Gift of a Magi Essay Example For Students

Gift of a Magi Essay In The Gift of a Magi, the theme is the most important literary element and is the driving force in the story. The theme can be that love and sacrifice is treasured above all else. The theme is showed when Della and Jim sell their most prized possession, which is the sacrifice, and buys each other a gift, which is the love. This led to Della and Jim being portrayed as foolish and childish, but they treasured that ironic moment which was filled with love and sacrifice, and set aside their materials gifts. Also, the authors focus of writing the story was to get the theme across to the reader. This is because the author did believe the theme was true. This is captured when O. Henry says, Let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. The author meant Della and Jim when he said this. The theme therefore can be described as the foundation of the story, so if there was no theme, the whole story would fall apart. So since theme is established as a foundation it affects most of the literary elements but it is also affected by two others. Finally, theme is the main literary element since it plays a big role in the story since the author actually believes it and therefore wants to get it across to the reader. First, theme affects irony. The irony happens when the reader finds out that Della bought a fob chain for Jims watch and sells her hair to get it but it is immediately found out later in the story that Jim sold his gold watch to get combs for Dellas hair. Irony is affected by theme because if the author did not think love and sacrifice was treasured above all, he would not create the irony. This is because at the same time, the irony helps the author get his point across that love and sacrifice are treasured above all else since this belief is described and shown by the irony. Irony affects the mood since the irony changes the readers feelings. Throughout the story, the reader feel anxious because he or she does not know what Della will do to buy Jim a present and is on the edge of his or her seat when Della cuts her hair. The mood changes after the ironic sacrifice and then the reader feels uplifted because of the characters love and willingness to sacrifice. Next, irony is affected by point of view and conflict. Irony is affected by conflict because since the author knows only Dellas thoughts or third person limited, the irony is not given away by the thoughts of Jim. This is because if the reader knew that Jim has sold his watch to get Della combs for her hair, the reader would expect the ironic sacrifice and there would be no surprise. Irony is affected by conflict because if Della was not in a battle with herself, which is Person versus self, Della would not sell her hair which is one step of the irony and if Della and Jim were not poor, which is person versus society, they would not have to sacrifice so much. This also ties in with setting because if the story did not happen during Christmas time, the characters would not be in such a rush to get gifts for each other. Finally, irony is affected b y tone because the author creates the irony to complete his agenda of getting the theme across. .ud4dab95a489bc5111b0c9f2ae4c56a13 , .ud4dab95a489bc5111b0c9f2ae4c56a13 .postImageUrl , .ud4dab95a489bc5111b0c9f2ae4c56a13 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ud4dab95a489bc5111b0c9f2ae4c56a13 , .ud4dab95a489bc5111b0c9f2ae4c56a13:hover , .ud4dab95a489bc5111b0c9f2ae4c56a13:visited , .ud4dab95a489bc5111b0c9f2ae4c56a13:active { border:0!important; } .ud4dab95a489bc5111b0c9f2ae4c56a13 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ud4dab95a489bc5111b0c9f2ae4c56a13 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ud4dab95a489bc5111b0c9f2ae4c56a13:active , .ud4dab95a489bc5111b0c9f2ae4c56a13:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ud4dab95a489bc5111b0c9f2ae4c56a13 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ud4dab95a489bc5111b0c9f2ae4c56a13 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ud4dab95a489bc5111b0c9f2ae4c56a13 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ud4dab95a489bc5111b0c9f2ae4c56a13 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ud4dab95a489bc5111b0c9f2ae4c56a13:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ud4dab95a489bc5111b0c9f2ae4c56a13 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ud4dab95a489bc5111b0c9f2ae4c56a13 .ud4dab95a489bc5111b0c9f2ae4c56a13-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ud4dab95a489bc5111b0c9f2ae4c56a13:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Social status EssayThe mood in the story is also affected by the theme and can be described as one of warmth and happiness. This is because of the Della and Jims willingness to give which describes the main point of the theme. The mood can also be warmth and happiness because the theme that is put across can make the reader feel warmth and happiness. Love over everything else can make the reader feel different feelings all at once like joy since love is treasured but melancholy since sacrifice is also involved. This feeling is held on throughout the story until the very end, where the reader is surprised and either feels Della and Jim are like Magi, wise which is the autho rs perspective, or like children who are foolish. The perspective of the reader depends on the emotions and beliefs of the reader. The tone can also affect the mood. The tone in The Gift of a Magi can be described as sentimentalism meaning warm or tender feelings. This is because the author thinks that Jim and Della are the wisest because the gift of love and sacrifice, which the author thinks is far better than any other material gift. This attitude of the author describes the theme which is love and sacrifice is treasured above all. The tone is affected by theme because the main point on the authors agenda could be to get the theme across to the reader which is the tone since it is the authors feelings or attitude to what he writes. Tone also affects mood because the author shapes the story to make the reader feel warmth. This is because the author wants the reader to also understand and take up the perspective that love and sacrifice is treasured above all. This point is stressed over and over again throughout the story whether it is through the irony or the plot where Della cuts her hair to buy a present or where Jim sells his watch to get combs for Dellas hair. Tone also affects irony because to get his point across, the author creates the irony as stated before. So without the current view of the author and the main focus of the story, being the