Divisions between the British tabloid and the serious, quality Press Essay

Divisions between the British tabloid and the serious, quality Press - Essay Example In as much as these media publications have different names and are no longer in circulation; they have something in common which lacks in the current media newspapers that we have today. The old publications represented the partisan ‘radical press’ that agitated for the betterment and improvement of the society (Stephens 2006, p. 23). They influenced the beliefs and the attitudes of the working class. This is because it defined the society to be made up systems of exploitations and not as a series of disjointed events. Additionally, the radical press played a significant role in undermining the social order normative support through challenging the validity of the economic and social institutions in which the social order was based (Seymour-Ure 1991, p. 150). The radical press obtained funding from subsidies from social movements and sales it made from the circulations of the publications. This is contrary to the independent press of the recent times which obtains its f unding from advertising revenues and sales of publications. Introduction Several debates revolving around the current state of British newspapers are being conducted. However, recent findings reveal that the traditional news values that dominated the media have become revolutionized and reformed (Negrine 1994, p. 87). In the recent times, the dominance of social and celebrity news, the blurring of the line separating reality shows and news, as well as the advent of civilian journalism, demonstrates that the nature of news and news values are changing; and that the traditional values of news are becoming irrelevant. It is worth noting that the old traditional news values are being replaced by the tabloid news values. These values represent the interpretive work of journalists, and they cut across the broad sectors of public life. For instance, this news revolves around crime, sports, scandals, pop culture, just to mention but a few (Hampton 2008, p. 98). On the other hand, pertinent issues such as public affairs and politics are given minimal attention. The tabloid news stories are normally personified in order to impart high emotions and sensation (Franklin 2008, p. 23). According to media historians, tabloid news values are present in the English newspapers in the recent times because of two factors, namely; media ownership and advertisements. This is because they contribute to the existent of hierarchies in the journalism profession. It is debated that there is no narrowing in the divide that exists between broadsheets and tabloid newspapers (Keeble 2008, p. 45). This is attributed to the fact that there are several changes in their features. Therefore, this paper shall seek to explicate as to whether tabloids are similar to broadsheets, as well as determine if the ‘quality press’ is concentrating primarily on issues that touch on public interests. In order to make my arguments clear, I will use examples to emphasize on my main points. Discussio n Studies reveal that broadsheets newspapers undergone a tabloidization process. Tabloidization refers to the style of papers that does not pay much attention to foreign affairs and government policies. Instead, it as an entertainment-oriented style of journalism that centers on celebrity, lifestyle, crime/ scandal and entertainment (Sparks & Dahlgren 1992, p. 123). Some of the reasons of tabloidization are

Effectiveness of Project finance in wealthy countries Research Paper

Effectiveness of Project finance in wealthy countries - Research Paper Example Qatari oil and natural gas reserves are over 15 billion barrels and 26 trillion cubic metres respectively. Oil and gas revenue account for over 50 percent of its total GDP and 70 percent of all government revenues. Over 85 percent of all export earnings are from gas and oil. In fact, Qatar is the largest exporter of Liquefied natural gas (LNG). It is also the third largest country after Russia and Iran with largest gas deposits. In addition, Qatar relies heavily on foreign labour. Since oil and gas were discovered and extraction commenced in the 1950’s, Qatar’s economy has experienced high real gross domestic product growth rate each year. According to Blanchard, the country recorded 16 percent real gross domestic growth rate in 20102. Qatar is one of the richest countries in the world and has the highest per capita income in the Arab world. The GDP and per capita income was $128 billion and $67,000 in 2010 respectively. In addition, Qatari citizens and residents enjoy higher standard of living as compared to most countries in the world. Oil and gas sector generated over 70 percent revenues to the exchequer and the government does not levy income tax on all its citizens. According to CIA, the budget revenues and expenditures were estimated to be $47.32 billion and $31.61 billion respectively in 20103. Qatar has one of the lowest tax rates in the world, a situation that has attracted direct foreign investment. Furthermore, the country can grant t ax exception for about 12 years. Although economic growth and development is largely attributed to proceeds from huge deposits of oil and gas, the government has developed political, social, economic policies that promoted high levels of governance and transparency; reduced business process bureaucracies; and improve political stability, making it one of the stable Arab states in spite of political turmoil in neighboring Arab states. Economist, the World Bank and Transparency international have