing whether or not the publication is a credible one is always a good thing - and you brought up some great key words that really work to suck the reader in," she nodded in agreement at his answer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ginevra
Fiona studied the various covers with a great deal of thought, her fingers softly drumming on the desk. Soon she raised her hand and gave her thoughts. "Well, Seeker Weekly's title alone is a reference to Quidditch and that particular copy is all about the Grand Final match between Bulgaria and Ireland of the Quidditch World Cup. The one from the Quibbler appears to be a form of enticing new subscribers via having a free pair of those er... Spectrespecs. The one from the Daily Prophet is a slanderous article against Dumbledore during the time that Lord Voldemort had returned. The Witch Weekly publication seems to have housewives as their target readership judging by the pink colour scheme and the image of the witch magically making a cake."
Fiona paused for a moment and folded her arms. "Personally I don't like what Witch Weekly had done. It is like it is saying only women bake at home. Why can't there be a publication for everyone?"
"Excellent points, Miss Janovick," Gabi replied to Fiona in regards to her response. "The Witch Weekly cover is certainly trying to lay more into the female target demographic - but you're right, it could also be seen as them trying to push an agenda that only women should be cooking or like the color pink," she added. Society had made MUCH progress since Witch Weekly had first been established over 100 years ago.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Emzily
Once the lesson had officially started, that’s when Remy had noticed the magazine covers behind the Professor. They didn’t look all that exciting to her - maybe the Quibbler did a little. She wasn’t totally sure how to analyse ALL of them.
Uhhhh… “Maybe the Quibbler magazine is aimed at kids because of the free spectrespecs,” which by the way, Remy NEEDED a pair. “It’s quite colourful, too, so I’d say it’s for a younger audience.” All of these answers were guesses. She looked towards the newspaper and studied its details the best she could. “The bold titles on the newspaper quickly draw readers in to each article, which is its purpose, really.” Duh. News was news.
“The other two look a little boring, I think.” No doubt the contents would be interesting, they just didn’t appeal to her. “The Quidditch one could have been made real fun and colourful!” Since Quidditch was awesome and all that.
"So you're saying you're drawn to free things and colors?" Gabi chuckled a little with a grin as Remy listed off what they had noticed about the magazine. "But good answers! Both are great ways to try and hook a reader in."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bryn
Nothing like getting to argue in the spirit of participation points, right? Eden perked up at the opportunity to raise her hand arised, specifically after Jenovick's response.
"I think Seeker Weekly is about Quidditch as that is a Quidditch position and the whole cover is about Quidditch. I think the Quibbler is a kid's magazine judging by the free paper glasses, and that the Daily Prophet is a newspaper because it gets delivered here every morning and has the news on it," Eden didn't really care about that bit as much...onwards to the arguing!
"I disagree with Jenovick's answer, professor. I think that a woman baking a cake on the front isn't saying only women can bake. The magazine's pink color and title make it seem like it's geared towards women, not everyone, and that's okay. Just because other magical people aren't the target audience doesn't mean they can't read it."
Can you tell which kinds of magazines Eden liked? Or which student she'd noticed not getting into trouble last year?
"Good point," Gabi nodded at Eden. "Just because it's marketed towards a group doesn't mean you HAVE to be part of that group to read it. I know my husband has taken quite a few of my gossip magazines in the past!" she admitted with a chuckle. He really liked the homemade face mask recipes they had!
Quote:
Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19
“Morning,’’ Claudine replied as Ashley joined them. It seemed as though her younger friend was in a decent mood. As the Snakette got her books out, her attention couldn’t help but being drawn to Ash’s doodling. Anything artistic interested her, you know. Hearing another greeting, she looked up. “Hi, Lisa.” That lively first year got a smile. As did Fiona when her dormmate took up a seat close by. Then there was Heath who got his usual greeting. “Hi, you.’’ Look at the boyfriend making a new friend! Claudine was sure he and Daniel would get along just fine.
And the lesson was beginning. Was she cold? Not at all. Claudine’s attention instead went back to the publications on the board. Media happened to be today’s topic? It was an interesting one. Naturally Claudine was going to answer this on her own. She’d just make a note of the points she wanted to speak about first.
When that was done, the Slytherin raised her hand. “Seeker Weekly seems to be a sport publication. Maybe it’s just Quidditch in general that it's geared toward or maybe it just happened to be Quidditch as this is a special edition. The Quibbler just seems to be doing an edition on advertising Spectrespecs. Like Fiona said, that could simply be a way to attract more readers.” Here, Claudine paused to look at her notes. “Daily Prophet… definitely a news publication, given the headlines. Witch Weekly… a magazine equivalent to those beauty magazines which female Muggles enjoy reading. The witch on the cover as well as the colour and name of the publication are the reason for my answer.’’
"All very good observations, Miss Blaze," Gabi smiled at her as she correctly guessed what each of the publications was about. Those who grew up in the wizarding world were probably able to guess them all with ease!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cassirin
Phoebe gave each of those covers a close scrutiny, or as close as she could get from her seat. Some people had strong opinions about Witch Weekly, although Phoebe figured that one cover didn't really give an accurate depiction of the whole magazine. Her grandmother loved that magazine!