theme, the author would have no point of creating the irony. This again proves the importance of the theme. Tone also affects character because to get the point across, the author makes the characters poor, but loving and compassionate toward each other. The characters in The Gift of a Magi are Della and Jim. Della is a beautiful, caring woman who has long hair and wants the best for her husband. Jim is a worried man who wants the best for his wife Della and who has a gold watch. Characters affect the theme because if they did not care for each other so much, the author would not be able to convey the theme, and the authors point of writing the story, or the tone, would be gone. Since the characters are compassionate, caring and loving, they can show their love and sacrifice to the reader and at the same time, effectively getting the theme across to the reader. The characters affect the mood because since they are poor and have many good qualities, the reader feels compassion and warms to the character. Next, if they were not poor, they would not have to pay for the gifts by selling their most prized possession which plays an important in the definition of love and sacrifice. There would also be no irony. Character also affects mood because their love for each other would not touch the reader if they had different personalities. Characters, particularly Della, affect conflict because their personalities that show care and love play a key role in the conflict. The conflict can be described as person versus self, or Della versus Della. Della is not sure what to get her husband and wants the best for her husband but has to sell her most prized possession for money. This is the conflict and if Della was not so loving and caring, she would not hesitate in not buying her husband a present. Setting and character create conflict because since the characters are poor and it is around Christmas time, the characters are in a rush to buy presents. This is person versus society because they are poor and cannot afford for presents but it is Christmas, so they are determined to buy presents for each other. .uc17d2148b39ccfed2e19b4de71bb9969 , .uc17d2148b39ccfed2e19b4de71bb9969 .postImageUrl , .uc17d2148b39ccfed2e19b4de71bb9969 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uc17d2148b39ccfed2e19b4de71bb9969 , .uc17d2148b39ccfed2e19b4de71bb9969:hover , .uc17d2148b39ccfed2e19b4de71bb9969:visited , .uc17d2148b39ccfed2e19b4de71bb9969:active { border:0!important; } .uc17d2148b39ccfed2e19b4de71bb9969 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uc17d2148b39ccfed2e19b4de71bb9969 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uc17d2148b39ccfed2e19b4de71bb9969:active , .uc17d2148b39ccfed2e19b4de71bb9969:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uc17d2148b39ccfed2e19b4de71bb9969 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uc17d2148b39ccfed2e19b4de71bb9969 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uc17d2148b39ccfed2e19b4de71bb9969 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uc17d2148b39ccfed2e19b4de71bb9969 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uc17d2148b39ccfed2e19b4de71bb9969:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uc17d2148b39ccfed2e19b4de71bb9969 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uc17d2148b39ccfed2e19b4de71bb9969 .uc17d2148b39ccfed2e19b4de71bb9969-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uc17d2148b39ccfed2e19b4de71bb9969:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Theme Comparison Of The Catcher In The Rye And Franny And Zooey EssayThey are so determined that they even sacrificed their most prized possession that the author compared to famous people, Solomon and Sheba. Setting also affects character because if they did not live in a flat in a poor neighbor in the early twentieth century, they would not be poor which plays a key role in the personalities of Della and Jim. The author would not be able to shape the story to make the theme what it is and therefore, tone would not be affected by the theme. Without setting, all the other literary elements would collapse like a domino effect. Even though theme is the driving force of the s tory, setting plays a major role in the story. Finally if the setting was not during Christmas time, Della and Jim would not be in such a rush to buy each other presents instead of saving and then later buying presents if it was before or after Christmas. Therefore, theme is the main literary element in The Gift of a Magi and affects or is affected by many of the literary elements.

Using a Sample Essay on an FDCPA Question

Using a Sample Essay on an FDCPA QuestionA sample essay on a FDCPA question can be a valuable source of information. The best advice for using a sample is to view it as a possible path to success rather than an ultimate solution. This makes it easier to recognize problems with the sample and to find possible solutions that work for you.If you are going to use a sample essay, consider using several. You may have a question that seems like a good candidate for a sample. Or, if you already have one idea in mind, maybe you will find it better to see how you could expand on it. Try several sample questions and see which one appeals to you the most.You don't need to make your own decision right away. Rather, make a list of all your options and write down which one you want to focus on next. Then, if you have a question that you really want to know more about, you can refer to your list for a sample to go with it.In some cases, a sample can offer you some clues about the format of the essay you want to write. For example, one sample contained a question about creating a personal website. You might find a question like this useful in determining how to prepare for that format structure.You can also find samples related to the topic of your writing sample. You might see one that has a question about creating a new website for your website. Or, maybe you will find a question about creating a blog to keep your customers informed.If you use a sample to get ideas for writing your essay, you may find it easier to turn these ideas into a new type of essay. By working witha sample, you will have a framework that you can build upon later. So, you may find that a different approach gives you more success when you are done.After you've used a sample to get ideas for a topic for your essay, you can then look for questions that appear to work for you. After you find those questions, you can take a look at how they might best be used for your own topic. By doing this, you can get so me of the best ideas for your own essay.

