The majority of street art is vandalism, but it still holds a message to tell to those who view it. I have observed the majority of street art mainly around the rail areas of London and Europe, I assume this is because of minimal CCTV in the area. There is one artist who ventures into the heart of London to create his art though, this artist goes by the alias of “Banksy”. Banksy has a unique style that combines graffiti writing with a distinct stenciling aesthetic. The resulting artworks are usually satirical on politics, culture and ethics. According to one author, Banksy was born in Bristol in the late 1970’s and was part of the underground scene. In the late 1980’s Bristol experienced aerosol paint boom, this is where Banksy first picked up the craft. His more famous works include: a “Pulp Fiction” inspired piece where bananas are in place of guns in the hands of Samuel L Jackson and John Travolta, “One Nation Under CCTV” printed on a large wall in Westminster (removed in 2009), and a series of paintings on the wall that divides Israel and Palestine. The picture accompanied with this post is a recent work at the Princess of Wales pub located in Chalk Town. It is currently unknown if this is a legit work of Banksy or a result of street artists recreating his styles, which has been coined as “The Banksy-Effect”
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy
Branding is very important in any business because it can creates the image that the company wants to be conveyed to their audience. Branding is accomplished through many means: logos, mascots and advertisements. One company that has made a popular name for itself, especially in Ireland, is Guinness. Guinness is a beer brewer that specializes in porter style beer. The company was founded by Arthur Guinness in Dublin during 1759. The site of the original brewery at St. James Gate had a 9,000 year lease signed on it for 45 pounds a year. Since then, Guinness has become a internationally popular beer. This couldn’t be achieved by their mastery of brewing along though, marketing their brand has also made a big impact on what makes Guinness such a recognizable beer. The logo of the Guinness Brewery is very recognizable as it is a harp, which is already a well known symbol in Irish history. The harp of Brian Boru has been a symbol of Ireland since the reign of Henry VIII, but there is a major difference between this harp and the logo, the direction it faces. Advertisements and commercials by Guinness are also very recognizable and how also won many awards. Notable ones include: John Gilroy’s toucan posters, dark humored commercials featuring Rutger Hauer and most recently a advert titled “Tipping Point” that resembled a domino effect. This latest commercial was shot in Argentina and had a 10 million pound budget. While the success of Guinness has lasted for generations, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for the company as reportedly sales for the drink dropped in the UK and Ireland by 6% in 2006.Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinness
While many newspapers in America are failing, the case is quite opposite in England. Every morning and evening during rush-hour, the streets and the tube is filled with commuters reading their daily newspaper. One paper that I frequently read while in London was the “London Evening Standard”. This is a free publication that I found mainly distributed around the tube stations. It consists mainly of national and international news along with a strong emphasis on finance for the London area. The Evening Standard was founded in 1827 and gained its notoriety for its strong foreign news reporting such as the American Civil War. It is interesting to note that this was formally a paid publication, its change to a free publication came about in October 2009. This was due to its new owner, former Russian KGB agent, Alexander Lebedev. The Evening Standard is only one of many other publications in London, other notable papers include; “The Times” and “The Sun”.Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Evening_Standard
The previous entry was about the BBC in general, this entry will focus on one of its more popular and long running program, Doctor Who. Doctor Who began to be broadcast on the BBC on November 23, 1963. It starts the mysterious and over enthusiastic Doctor who is a humanoid known as a Time Lord. It is his duty as a time lord to protect the space time continuum by encountering numerous enemies and fixing glitches in the time field. Doctor Who is known to be the longest running science-fiction show in broadcast history and holds the title of the most popular science-fiction show when media sales, ratings and merchandise sales are compared. Since the show’s creation in 1963, 26 seasons have run. In 1989 production halted for the series and attempts to reboot it via a 1996 television film failed. It wouldn’t be until 2005 when the production for the show would once again commence. One who hasn’t seen this series will wonder, how do the writers work with actors with a show that has been running for a near 50 years? To simply put it, the only consistent character in the series is the doctor himself and the writers write in actor changes with the element of “regeneration.” This regeneration ability allows the Doctor to change bodies and to an extent his personality whenever he becomes hurt, “too old”, etc... The show has seen major success with its innovative stories. Because of the ability to travel through time and space to other dimensions, the possibility for stories are endless. Doctor Who is currently on it’s 11th doctor, Matt Smith and the 27th season is currently in production. Doctor Who aires on BBC 1 and BBC America. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_who
The BBC is possibly one of the most well recognized media outlets not only in Europe but the world. Its original programming and news on television and radio make up the largest broadcasting corporation in the world. It operates under as a public service to the United Kingdom, that is to say, it works to give something for everyone.
Unlike traditional broadcasting networks in the United States, the BBC earns its income via a licensing fee rather than through advertisers. Anyone who owns a television must pay this fee. The BBC has two television stations that are “free” along with multiple others on digital television. Along with its television stations, it owns multiple popular radio stations and broadcasts all of its transmission online via the BBC iPlayer.
The BBC has a very rich history to explore and an equally interesting future to look at. With the rise of viewing television on the internet along with competition with satellite providers, such as Sky, the future of the BBC is cloudy.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bbc
Everywhere you go in London there is some form of mass media being broadcasted towards you in some form or fashion. Whether you are walking in the streets or sitting in the tubes, there is a source of media for you to see, some are not as obvious as others. This blog is being created to highlight the different types of media that are located in London and the surrounding European area. The goal of this blog is to raise awareness of the obvious and inconspicuous forms of media that are seen in everyday life and also point out any historical and cultural importances that lie within them.
