Ellen Rouse-Barron

Purpose:

• To bring about local, national and global change.

• To change attitudes.

• To raise awareness.

• To create access.

• To challenge dominate representations and agendas.

• To create and strengthen community ties.

• To provide information.

• To campaign.

• To change voting behaviour.

• To infiltrate mainstream media.

• To build relationships with subjects.

 

Impact:

• Evidence of any change being brought about through projects.

 

 

 

What is social action?

• It uses media as a creative tool to increase public knowledge and awareness (educational).

• Sets out to analyse current social issues and problems and bring to public attention.

• Encourage people to take action in response to what they have seen or heard.

 

 

What is community media?

 

Unlike social action that we often associate with large scale national and international companies, community action campaigns are mostly centered around smaller local communities. Combating issues that gave affected that particular community.

 

 

Similarities and differences:

 

Consider:

• Finances (budget, scale etc.).

• Representation.

• Target audience.

• Emotions evoked.

• Types of companies/ communities involved.

 

 

 

 

 

The whole purpose of Social Action is about creating impact and change. This can be targeted at the rest of the world or it can be just being national or community. Without Social Action there are some things which we would have never seen or heard of before. The reason being awareness wouldn’t have been raised by doing a video. Social Action also helps awareness on issues which may be affecting the community or the whole country. The topics which are usually dealt with in social media are racism, drug addiction, alcoholism, and politics. These productions which are done at national level will be more detailed, thoroughly planned out and have more of a budget compared to the ones which are done at the local level. While they are making the national they have to think of the marketing and distributing because the whole country is going to end up watching it. An introduction to what the problem is to try and grab the audiences’ interests to hopefully get them on side with the campaign. Social media is like the main way to find or target your target audience because nearly everyone these days uses social media. For a start you could put your video on YouTube which allows you to find your target audience more demographically.

 

Community media can be defined as media produced and circulated within a specific community, often geographic. Productions which are done at a local level tend to be more about tackling the relevant issues in the community. The media has produced by such outlets usually relate to the community, and often promote certain events going on in the area. Community is associated with radio. A number of non-profitable radio stations have been set up to try and involve the listeners in the community with their radio. People can go the radio and discuss local issues which are happening in the area. This assistances and benefits the community because people can volunteer and gain work experience while working there. Techniques used usually are emotive language and keeping the productions short and simple with a strong message, close ups are often used to show emotions and a use of a logo, website or telephone number.

 

• Raise awareness

• Raise money

• Form an opinion or vote

• Save lives

• Bring communities closer together