A Beginners Guide Tenses of Latin Verbs

A Beginner's Guide Tenses of Latin Verbs Latin is an inflected language  where the verbs include a lot of information about the sentence. Sometimes the verb is the only word in the sentence. Even without a noun or pronoun, a Latin verb can tell you who/what the subject is. It can also tell you the time frame, interval, or tense. When you parse a Latin verb, you deconstruct these and other facets of the Latin. When you parse a Latin verb, you list the following: Meaning/translationPersonNumberMoodVoice (active/passive)Tense/aspect Tense, as mentioned, refers to time. In Latin, there are 3 simple and 3 perfect tenses, a total of 6, and they come in both active and passive forms. Moods in Different Tenses The Indicative Mood is the most common and thats what this page is about. You need to make note of the mood when parsing a verb. Most statement sentences use the indicative. In English, we generally contrast indicative with conditional sentences, although English has the Latin moods (Indicative, Subjunctive*, and Imperative**). Present Tense The first of the simple tenses in the Indicative Mood is the present tense. The present tense in the Indicative Mood has both Active and Passive voices. The present tense shows action that is happening now. I walk - ambulo Latin Imperfect Tense The next tense is the imperfect, which conveys incompleted action in the past. Imperfect means incomplete or unfinished. When translating an imperfect verb, the simple past tense sometimes works. Other times, was plus an -ing ending on the verb or used to plus the verb will convey the incompleted past action. I was walking - ambulabam The imperfect tense in Latin is used for both continuous and habitual actions in the past. Latin Future Tense The third tense is the future tense. A verb in the future tense conveys an action that will happen in the future. The customary auxiliary verb denoting the future tense is will. He will walk - ambulabit The 1st person singular future ambulabo is translated I shall walk technically. Most people in the U.S., if not in the rest of the anglophone world, would say I will walk. The same is true of the 1st person plural ambulabimus: technically, its we shall walk, but in custom, its we will walk. In the second and third person, its just will without qualification. Latin Verb Endings Active Singular -o, -m-s-t Active Plural -mus-tis-nt Passive Singular -or, -r-ris-tur Passive Plural -mur-mini-ntur Perfect Active Endings Singular   -i-isti-it Plural -imus-istis-erunt (sometimes -ere) Past Tenses Past or perfected tenses are used for completed actions. There are 3 such tenses: Perfect,PluperfectFuture perfect. Latin (Past) Perfect Tense Generally simply called the perfect tense, this tense refers to an action that has been completed. Either a simple past tense ending (e.g., -ed) or the auxiliary verb have conveys the perfect tense. I walked - ambulavi You may also translate it: I have walked. Latin Pluperfect Tense A verb is in the pluperfect tense if it was completed prior to another. Usually the auxiliary verb had signifies a pluperfect verb. I had walked - ambulaveram Latin Future Perfect Tense Future perfect is used to convey an action that will have been completed prior to something else. Will have are the customary auxiliary verbs. I will have walked - ambulavero *  More advanced:  In the Subjunctive Mood, there are 4 tenses, both active and passive: Present,Imperfect,Perfect, andPluperfect. ** There is ordinarily one Latin tense in the Imperative Mood, with both active and passive forms.

The negative effects that poli essays

The negative effects that poli essays The negative effects that political correctness has brought upon the equal rights movement. In this day and age it has become increasingly difficult to escape the clutch of political correctness. One can find this silent antagonist in the media, the classroom, and even our own backyards. People who at one point were in a position of power now find it quickly slipping away at the mercy of this double-edged sword. Take for example: the middle aged white male, who at one point viewed his age/sex/race as an asset, now finds himself getting attacked on account of these very aspects; or women who have successfully furthered equal rights, yet they still expect to be treated exceptionally. When do we draw the line, and stand up for ourselves even at the risk at stepping on someones toes? Eventually our society will loose all respect for anything less then a full time career, at the high price, and possible destruction of the family unit. The purpose of political correctness essentially helps diminish all types of discrimination and cuts down on the tensions that keep people divided; however, out of this forced tolerance has emerged a backlash. The media, business world, and society at large in its futile attempts to promote equality often fuels the battle between the sexes. Perhaps this occurs due more out of fear of offending someone then anything else. In some cases this may even turn into reverse discrimination; for example, take the bus advertisement that one can see displayed on many if not all Toronto transit vehicles. This safety notice outlines one of the TTCs programs where women, after 9:00 pm can request that the driver stop between bus stops so she can be let out. Now I am not disagreeing that this vital service helps increase the feeling of security for those women who are traveling late at night. However upon seeing this ad, am I supposed to understand that men, cannot be in danger; men never find ...