"Ummm, the Daily Prophet is a newspaper that deals with current events, based on the headlines and the layout. But it doesn't seem as interested in the truth as it does in making a splash and getting attention. It looks like it wants people to have a strong reaction either way, and then the more they react, the more they buy the paper to keep reading and reacting. And no one believes Fudge was a snappy dresser."
"Exactly the point, Miss James," she responded with a nod of approval at her answer. "The goal is to get you reading and get a reaction - and what reaction they are attempting to get relies entirely on the bias of the author, but we will touch base on that shortly," she assured her.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Watson
After glancing back and forth looking for a potential partner to brainstorm with, Lisa decided to take this one solo. Well so what did she think? She had listened fo several of her peers thoughts in regards to the various different magazines. The Daily Prophet did look like it was just going for the biggest buck. Lisa found herself nodding in agreement with Eden. Just cause a magazine or newspaper wasn’t directed at the reader or it was directed at a specific audience, it didn’t mean that others couldn’t read it.
Pheobe’s comment intrigued her. She remembered what her mother and eldest brother had often debated on the matter of biased articles and unreliable narrators. “I agree with Phoebe.... but .... Well it could be someone’s truth, right? Doesn’t mean that it’s right for us... but it’s an interpretation of facts. The articles are almost like mini stories angled at grabbing the reader in. Hook. Line. Sinker.” She paused, gathering her thoughts once more. “ It’s hard to find news articles that aren’t biased towards a certain opinion...Muggle or magical ... apparently.. I think the Prophet is far more biased than other selections that you have here. ”
"That is very true, Miss Nam!" Wow, a first year coming to that conclusion already? Truly a Ravenclaw, that one. "The person writing it may very well be certain of their material - or trying to get someone to believe something they know very well to NOT be true. It's a fine line, one we will touch on today in the lesson," she explained. The warm up was just to get them thinking about what sorts of devices the magazines used to get you hooked - and once you were hooked, that was when their REAL message came across!
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlwaysSnapesGirl
Ohh, this sounded interesting actually, looking at historical events through the media published at the time. Though the Daily Prophet one seemed the most historical of the examples given. Well, maybe the Quidditch one too.
A little bit of a bummer that a copy of the magazine her dad worked for wasn't up there, but there were a lot of different types of media out there, so of course not everything could be selected. And these were kinda the biggest ones, so it made sense.
"I do think the use of colors definitely plays a role, like Noah mentioned," Ivy said, raising her hand. "The Daily Prophet is supposed to be more serious since it's about events going on at the time, so it's using a simpler, black-and-white sorta color scheme where the focus is on the big bold headlines and the articles. The others cover more specific and more fun topics, so they've got more colors that fit with their subject and really catch your eye."
"Good observation! Yes, the big bold headlines are meant to draw you in, and their style is obviously made to grab your eye and get your attention," Gabi nodded in agreement.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Felixir
The chair. Again. When it came to Recard's classes, they just couldn't seem to kick the habit.
If Nem realised how many eyes had turned towards them before class had started - and, on the one hand, why would they, but on the other, it happened so often it was the new normal - it wasn't evident. They just sat and quietly observed the sky outside, apparently oblivious to any greeting sent their way.
They drew their eyes from the window when the lesson got underway, glanced at Recard, and then stared instead at the covers on the board. Nem had no intention of working with anyone else. Probably best for everyone, because they spent the entire time writing down just the one word on a piece of parchment they'd retrieved from their bag, using a self-inking quill.
As the time passed, and then as other students began supplying their thoughts, Nem went over the letters again and again. They kept their hand lowered and gave a small shake of the head any time Recard might have looked in their direction, to indicate they would not be speaking up just yet. But Nem was, as ever, paying close attention, even as their expression remained unfalteringly unreadable.
Gabi had noticed the head shake, but she had also noticed the word they'd written on their paper. They'd written it largely and run over it a few times with their quill, after all. At least they got the gist of where she was going with this, even if they didn't feel like talking. That was all she asked for, really.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lazykitty
”Each one is definitely designed to get attention, either with the coloring, the font usage or the wording.” Dia wasn’t actually familiar with any of the publications in question, though. Nor did any of them seem particularly interesting to her. Nope, not even the one with the cake on the cover. She also didn’t see what any of them had to do with actual history, aside from the Daily Prophet one since someone mentioned that it was actually a newspaper.
A newspaper with that kind of headline, though? Seemed a little too sensational for serious news. ”I do see a bit of an issue with supposed newspaper, though. What does it matter if the witch that survived the explosion of henna was ginger? Also, henna doesn’t typically explode……?” So was that a typo? The name of a place? Someone doing something with henna they weren’t supposed to? They had meant the stuff people use to draw on hands, right?
"Those are both excellent questions you asked Miss Wolff - and goes to show that sometimes, titles are definitely a bit exaggerated to try and get you to read it. People probably ask the same questions - and then read the article to find out the truth, which is often rather mundane," she explained. She knew SHE was often hooked by similar tactics at the muggle grocery store...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kolyander
Normally Lia very much enjoyed working with a partner but as she looked around the room it didn't seem like anyone else had the same idea. No worries though, she wasn't going to let that get her down. The question wasn't all that difficult that she required a partner anyhow.
