Media students in Years 12 and 13 visited the British Film Institute on London’s South Bank on Tuesday 14 November for an intensive and immersive study day.

The focus was the newspaper industry. In the morning, we looked at how the press mediate the news agenda, and how journalists and picture editors make explicit and implicit decisions about representation. We examined several front pages from a variety of daily newspapers in depth, applying our knowledge of semiotics and structuralism. We also considered theoretical approaches including Liesbet van Zoonen and Judith Butler’s feminist theories, Stuart Hall’s Reception theory, and Paul Gilroy’s concept of ‘post-colonial melancholia’.

After lunch, there was a Q&A session with Joseph Harker, Diversity and Inclusion Editor at The Guardian, followed by an in-depth discussion of audiences and industry, where we learned more about print circulation, online news consumption, and the regulation of the press in the wake of the Leveson inquiry.

The event was held in NFT1, with over 400 students from schools across the country. Several of our students made highly perceptive contributions to the discussion, and were praised by the main speaker for their insightful comments and deep understanding of the theoretical framework.

All in all, it was an invaluable experience, and our students left feeling much more enthusiastic about the study of news media.