Chinese Media Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Chinese Media - Research Proposal Example In the endeavor to maintain their hold on the conventional media, the Chinese government has blocked the popular sites of facebook, twitter, and YouTube amongst other sites that are a platform for free expression. The Chinese people are left with the option of building their own sites that conform to the policies of their government. One of these sites is Sina Weibo. This site has been revolutionary since its inception in the year 2009. Much of its success is owed to the closure of Twitter, in China, around that year. In order to show the significance Weibo in the context of Chinese media freedom, this paper will analyze its role in reporting the high-speed train collision in Wuhan. Weibo has been instrumental in propagating social justice, as such; it has become a precipitate of government accountability that has been lacking in China. Sina Weibo has registered approximately two hundred and fifty million users to date. Chinese Weibo has the largest following in comparison to any one of the global sites operating in the world at the moment. Owing to the large Chinese population, Sina Weibo is larger than the sum of all other sites combined. Out of this, ten percent are frequent users on a daily basis. Ten percent of two hundred and fifty million is quite a considerable figure. It has become a platform of discussion of the most contagious issues pertaining to China. Most of these, however, arise from social, political and cultural issues. This is contrary to the social sites in the west. Western sites are primarily social interaction enhancing mediums. This is exemplified by the interactions on Facebook. The power of Sina Weibo is sourced from its function as a major forum for hosting public opinion. Unlike Twitter which is mainly a social networking site, its counterpart Sina Weibo mainly focuses on public opinion o f ongoing affairs. It achieves this by providing for its users a free opportunity to participate in public affairs. An avenue via which the public could voice out its concerns has been all but lacking.  Ã‚  

I will post all of information in word Assignment

I will post all of information in word - Assignment Example In addition, money is not capable of purchasing intelligence, admiration and or respect for any individual who does not have the capacity to hold these characteristics even in presence of more than enough money. Similarly, money does not attempt to buy brains for individuals who have powerful position in return for service because the individual mostly ends up frustrating him or herself to below the level of those who are perceivably weakened by the status of the individual’s money (Rand 101). Conversely, d’Anconia argues that although money does not purchase the necessary human characteristics in life, money is a rootless living power that acts as a means of survival. The kind of treatment that money gives on individuals depends on the source of livelihood that further translates into the anticipated life. In fact, what matters most is the means of achieving the money and the continuous engagement that tool of exchange has on the life of an individual. For instance, in dividuals are said to do odd jobs just to get a particular amount of money (Rand 103). In light of this, money would suddenly bring forth hatred from its users, the men, immediately it does not concur with the wants of the individuals. Many men are for the perception that money exists to be enjoyed even when the individuals have not genuinely acquired it. It is said not to give virtue nor redeem the vices of men (Rand 104). It is worth mentioning that, every man loves money to the extent of knowing its nature. In addition, d’Anconia argues that individuals should be aware of the fact that money is a continuous creation of the power that is within men, and the level of trading to outfit the best efforts amongst other men who are also trading to satisfy their needs and wants. For instance, those who love money are individuals who have the will to work for it as they know that they deserve to have it in regard to their effort. For this reason then, individuals who continuously d amn money are argued to have gotten it in a manner that is not upright. Thus, d’Anconia advises men to desist from fellow men who continually tell them that money is evil (Rand 103). Needless to say, the society needs money to thrive. However, there must be a strict law that govern those that have money from exploiting those that do not have the medium. In the same way, the law must be present in society to make sure that men who just sit in idleness waiting for fellow men to work and acquire money, and then come forth to deprive them are dealt with accordingly. For instance, every time destroyers appear among men, they are said to begin by destroying money before hurting them and reducing them to men with no money (Rand 104). In a general sense, d’Anconia argues that men must be in a position to contemplate that money is the root of good and not evil. Otherwise if they continue to perceive money a sourced of evil, then they risk having continuous destruction in their life. In the event that money is no longer a viable tool where men can clearly use to deal with one another, the same men are bond to become tools of fellow men. According to d’

Journalism: News Access And Source Power

Journalism: News Access And Source Power In the study of mass communication, there has been a continuous debate about the more or less powerful effects of the media on the public. This power is not restricted to the influence of the media on their audiences, but also involves the role of the media within the broader framework of the social, cultural, political or economic power structures of society. Ideally, a media system suitable for a democracy ought to provide its readers with some coherent sense of the broader social forces that affect the conditions of everyday life. However, it is difficult to find anyone who even remotely approaches this ideal (Gamson et al, 1992). The overwhelming conclusion is that the media generally operate in ways that promote apathy, cynicism and quiescence, rather than active citizenship and participation. This essay will explore the evidence that is offered that suggests why the nature of source/media relations matters in environmental issues and non-governmental organisations. It will also look at why communications and media researchers continue to investigate the topic and why source/media relations are important. Media discourse analysis has traditionally focused on the news product. These studies have not only yielded important insights into the structure (Bell 1991, 1998), function (Jaworski, Fitzgerald and Morris, 2003; Khalil, 2006) and effect (Fairclough, 1995; van Dijk, 1998) of media language, but have also described micro level aspects such as the mechanics of turn-taking, repair and pause length in news interviews (Clayman and Heritage, 2002). Recently, however, the scope of media discourse analysis has started to broaden to include the complex discursive practices that lie at the heart of the news production process. Additionally, with the advent of new technologies, crucial ingredients of the news production process are now being opened up to researchers, with corporate websites parading massive press release archives and internet based news agencies and e-mail distribution services spreading breaking