Turning her gaze back towards the magazine covers on the chalkboard, the second year Ravenclaw studied them in silence for a few moments. Each was different and yet they were still the same. Dahlia raised her hand, waiting her turn to be called on. "Each one is trying it's best to appeal to it's consumer with the most important or interesting news of that time. There's the use of that bright pink and the cake to catch your eye on Witch Weekly but.. why? Witches aren't the only ones that bake?"
"Good work," Gabi replied in agreement with Dahlia's answer. "And you're right, witches aren't the only ones who bake, yes? But what does that tell us about the publication? Are they trying to find a certain demographic?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by pundantic
Kale loved witch weekly. He heard the mention of it somewhere in the classroom and started to daydream about the first time he ever saw Nigel Barrington on the cover. He was at an impressionable age. Huh. Maybe he was, like, four or five? Had to be round about there. He was the most beautiful man he'd ever seen before and his H A I R? Well. It just about did the toddler version of himself in.
Magazines were cool like that. They showed all kinds of talented people and their hair and faces and smiles off. Kale liked smiles, most. No, wait. Maybe hair. Ugh. It was too hard. People in general were so, so beautiful. Everything about everybody deserved to be hyped up.
SPEAKING OF HYPE.
Kale's eyes started to wander for a flash of blonde hair. Oh where, oh where could a sunshine be?
...Kale was obviously not paying attention, but being quiet, and that was fine by Gabi. Although...he did know his NEWTs were just a year away, right???
Quote:
Originally Posted by astrocat
Ash nodded at the various people around her, not quite feeling like talking today. She almost didn't answer the question, she was so quiet. But then she did answer. By herself. Haha. She barely looked up from her markers though. "They all want you to do something. Whether it means buying whatever product they're selling or believing the ideas they're putting out. And sometimes the products or ideas are good, and sometimes they suck. And you have to decide which is which."Propaganda. That's what these things were. Yeah.
"All the bright colors and long article stuff is just extra, to make the pitch sound better." These magazines all wanted different things, but they were united in trying to sell you something. Whether it was a bad idea or a poorly-made product. Or something good. Whatever.
"Good answers, Miss Fox! The ultimate goal is to sell the publication - but once they get you reading, as you said, they're all trying to accomplish something. To sell another product. To believe a certain story over another. The list goes on and on," she said in response to Ashley's answer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy
Heath smiled at Claudine's greeting. He was already looking to the front when Professor Recard began the lesson. Oh, so they were talking about media. That explained why he couldn’t think of a specific person connected with all four of the publications on the board. He blinked, unsure what to make of the activity. Analyzing the magazine covers didn’t sound too hard, but explaining his opinions to the class always made him a bit nervous. He didn’t fancy the possibility of having his thoughts torn apart in front of everyone! Couldn’t he just spare himself the worry and write his analysis instead?
He looked toward the board. The first thing he noticed was the bright, splashy colors and eye-catching fonts. Then he got a better look at each one individually. The first one was clearly a quidditch magazine, as the other definition of the word seeker made no sense in context, probably from the 1994 Quidditch World Cup if the teams mentioned were any indication. Based on the design and freebie included, The Quibbler seemed geared toward more subjective and abstract topics, as opposed to The Daily Prophet. As for Witch Weekly, just the name alone suggested that it was meant to be a women’s interest magazine. Then he noticed something that all four had in common.
“They all cater to a certain point of view,” he said after raising his hand. “For example, Seeker Weekly says “great final”, but the people who were pulling for any team other than Ireland or Bulgaria might not have thought that match was great at all. Spectrespecs allegedly help the wearer see wrackspurts, so by including them, The Quibbler caters to people who believe such things. The negative wording of the Dumbledore headline contrasted with the more positively worded one about Fudge suggest that the Daily Prophet takes a pro-ministry point of view. Even the Witch Weekly cover - the title, the use of pink, the cake - suggests that the magazine buys into gender stereotypes.” There was nothing controversial about that, right? He really did not want to argue with anyone! Just in case, he added, “Whether or not we as readers agree with those points of view is moot; the point I was trying to make is that the covers give us insight into what the publications’ beliefs were at the time.”
He blinked in a daze, not used to talking that much at once. Did he really just say all that? Yeah, he was… just gonna go back to being quiet now.
"Good points, Mister Jones," Gabi nodded with a small smile. "There is a certain type of audience each one of these publications is targeting - but they are also flashy and using bright colors, and large fonts, to try and attract NEW readers as well," she pointed out.
"As many of you pointed out - the magazine covers are used to try and sway you to read the publication. Some try to use colors or fancy word play to draw you in. Others relay on their titles, such as the articles in the Daily Prophet, to get you hooked so you'll pick up a copy. Either way, one thing is true no matter what the publication is about - the first impression can get people to read, and once they're reading, the information INSIDE can be used to send a certain message," she explained. Many students had already touched on that briefly in their answers.
"The media plays an extremely important role in our society - both wizarding and muggle alike. They have a very important job of making sure the facts are presented to the public - yet, as many of you said, they are also trying to sell you a message. There is often a mix of both factual information and bias that needs to be balanced properly - and sometimes that balance falls apart."
"What is one instance in our history where the media has been used to sway public opinion one way or the other?" she asked them all with an eyebrow raise. They all should have more than a few examples to pick from!