news in real time to whoever is interested in it (Geert, 1999). News access and news selection are the yin and yang of news production studies (Geert, 1999). Cottle (2000b) distinguishes the sociological and a culturalist paradigm in theories of news access. While the former investigates news access in terms of strategic and definitional power, examining patterns of news access, routines of news production and processes of source intervention the latter theorises news access in terms of cultural and ritual power, [sensitive], to the symbolic role of news actors and how they perform/enact within the conventions and textual structures of news representation ritual, story, narrative (pp. 28-9). News sociology has a long standing tradition. Early, seminal studies of deviance (Becker, 1963), newsworthiness (Galtung and Ruge, 1973), news management (Schudson, 1978), hegemony (Hall et al, 1978) paved the way for political economy views of corporate control (Herman and Chomsky, 1988) and mediatisation (Thompson, 1995) on the one hand, and social constructionist approaches to news production (Gitlin, 1980) on the other. The classic newsroom ethnographies of the 1970s and 1980s (Tunstall, 1971; Tuchman, 1972, 1978; Gans, 1979; Golding and Elliot, 1979; Fishman, 1980; Erickson, Baranek and Chan, 1987) crystallised a radical moment in the historical development of news study. Taken together these studies forced attention to the structural and institutional forces at play in newsrooms, focusing on how news is an organisational and bureaucratic accomplishment of routine (Cottle, 2000a, p. 21). For example, Tuchman (1972) sees source dependence as a strategic ritual, borne out of a pro fessional ideology allowing journalists to frame their work as objective accounts of news events. According to Geert (1999), while this early generation of social scientists drove home the importance of professional routines, norms and settings of news production, other scholars have pointed to theoretical blind spots. With new technologies being introduced in newsrooms (Pavlik, 2000), come new concepts of journalistic practice (Carlson, 2007), leading to questions of continued theoretical validity and calls for updating newsroom ethnography (Cottle, 2000a; Zelizer, 2004). Schudson (2005) has warned against the dangers of a reductionist or determinist approach to the media in which the news production process is seen as the direct result of underlying economic and political forces. Such an approach does not account for the agency of journalists as social actors, which, given in todays changing news ecology, is especially pressing. Indeed, it could be argued that, from an analytical point of view, media sociology has largely disregarded journalistic agency in favour of organisatio nal and institutional levels of analysis. Recently, however, some scholars have pointed their attention to alternative theories of cultural production, most prominently, Bourdieus field theory (Couldry, 2003; Benson, 2006; Hesmondhalgh, 2006; Neveu, 2007). In contradistinction of grand sociological debates, cultural and anthropological studies of news production such as Peterson (2001) and Stà ¥hlberg (2002) apply notions of social mediation, cultural production and reflexivity in analysing the situated practices of media production and consumption. This burgeoning field which has come to be identified as media anthropology (Askew and Wilk, 2002; Ginsburg, Abulughod and Larkin, 2002; Peterson, 2003; Rothenbuhler and Coman, 2005; Boyer and Hannerz, 2006) theorises the ethnography of media production as an emergent effort, to talk about the agency of media producers within a cultural system while still recognising their embeddedness in larger structures of power, (Peterson, 2003, p. 164). van Dijk (1990) notes that a brief conceptual analysis is needed in order to specify what notions of power are involved in such an approach to the role of the news media. Social power as van Dijk explains is summarily defined as a social relation between groups or institutions, involving the control by a (more) powerful group or institution (and its members) of the actions and the minds of (the members) a less powerful group. Such power generally presupposes privileged access to socially valued resources, such as force, wealth, income, knowledge or status. van Dijk goes on to explain that media power is generally symbolic and persuasive, the sense that the media primarily have the potential to control to some extent the minds of readers or viewers, but not directly their actions. Except in cases of physical, coercive force, the control of action, which is usually the ultimate aim of the exercise of power, is generally indirect, whereas the control of intentions, plans, knowledge, bel iefs or opinions that is mental representations that monitor overt activities is presupposed. Also, van Dijk (1990) notes that given the presence of other sources of information, and because the media usually lack access to the sanctions that other such as legal or bureaucratic-institutions may apply in cases on noncompliance, mind control by the media can never be complete. On the contrary, psychological and sociological evidence suggests that despite the pervasive symbolic power of the media, the audience will generally retain a minimum of autonomy and independence and engage more or less actively, instead of purely passively, in the use of the means of mass communication. In other words, whatever the symbolic power of the news media, at least some media users will generally be able to resist such persuasion. Another notion in the analysis of media power is that of access. According to van Dijk (1990), it has been shown that power is generally based on special access to valued social resources. Thus, controlling the means of mass communication is one of the crucial conditions of social power in contemporary information societies. Indeed, besides economic or other social conditions of power, social groups may be attributed social power by their active or passive access to various forms of public, other influential or consequential discourse, such as those of the mass media, scholarship or political and corporate decision making (p. 12). Although ordinary people may make use of the news media, they generally have no direct influence on news content, nor are they usually the major news actors of news reports (van Dijk, 1990). Elite groups or institutions, on the other hand, may be defined by their broader range and scope of patterns of access to public or other important discourses and communicative events. Leading politicians, managers, scholars or other professionals have more or less controlled access to many different forms of text and talk, such as meetings, reports, press conferences or press releases. This is especially true for their access to media discourse. Journalist will seek to interview them, ask their opinion, and thus introduce them as major news actors or speakers in news reports. If such elites are able to control these patterns of media access, they are by definition more powerful than the media. On the other hand, those media that are able to control access to elite discourse, in such a way that elites become dependent on them in order to exercise their own power, may in turn play their own role in the power structure. In other words, major news media may themselves be institutions of power and dominance, with respect not only to the public at large, but also to other elite institutions. (van Dijk, 1990, p. 12). For some areas like risk and the environment as well as issues like trade unions which are non-governmental organisations, media discourse is to a significant extent, a discourse dependent upon the voices of official experts. Environmental organisations, non-governmental organisations, industry, scientists, and government offer their own particular competing accounts of the reality of the situation. Issues concerning differential access to the news media are crucial when considering who comes to define the event. Accordingly, the following examines news/source media relations as it relates to 1) environmental issues and 2) non-governmental and the various news sources involved in influencing the symbolic representation of public issues. News/Source Media Relations and Environmental Issues Over recent decades a growing environmental promotion industry has emerged, alongside an increasing emphasis upon environmental advocacy. A number of information crises (eg. The Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989) have forced sections of industry to take a more proactive approach to environmental communications as potent imagery has directed contradicted assurances that environment protection is not compromised by their activities (Anderson, 1991). At the same time, the public exhibit a growing sense of distrust of scientists (Beck, 1992). The sense of distrust has partly emerged from news media formats that favour confrontational dialogue among experts and offer the public little means of evaluating opposing viewpoints. There has been a tendency to display the debates in dramatic, sensational headlines rather than a considered approach that furthers public understanding of the issues (Anderson, 1991). The sheer complexity of many environmental issues acts as a major constraint, particula rly considering that relatively few journalists reporting on these matters possess a scientific background (Anderson, 1997; Nelkin, 1995; Peters, 1995). The news media possess a great responsibility in relaying scientific issues to the public, since they contribute a major source of information about science within our society (Adam, 1991). Through their mediation, interpretation and translation of otherwise in accessible knowledge into a publicly accessible form, news workers are not only prime sources of public information but also the principal social; theorists of contemporary industrial societies. As such, they carry a heavy burden, a responsibility they are poorly equipped to provide and that does not sit comfortably with their own self-perception. That is their understanding of themselves as harbingers of news, disseminators of matter of human interest and providers of a critical perspective on the more shady aspects of socio-political and socio-economic life (p. 125). Routine news media reporting of environmental issues is often mediated through the expert as the voice of authority. However, it is important to note the ways in which the news media present certain expert voices as being self-evidently authoritative whilst competing views are frequently portrayed as non-credible, irrational and partisan. This can have the effect of discouraging critical thinking and the brushing aside of lay views. However, as Beck (1992) observes there are some grounds for optimism since the media also potentially play a part of opening up the critique of science and exposing conflicts of opinion and ideological standpoints. At the same time research suggests that while official news sources may not automatically enjoy the most statistically prominent level of news coverage, they are far more likely to appear in news formats where they enjoy a larger degree of editorial control. Also they tend to provide analytical knowledge as opposed to subjective/experiential kn owledge (Cottle, 1999). It has been frequently observed that the news media representation of environmental issues is pre-occupied with bad news. Much environmental coverage is centred on events rather than issues (Hansen, 1990, 1999; Molotch and Lester, 1975; Singer and Endreny, 1987). This partly reflects the fact that much news coverage is based on a 24 hour cycle and especially applies to television news (Anderson, 1997). This orientation towards events may encourage audience members to place blame upon particular companies or individuals within a company, rather than see this in terms of broader structural problems. One such example is the Exxon Valdez disaster with event-centred coverage. Coverage of the oil spill tended to be framed around the allegation that it was caused by the drunken state of the Captain, Joseph Hazelwood. This played down other possible angles concerning cutbacks in maritime safety standards or the oil industrys poor capacity to clean up large oil spills in areas such as the Pri nce William Sound (Dyer et al, 1991; Hannigan, 1995). News media representations of the environment are also influenced by socio-political and cultural factors. Particular issues or events that capture attention tend to be mediagenic and can be easily situated within the established institutional framework. Often these resonate with deeply held cultural beliefs and values that operate at a powerful symbolic level. Another key aspect of news discourse, which particularly applies to television, is the reliance upon strong visual images to capture the audiences interest. In many cases the availability and quality of pictures becomes a central factor affecting broadcasters judgements about the news worthiness of a given environmental issue and is especially salient for short news bulletins. Political agendas and the perceived importance that politicians place upon particular issues also influence news values. Routine reporting on environmental issues is to a significant extent based around the voices of official experts, particularly indivi duals within government departments who are more likely to gain extended news actor entry through, for example, appearing in live interviews (Cottle, 1999). Since the late 1970s environmental pressure groups in countries such as Britain and the United States (US) have become increasingly in their approaches to the news media. Particularly, they have become more adept at packaging their material in media friendly ways. Some groups have enjoyed some notable successes in manipulating news values to their own ends, but this has imposed significant constraints in terms of how they have been able to frame issues (Gramson and Modigliani, 1989). Issue sponsors, such as environmental pressure groups, play a key role in communicating environmental affairs. These competing sources have differing levels of information subsidies in terms of resources such as cost and time, which affects how far the media rely upon them on as routine basis. Ericson et al (1989) note: News is a product of transactions between journalists and their sources. The primary source of reality for news is not what is displayed or what happens in the real world. The reality of news is embedded in the nature and type of social and cultural relations that develop between journalists and their sources (p. 189). Many studies of environmental reporting have found a tendency for official sources to gain the most privileged access to the media (Anderson, 1997). Molotch and Lesters (1975) seminal study of the press coverage of the Santa Barbara Oil Spill found that federal officials and industry spokespersons gained more access