OOC: Great answers everyone! You're all doing an awesome job! For the next bit, think of any example of media being used to send a certain message in HP canon - or SS canon, if you'd like! You'll have about 24 hours to respond to this question before we move on. CATCH UP IS ALLOWED if you didn't get a chance to share your thoughts in the mini activity!
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Violet had scooted into class just in time and seated herself in an empty chair on the end of a row. She quickly surveyed the covers of the publications--most of them seemed fairly straightforward. The Quibbler, though--it was hard to tell what exactly that was about, except it looked fun!
Feeling like she had better make an attempt to participate before she got too far behind, she raised her hand. "Well, Seeker Weekly seems to be about sports, specifically Quidditch. and the Witch Weekly appears to be a lifestyle magazine--fashion, recipes, gossip, that sort of thing. I don't think they're trying to make a statement about women, they're just trying to market their magazine, and the title would indicate that they're trying to draw in a female audience.
The Quibbler--it's hard to tell what that one is about. You can barely even see its title, the word "SpectreSpecs" is in larger print. The issue itself presumably contains images in 3D and they're making sure you know that they've included free glasses inside to be able to read them with. But really, it could be about anything. Though the whole format seems kind of freewheeling--not your typical layout.
And The Daily Prophet--well, that's a newspaper, right? The strong black-and-white format seems to be trying to say, 'We're a very official publication, you can trust us,' but when you read some of the headlines, it looks as much like gossip as some of the others. I mean, they seem to favor exposes--and alliteration." Violet had to chuckle inwardly at some of the headlines. And poor Albus Dumbledore--with all that was going on in his time, he had to put up with that! Though Violet supposed he wasn't the sort of man to let a news rag bother him much.
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Oh, like BIAS, bias. Was this supposed to make them feel a certain way after how everything went down last term? The media had been used by both sides to convince the public that they were right... but had it worked?
Phoebe raised her hand. "When the Neo-Alliance was trying to take over governments around the world, they used the media to project an air of calm and righteousness, like to make people feel like things were very normal and that they should keep their heads down and ignore the bad feelings about what was going on. And eventually, that it was cool to turn on neighbors and friends because of blood status, even if the reader didn't care about that to begin with."
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When had media swayed public opinion? Well, there was a lot of instances but a majority of the ones that were coming to mind was related to muggle publications he'd read after his Dad was done with them. But this was History of Magic so he was trying to dig deeper and remember something.
Ah. He raised his hand and waited for his turn to speak, "When Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban initially, the Daily Prophet had pretty much used him as a scapegoat for everything that went wrong, even without concrete evidence. I would assume it was because it was easier to group all the escapees and give them a ringleader so it seemed like only one danger as opposed to many." But they'd painted him so poorly he probably would have never had a way to make it in society again after the Daily Prophet's smear campaigns.
That was pretty sad when one ruminated on it.
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Not considering the most recent happenings, Noah had to agree that the media was a powerful thing to influence the people. So powerful that it can change mindsets even, ultimately destroying the essence of unity, community and such.
"Whenever there's a general election about to happen, whether in our world or the muggle community, the media is present to advertise their agendas, host debates, sell an image, and attempt the people to buy into the politicians' promises. This ultimately causes dissent among the population." the Gryffindor shrugged, seeing just how messed up it was most of the time. "The media is a structured chaos, I have to say." it was tricky business, the media. He would know.
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Kinsay was already feeling disengaged. History had that effect on her, even when she tried really hard to pay attention for Professor Recard. She just couldn't help it, the windows were distracting. Her spinny necklace was distracting. Everything was so much more interesting than talking about magazines.
But when she caught herself slipping, she tried to reel back in. Just for Professor Recard, who Kinsay did like. Except when Phoebe started talking about the Neo-Alliance. Kinsay wished she hadn't heard that answer. Because. She didn't want to think about the neo-alliance anymore. Couldn't they talk about other things? Why did they keep having to bring that stuff up!!! It made everyone unhappy. And Kinsay did NOT want to think about it.
So when she raised her own hand, she tried to come up with literally anything else she could lack onto. So naturally, she used the very first thing that she could. This time, Evan's answer was the lucky winner. "Professor, why do they call it a scapegoat?" It was on topic because the name was likely rooted in history. Kinsay knew.
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Anything to do with the media was, ultimately, a study in manipulation, no matter how unbiased those companies to be. That was all anyone needed to know, that was the reason for the word Nem had written, and the concept behind many of the answers they'd been listening to. Manipulation was everywhere, and if you couldn't find it, it was probably working. That, or there was an opportunity to introduce it for your own benefit. Or both; they were not mutually exclusive possibilities.
When the next question came, again Nem said nothing, and just added another line to their parchment in their tiny writing, directly under the first.
this morning
That morning, and every morning before it, and every evening in the Evening Prophet. Every piece of media. Recard probably wanted to hear about notable historical events, and then more specific detail regarding the media in question, but she had asked for an instance in history. This morning technically qualified; it was a past event, it belonged to history, and those working for the different newspapers tried to sway public opinion every single day, regardless of how many people actually noticed.
Applying a possibly-deliberate overly literal interpretation to class instructions had ended in a fair amount of conflict in one particular lesson last term, so maybe Recard had the right of it. Maybe, in some ways, Nem really never did learn.
Not that it mattered, as they were still not supplying a verbal answer. They clicked their tongue a single time, let their gaze drift the window again, and teetered on the legs of their chair, using a toe to correct the balance every now and then. Still listening.
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Many notes were being taken in a fine neat script in a medium shade of periwinkle ink. Lately Dahlia had gotten herself into the habit of taking her notes in different colors, simply because she could. A section in her notes was added about the magazine companies possibly looking for certain demographics. She even went as far as she list a bunch that went with each of the covers before moving along to focus on the next question.
How did media sway public opinion. Lia thought the answer was pretty easy. At least in her head it was. The same way anyone would made their opinion on something seem good. They had to talk it up, make it seem like the best thing ever. Boost about it. Get the information out all over and fast. Far and wide. Do whatever it took to knock the competition out. And she was about to raise her hand to speak on her thoughts when she heard what Phoebe James said. Neo-Alliance. Dahlia shuddered at the mere mention of them. The older girl was right though. However it caused Lia to lose her train of thought and instead she sat there in silence staring at what she had written on her parchment.
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Claudine nodded in response to Reccard about her answers. After she fell silent, she busied herself with jotting down key points made by the other students. And eventually Reccard as well. This discussion only reinforced what Claudine always believed in: don’t form an opinion based on hearsay. Or in the case of these publications, don’t be quick to take sides based on just reading.
CLaudine thought for a moment then raised her hand. “Well, there was that gossip parchment here at Hogwarts. Aparecium, I believe? I heard that the writers usually twisted scenarios to make the information seem scandalous.” Talk about ruining the reputation of everyone whom those anonymous writers had written about!
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Heath nodded in reply to Professor Recard. True, he had noticed the bright colors and eye-catching fonts, and so had several others, which was why he didn’t touch on it. He was trying to take his answer in a different direction. He listened intently as the professor spoke about media bias. That sounded along the same lines as the point he was trying to make in his previous answer, only worded a lot better.
As soon as he heard the next question, his thoughts instantly turned to the Neo-Alliance’s use of the Daily Prophet and the WWN to spread their evil, but he didn’t want to talk about that… even before Phoebe mentioned it. Just thinking about it dredged up angry, vengeful emotions within him, and it scared him! He looked to the board for a distraction, trying to refocus his thoughts on the task at hand, and one of the images there jogged his memory. His hand went up, and he said, “The Quibbler tried to sway public opinion in Harry Potter’s favor after Voldemort’s return to power. They printed an interview with Potter to counteract the Daily Prophet’s articles discrediting him and Dumbledore, like that one -” He inclined his head toward the Dumbledore article on the board. “If I recall correctly, it was oe of the magazine’s most successful issues.”
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Ivy was...going to pretend the Neo Alliance hadn't been mentioned, even though it did obviously apply to the question, and focus on the other answers while trying to think of her own. Um...
She studied the magazine covers again, trying to think of something besides the Daily Prophet one with the story about Dumbledore...and then, when her eyes drifted to the Witch Weekly one again, finally thought of something else around that time.
She raised her hand. "Witch Weekly published a made-up article Rita Skeeter wrote about Hermione Granger, claiming that she'd used love potions to make Harry Potter and Viktor Krum fall in love with her. It wasn't true, but some people believed it and sent her a bunch of hate mail because of it." It wasn't really a huge historical event, but it definitely was an example of media affecting the public's opinion of someone.
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Remy giggled a little at the Professors response to her answer. Free stuff and bright colours - yeah, that was something that would draw her in, for sure. As for the next question, the Gryffindor looked back to the magazines that they were discussing and had a big think.
Buuuut… nothing was springing to mind. There were so many articles published every day, so picking just one was a little mind boggling. A name that another student (Ivy) mentioned before her, Rita Skeeter, sparked a memory, however. “Speaking of Rita Skeeter, she once wrote a biography about Albus Dumbledore that had lots of mixed reactions from everyone. I think some of it was true but she wrote it in quite a negative way which had an impact on everyone’s opinions.” She stopped explaining since she suddenly doubted her answer, since it was technically a book rather than one of the magazines or newspapers they were looking at.
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Manipulation.
An art or practice for the Greater Good or evil. Well perhaps not evil. For good and.... not so good. But Anakin Skywalker had been manipulated brilliantly by using fear to protect the lives of his unborn children and his wife. And then.... well.... we all know happened next.
Lisa opted to remain quiet and listen to all the answers. Her eyes widened at the mention of the Neo-Alliance. She hadn’t been around last year at Hogwarts and had known little of the Wizarding World but was that the group that caused such chaos last year? She still didn’t know the full extent to what transpired but the mandatory therapy sessions made it sound...... very bad. Lisa wrote the name in her notebook. She would ask questions later.
She nodded in agreement with Ivy and Remy’s answers. Lisa knew of Rita Skeeter’s colorful opinions on the late headmaster Albus Dumbledore. She did find the idea of a gossip magazine at Hogwarts comical. Really ought to look at restarting that... What mischief could she cause through her imagination....? and while her scheming to get Mamie and her brother together had fallen through, she was determined to get back into the scheming. Maybe this time it would be all centered around the reasons WHY mistletoe shouldn’t exist. Lecherous things that she wanted to burn. Burn them all.