to the media, compared with local officials or conservationists. However, they note that initially an accident may bypass the usual routine bias towards official frames due to its unexpected nature. This suggests that non-routine environmental reporting may, in some instances, open up new channels to groups who may often be marginalised within the media. This was found to be the case in the United Kingdom (UK) national press coverage of the seal plague a virus, which killed a large number of common seals of the Norfolk coast in the UK during the summer of 1988 (Anderson, 1991, 1997). The way in which the seal plague came to serve as an icon for an environment in crisis s hares some striking similarities to the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The seal plague, with its emotive, visual appeal came to mark an issue threshold for environmental issues in the late 1980s. This was strongly linked to the cultural and political climate at the time. It generated much media coverage and one national mid market newspaper The Daily Mail launched a sustained campaign Save our Seals, which ran over several months. As such it can be seen that the reporting of environmental issues within the news media cannot be divorced from socio-political values regarding the environment. News/Source Media Relations and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) Just like environmental issues seek the piece of the pie when it comes to the media, NGOs also seek to have their stories told in the media. However, in discussing news/source media relations, it must be noted that over generalising when discussing NGOs must be avoided. As Deacon (2001) notes the relative importance of profile, resource and motives in the communications strategies of different NGOs is to some extent dictated by the specific context of their operations. Additionally, there are also structural variations, reflecting the different political and economic roles of various NGO sectors. Deacon address source/media relations as it relates to three types of NGOs namely, trade unions, the voluntary sector and quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations (quangos). He points out the first broad acceptance that these disparate groups, organisations and movements have proliferated in many political systems over recent decades, and in doing so have assumed greater social and po litical significance (Deacon, 2001, p. 8). However, where there is disagreement is whether these represent positive developments. Some commentators construe them as revitalising pluralist democracy, or challenging centuries of elite control. Others see this change as more of a mixed blessing. In Berrys assessment interest groups are no less a threat than they are an expression of freedom (1984, p. 2). The second point of consensus relates to the reasons for the proliferation of these organisations. Various commentators point to, on the one hand, the widening of educational opportunities and concomitant rise of sophisticated citizenry (Mazzolena and Schultz, 1999), and on the other, emergent environmental, material, social and ideological conflicts both within, and between, advanced capitalist nation states (Blumler and Gurevitch, 1996, p. 126-7) These have produced a shift away from party-based politics, towards other forms of political engagements and the rise of issue politics. Th irdly, theorists from all perspectives acknowledge variation in these processes across different political systems, due to historical, cultural, structural and political factors (Eyerman and Jamison, 1991, p. 36). Additionally most accept that the influence of specific types of interest groups/pressure groups/social movements/ or NGOs tend to fluctuate over time (Deacon, 2001). The final point of agreement is that public communications are now integral to the operations of these political sources, and that the media have particular significance. Blumler (1989) labels this as the emergence of a media-centric model of pressure group activity. Deacon (1991) explains as the social and political roles of many NGOs expand so do the pressure and expectations upon them which in turn create a range of specific communications imperatives to do with establishing a political presence and attracting resources among others. For some NGOs, increased investment in strategic communication represents a defensive response to harsh political realities, in which they can no longer assume their views will have political resonance. Additionally, as a consequence of broader political, social and fiscal uncertainties, a diverse range of private and public institutions are becoming ever more concerned with image maintenance and achieving a prominent and positive public presence. In this new and competitive promotional environment (Wernik, 1991), media engagement has become a significant prerequisite for effective political engagement, particularly for those without direct access to the levers of political and economic power (McNair, 1998, p. 156 ). In what Blumler and Gurevitch label a communication dependent society certain organisations and institutions enjoy distinct competitive advantages in promoting their views and values. In particular, those with the greatest material resources at their disposal most notably state and big business can launch and sustain the most expensive and extensive paid media access. However, free media access can disrupt this market logic, providing opportunities for the resource-poor agencies to achieve levels of national and international exposure that even the best resource could not fund directly. Additionally there are also other considerations such as profile, resource and issue to be taken into account. However, as Deacon (2001) points out these various communications considerations will not apply uniformly across NGOs. For example, the precise blend of resource, profile and issue motives will vary depending on a range of factors, some of which will be highly context specific. The relative importance of profile, resource and issue motives in the communications strategies of different NGOs is to some extent dictated by the specific context of their operations. However, there are also structural variations, reflecting the different political and economic roles of various NGO sectors. For example, Deacon highlights that most quangos receive direct statutory funding, they will tend to place less emphasis on financial resourcing motives than voluntary organisations, where dependency on public and corporate giving is high, and their financial state is generally more parlous. On another level, trade unions will tend to be more comfortable with open issue campaigning than voluntary organisa tions and quangos, partly because of their primary political function, but also because they are not bound by conventions and regulations governing neutral public management and non-party-political charitable activity. Davis (1995) suggests that the salience of communications media strategies can also depend upon the nature and political context of the matter at hand. They are most crucial in policy struggles that are highly ideological and involve (at least for one participant) non-material, non-distributive goods: Policy battles that range over intangible goals and values, such as the abortion issue, tend to evolve into virulently zero sum affairs. Such zero-sum politics, because of the heated struggle for competitive advantage that often marks it, relies heavily on