It took her a moment but she raised her hand. She had a textbook answer for this question. “Some media outlets can be controlled by a governing body or political party. These groups can practice censorship where they can hide things from ever being published for the ‘greater good’ of the country.” She did hand quotes and all at the mention of the greater good. “It’s wrong to censor... I think it is. Isn’t it better to know the truth?”
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SPOILER!!: Responses!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadAlice
Violet had scooted into class just in time and seated herself in an empty chair on the end of a row. She quickly surveyed the covers of the publications--most of them seemed fairly straightforward. The Quibbler, though--it was hard to tell what exactly that was about, except it looked fun!
Feeling like she had better make an attempt to participate before she got too far behind, she raised her hand. "Well, Seeker Weekly seems to be about sports, specifically Quidditch. and the Witch Weekly appears to be a lifestyle magazine--fashion, recipes, gossip, that sort of thing. I don't think they're trying to make a statement about women, they're just trying to market their magazine, and the title would indicate that they're trying to draw in a female audience.
The Quibbler--it's hard to tell what that one is about. You can barely even see its title, the word "SpectreSpecs" is in larger print. The issue itself presumably contains images in 3D and they're making sure you know that they've included free glasses inside to be able to read them with. But really, it could be about anything. Though the whole format seems kind of freewheeling--not your typical layout.
And The Daily Prophet--well, that's a newspaper, right? The strong black-and-white format seems to be trying to say, 'We're a very official publication, you can trust us,' but when you read some of the headlines, it looks as much like gossip as some of the others. I mean, they seem to favor exposes--and alliteration." Violet had to chuckle inwardly at some of the headlines. And poor Albus Dumbledore--with all that was going on in his time, he had to put up with that! Though Violet supposed he wasn't the sort of man to let a news rag bother him much.
"Very good observations about all the covers!" Gabi nodded at Violet in approval as she caught up with the activity. "And good point that even newspapers can sometimes have a bit of bias to them," she added.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cassirin
Oh, like BIAS, bias. Was this supposed to make them feel a certain way after how everything went down last term? The media had been used by both sides to convince the public that they were right... but had it worked?
Phoebe raised her hand. "When the Neo-Alliance was trying to take over governments around the world, they used the media to project an air of calm and righteousness, like to make people feel like things were very normal and that they should keep their heads down and ignore the bad feelings about what was going on. And eventually, that it was cool to turn on neighbors and friends because of blood status, even if the reader didn't care about that to begin with."
"Good point, Miss James. While people tend to think about sensationalism when it comes to government affairs - sometimes doing the opposite can be just as effective," Gabi explained. That would have made things even more frustrating last term if they had all been aware of that!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chelliephone
When had media swayed public opinion? Well, there was a lot of instances but a majority of the ones that were coming to mind was related to muggle publications he'd read after his Dad was done with them. But this was History of Magic so he was trying to dig deeper and remember something.
Ah. He raised his hand and waited for his turn to speak, "When Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban initially, the Daily Prophet had pretty much used him as a scapegoat for everything that went wrong, even without concrete evidence. I would assume it was because it was easier to group all the escapees and give them a ringleader so it seemed like only one danger as opposed to many." But they'd painted him so poorly he probably would have never had a way to make it in society again after the Daily Prophet's smear campaigns.
That was pretty sad when one ruminated on it.
"Ah, good example!! Yes, before Voldemort tried to steal the prophecy from the Ministry he broke Bellatrix Lestrange and others out of Azkaban, and the media was quick to blame it on Sirius," Gabi gave Evan an approving grin.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stefan
Not considering the most recent happenings, Noah had to agree that the media was a powerful thing to influence the people. So powerful that it can change mindsets even, ultimately destroying the essence of unity, community and such.
"Whenever there's a general election about to happen, whether in our world or the muggle community, the media is present to advertise their agendas, host debates, sell an image, and attempt the people to buy into the politicians' promises. This ultimately causes dissent among the population." the Gryffindor shrugged, seeing just how messed up it was most of the time. "The media is a structured chaos, I have to say." it was tricky business, the media. He would know.
"Structured chaos is one way of putting it," Gabi chuckled a little. "But you're corrected. Politicans pay lots of money to use the media to make themselves look good and make their opponents look bad," she stated in agreement.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ArianaBlack
Kinsay was already feeling disengaged. History had that effect on her, even when she tried really hard to pay attention for Professor Recard. She just couldn't help it, the windows were distracting. Her spinny necklace was distracting. Everything was so much more interesting than talking about magazines.
But when she caught herself slipping, she tried to reel back in. Just for Professor Recard, who Kinsay did like. Except when Phoebe started talking about the Neo-Alliance. Kinsay wished she hadn't heard that answer. Because. She didn't want to think about the neo-alliance anymore. Couldn't they talk about other things? Why did they keep having to bring that stuff up!!! It made everyone unhappy. And Kinsay did NOT want to think about it.
So when she raised her own hand, she tried to come up with literally anything else she could lack onto. So naturally, she used the very first thing that she could. This time, Evan's answer was the lucky winner. "Professor, why do they call it a scapegoat?" It was on topic because the name was likely rooted in history. Kinsay knew.
Why WAS it called a scapegoat? She had no idea to be honest. She'd read it before, but couldn't recall. "I'm not recalling off the top of my head...maybe you could look that up later for me?" Gabi asked with a small chuckle.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Felixir
Anything to do with the media was, ultimately, a study in manipulation, no matter how unbiased those companies to be. That was all anyone needed to know, that was the reason for the word Nem had written, and the concept behind many of the answers they'd been listening to. Manipulation was everywhere, and if you couldn't find it, it was probably working. That, or there was an opportunity to introduce it for your own benefit. Or both; they were not mutually exclusive possibilities.
When the next question came, again Nem said nothing, and just added another line to their parchment in their tiny writing, directly under the first.
this morning
That morning, and every morning before it, and every evening in the Evening Prophet. Every piece of media. Recard probably wanted to hear about notable historical events, and then more specific detail regarding the media in question, but she had asked for an instance in history. This morning technically qualified; it was a past event, it belonged to history, and those working for the different newspapers tried to sway public opinion every single day, regardless of how many people actually noticed.
Applying a possibly-deliberate overly literal interpretation to class instructions had ended in a fair amount of conflict in one particular lesson last term, so maybe Recard had the right of it. Maybe, in some ways, Nem really never did learn.
Not that it mattered, as they were still not supplying a verbal answer. They clicked their tongue a single time, let their gaze drift the window again, and teetered on the legs of their chair, using a toe to correct the balance every now and then. Still listening.
Gabi had just assumed at this point that Nem would keep quiet for...well, the whole lesson probably. And if she had seen the small writing on their paper, she would have had no idea what they were referring to. It was best to just move on for now, in her opinion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kolyander
Many notes were being taken in a fine neat script in a medium shade of periwinkle ink. Lately Dahlia had gotten herself into the habit of taking her notes in different colors, simply because she could. A section in her notes was added about the magazine companies possibly looking for certain demographics. She even went as far as she list a bunch that went with each of the covers before moving along to focus on the next question.
How did media sway public opinion. Lia thought the answer was pretty easy. At least in her head it was. The same way anyone would made their opinion on something seem good. They had to talk it up, make it seem like the best thing ever. Boost about it. Get the information out all over and fast. Far and wide. Do whatever it took to knock the competition out. And she was about to raise her hand to speak on her thoughts when she heard what Phoebe James said. Neo-Alliance. Dahlia shuddered at the mere mention of them. The older girl was right though. However it caused Lia to lose her train of thought and instead she sat there in silence staring at what she had written on her parchment.
Gabi found it rather odd that Dahlia hadn't contributed - she was usually very talkative, being the Ravenclaw she was! Hmm.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19
Claudine nodded in response to Reccard about her answers. After she fell silent, she busied herself with jotting down key points made by the other students. And eventually Reccard as well. This discussion only reinforced what Claudine always believed in: don’t form an opinion based on hearsay. Or in the case of these publications, don’t be quick to take sides based on just reading.
CLaudine thought for a moment then raised her hand. “Well, there was that gossip parchment here at Hogwarts. Aparecium, I believe? I heard that the writers usually twisted scenarios to make the information seem scandalous.” Talk about ruining the reputation of everyone whom those anonymous writers had written about!
"Ah, good answer! There have been more than a few different variations of gossip magazines to grace these halls over the years," Gabi replied.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy
Heath nodded in reply to Professor Recard. True, he had noticed the bright colors and eye-catching fonts, and so had several others, which was why he didn’t touch on it. He was trying to take his answer in a different direction. He listened intently as the professor spoke about media bias. That sounded along the same lines as the point he was trying to make in his previous answer, only worded a lot better.
As soon as he heard the next question, his thoughts instantly turned to the Neo-Alliance’s use of the Daily Prophet and the WWN to spread their evil, but he didn’t want to talk about that… even before Phoebe mentioned it. Just thinking about it dredged up angry, vengeful emotions within him, and it scared him! He looked to the board for a distraction, trying to refocus his thoughts on the task at hand, and one of the images there jogged his memory. His hand went up, and he said, “The Quibbler tried to sway public opinion in Harry Potter’s favor after Voldemort’s return to power. They printed an interview with Potter to counteract the Daily Prophet’s articles discrediting him and Dumbledore, like that one -” He inclined his head toward the Dumbledore article on the board. “If I recall correctly, it was oe of the magazine’s most successful issues.”
"Very good, Mister Jones! The Quibbler printed an interview with Harry about the night Voldemort returned - something the Prophet had never bothered to reach out to him about - to try and help raise awareness to his return. Harry was likely far more concerned with warning the world about Voldemort than he was about his image, though," she added as an afterthought. Gryffindors, being all NOBLE and all that...
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlwaysSnapesGirl
Ivy was...going to pretend the Neo Alliance hadn't been mentioned, even though it did obviously apply to the question, and focus on the other answers while trying to think of her own. Um...
She studied the magazine covers again, trying to think of something besides the Daily Prophet one with the story about Dumbledore...and then, when her eyes drifted to the Witch Weekly one again, finally thought of something else around that time.
She raised her hand. "Witch Weekly published a made-up article Rita Skeeter wrote about Hermione Granger, claiming that she'd used love potions to make Harry Potter and Viktor Krum fall in love with her. It wasn't true, but some people believed it and sent her a bunch of hate mail because of it." It wasn't really a huge historical event, but it definitely was an example of media affecting the public's opinion of someone.