pre-decisional, communication oriented efforts to frame or construct issues (p. 28). Another significant factor can be the relationship between an organisation and the dominant institutions of state. In an influential categorisation, Grant suggests that pressure groups can be placed along a continuum that reflects their relationship to government. However as Deacon (1991), warns if media prominence can deliver advantages to NGOs, there are associated risks. The most obvious of which is receiving negative and hostile treatment, which can compromise an organisations reputation. In this respect some NGOs are more valuable than others. A trade union for instance, that can depend on the complete solidarity of its members has less immediate grounds for fearing the spate of media opprobrium than a charity that is entirely dependent upon public donations. On a less obvious level, there is the possibility that courting media attention, and playing the media game, can have an effect upon organisations core values. Miller (1997) suggests that this can be particularly threatening for radical organisations, there The suspicion within the organisation that newly visible spokespersons might become infatuated with their own celebrity and have sold out is never far from the surface. But this observation about the potentially corrupting influence of media logic also applies to organisations operating in the political mainstream. Blumler (1989) terms the risk of spurious amplification, a process by which inflammatory rhetoric and extravagant demands to make stories more arresting, distort what groups stand for, (p. 352). Until recently, evaluations of media coverage of trade union sector in the UK tended to fall into two camps the critical research position which enjoyed considerable theoretical dominance during the 1970s and the revisionist critique which emerged during the 1980s (Manning, 1998). More recently a third position has started to form which conforms to what Curran (1997) labels a radical pluralist perspective. The latter negotiates a position between the extremes of critical outrage and revisionist sanguinity (Manning, 1998; Davies, 1999; Negrine 1996). Although these studies also analyse the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of news coverage of industrial disputes, their main contribution has been to go beyond the texts to investigate the dynamics of news production directly by examining the links between journalistic practices and trade unions communications strategies. Such insights have been largely absent from most critical and revisionist accounts (Cottle, 1993). The value of this new perspective is illustrated by Davies (1999) case study of media reporting of the British governments proposal in 1992 for privatising the postal service. These plans were strongly opposed by the Union of Communication Workers (UCW), who instituted a carefully orchestrated public relations (PR) campaign against the privatisation programme. Davies content analysis revealed that although UCW sources came to be treated more positively or neutrally that either government or management sources as the dispute unfolded, the union received considerably less coverage than their political opponents. These results suggest that the recruitment of mainstream, media support to the anti-privatisation cause was due to elite divisions within the party of government and the vehemence of public antipathy. The union benefitted from wider political developments, it did not instigate them. However, by linking analysis of media reporting to an analysis of the unions communication strat egy, Davies shows the error of this interpretation. The unions PR strategy played a key role in galvanising public, party political, professional and expert opinion against the privatisation proposals, which in turn had significant effect on media framing. In particular, by commissioning polls and lobbying influential opinion leaders, the union bypassed the need for institutional legitimacy and direct access. Instead they gained a voice by using the legitimacy and access possessed by other sources: the public, economic experts, politicians and assorted neutral user groups, (p. 182). Mannings research also provides an overview of contemporary trends in media relations and identifies two ideals of union structure. On the one hand, there are unions where press and publicity functions are marginalised and rigidly trapped within a civil society service style hierarchy , and on the other, organisations that permit a higher degree of integration for their media and PR operations with their organisational leadership. These differences can in part be explained by the dilemma of incorporation unions have had to confront in their response to the harsh political realities they face. In this period of his research, Manning found a stubborn residue of suspicion within certain unions towards the media that readily characterised journalists as inevitable class enemies, working at the behest of state and capitalist interests. Thus, the embrace of promotionalism in this context is not an act of assertion, but of defence: attempting to avoid marginalisation in a changing political and economic context (Deacon, 2001). It is also clear from Mannings work that journalists perceptions of the political role and characteristics of trade unions frames their utilisation as news sources, and helps account for the predominant emphasis on their collective rather than constructive roles. A distinction developed by Peter Golding and Deacon (1994), identifies trade unions as advocates by jour nalists. As news discourse is inherently conflictive this can enhance their news value in political disputes. However, this clear perception of unions political role prevents their deployment as arbiters in news coverage. Therefore, to influence the terms of media debate at this level, Davies demonstrates in his case study, that trade unions often have to recruit the support of external experts to validate their arguments. Additionally, for such a strategy to work, it is often necessary to maintain a degree of public dissociation between the union and the expert, for fear that any links may erode the perceived authoritativeness of the latters proclamations. This trend contrasts with common strategies deployed within the voluntary sector, where publicists strive to encourage a situation of association between the work of a voluntary organisation and the views of significant public figures. The main studies thus far into reporting of the voluntary sector suggests that there is limited but indulgent treatment, based on an antiquated impression of the sector. As Brindle (1999) notes It is as if the media do not want the sector to grow up. Coverage remains very much stuck in the 1950s charity time warp of good cause fundraising, lifeboats, guide dogs and helping sick children. Even on the broadsheet national newspapers, there is a clear antipathy to stories that treat the leading charities as the big businesses they have become, (p. 44). Looking at trends in media reporting towards communications and media strategies in the sector, Deacon notes an increasing emphasis on public communication similar to that noted in the union sector is eviden t. However, the embrace of promotionalism appears more uneven. As Davies suggests, it is tempting to simply conclude that in free media just as in paid media, financial resources deliver insurmountable competitive advantages to those who hath. The fact that the media