"You touched on a good point, Miss Grimm!" Gabi said with a smile. "And that is the consequences of the media's actions. Hermione Granger received lots of hate mail for something she had no control over. Such a tragic thing, honestly," she said with a frown.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Emzily
Remy giggled a little at the Professors response to her answer. Free stuff and bright colours - yeah, that was something that would draw her in, for sure. As for the next question, the Gryffindor looked back to the magazines that they were discussing and had a big think.
Buuuut… nothing was springing to mind. There were so many articles published every day, so picking just one was a little mind boggling. A name that another student (Ivy) mentioned before her, Rita Skeeter, sparked a memory, however. “Speaking of Rita Skeeter, she once wrote a biography about Albus Dumbledore that had lots of mixed reactions from everyone. I think some of it was true but she wrote it in quite a negative way which had an impact on everyone’s opinions.” She stopped explaining since she suddenly doubted her answer, since it was technically a book rather than one of the magazines or newspapers they were looking at.
More students were mentioning Rita Skeeter, which was exactly what Gabi had been hoping for! "Yes, Rita Skeeter certainly took some liberties with that one...all to make a quick buck," she said with a sigh. They could do a whole class on that woman, honestly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Watson
Manipulation.
An art or practice for the Greater Good or evil. Well perhaps not evil. For good and.... not so good. But Anakin Skywalker had been manipulated brilliantly by using fear to protect the lives of his unborn children and his wife. And then.... well.... we all know happened next.
Lisa opted to remain quiet and listen to all the answers. Her eyes widened at the mention of the Neo-Alliance. She hadn’t been around last year at Hogwarts and had known little of the Wizarding World but was that the group that caused such chaos last year? She still didn’t know the full extent to what transpired but the mandatory therapy sessions made it sound...... very bad. Lisa wrote the name in her notebook. She would ask questions later.
She nodded in agreement with Ivy and Remy’s answers. Lisa knew of Rita Skeeter’s colorful opinions on the late headmaster Albus Dumbledore. She did find the idea of a gossip magazine at Hogwarts comical. Really ought to look at restarting that... What mischief could she cause through her imagination....? and while her scheming to get Mamie and her brother together had fallen through, she was determined to get back into the scheming. Maybe this time it would be all centered around the reasons WHY mistletoe shouldn’t exist. Lecherous things that she wanted to burn. Burn them all.
It took her a moment but she raised her hand. She had a textbook answer for this question. “Some media outlets can be controlled by a governing body or political party. These groups can practice censorship where they can hide things from ever being published for the ‘greater good’ of the country.” She did hand quotes and all at the mention of the greater good. “It’s wrong to censor... I think it is. Isn’t it better to know the truth?”
Another one who brought up the political angle, interesting! "Very good point. If a certain political group controls a publication, they can essentially control whatever is printed - and use that to help change the perception of the 'truth'" she said, using air quotes as she spoke.
"You all brought up some excellent examples!" Gabi said with a grin. "Many that I had not been anticipating. I like that some of you brought up the whole political angle...and of course, one of the most notorious journalists in our history, Rita Skeeter. Speaking of Rita Skeeter...whether or not she was truly a "journalist" could probably be debated. She was proven to get her information through unethical methods by sneaking around in her animagus form, which was a bettle," she began to explain to the class.
"In addition to that, she was very well known for stretching the truth to the breaking point. Often times, she made things up entirely in order to sell a story and get more publicity for herself," she added. It was truly despicable - and honestly, the fact that that woman had gotten so much work despite having an obviously embellished resume was astounding. "However, if could be argued that she was simply trying to get people to pick up a copy of the magazine and provide entertainment along with the facts - and the sensationalism was just a tactic to get the reader hooked, like the magazines on the board have done with colors, headlines and pictures," she explained.
"This brings me to my next question," she said with a pause. "How does one draw the line between being factual yet entertaining? Is it ok to fudge the truth a bit to sell more copies? What is the harm in taking things out of context - who is it hurting? When does it cross the line from being an interpretation of the truth to a flat out lie?" she asked. Yes, she had asked a LOT of questions but it was a very complicated issue, and she wanted them to look at it from all angles!
OOC: Thanks for your patience everyone! I was not feeling too hot last night so alas, I posted a bit late. For this question (and feel free to answer just one or all of the prompts Gabi gave!) you'll have about 24 hours and then we'll be moving on to the main activity! As always let me know if you have questions!
__________________
I'm still standin'________________________________________ better than I ever did
Lookin' like a true survivor_________________________________feelin' like a little kid
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
\Claudine sat there feeling disgusted at the number of times in history that the truth had been twisted. No doubt there were always people who fell into that twisted trap. Journalists like Rita Skeeter sounded desperate to get her news. Was spying as a bug really necessary? That woman was lucky that she hadn’t been squashed when she was in that form.
Okay, so that was quite a lot of questions there, Professor. Deciding to only answer one, the sixth year raised a hand. “The person whom the story is being written about is usually hurt. It would be emotionally draining to deal with lies being written about you. Not to mention it would destroy your reputation.’’
HoM Lesson 1 - Media in the Wizarding World 
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