Mediation

“The interposition of stages or processes between stimulus and result, or intention and realisation.” - Oxford English Dictionary

 

In the media, Mediation is the process where the product we see has changed or been altered from the original situation. Mediation can be thought of as the ‘middle’ section of publishing a form of media (TV, Film, Newspapers etc) in between the original reality and the end product shown.

Media Types

Mediation can be recognised across all media types: Newspapers/magazines, TV programs, print media, radio… because any form of editing or alteration in the ‘creation’ process can be classed as mediation, whether that’s combining images or sounds, editing certain camera shots, or even reporting opinions of an event for articles/ the news.

Intentions

This can be used in an intentionally deceiving way, for example in magazines when the picture displayed has been altered or placed out of context so the audience sees a different end result to what was originally intended. Another example would be editors choosing specific information to show on the news to portray one side of a story in a more biased way.

However, mediation can also be used beneficially, i.e. when editing fictional/reality TV programs so only the best shots are included, improving the quality of the show and audience entertainment.

Newspapers

Comparing two major newspapers’ front pages, there is a clear difference in the way the news article is portrayed, concerning The Duchess of York’s topless photographs.

The Sun newspaper is aimed towards men, and is unofficially known to portray demeaning views of women in their articles. (This is evident in their use of ‘page 3 models’ who are used undoubtedly for male gratification.) It is shocking to see that their front page article is more concerning her husband than Katherine herself! This poses the question of whether The Sun values Price William’s involvement in the situation more than his wife’s. The pun and casual language used here creates a comical value to the article, suggesting The Sun doesn’t take this article seriously.

On the other hand, The Daily Telegraph handles the matter far more respectively, and while both papers are writing about the same topic, this article addresses the story in a matter-of-fact way, highlighting important information only. This emphasises the difference between the two newspapers, most probably because of the different target audiences for each one, The Sun remaining more casual for a prodominantly male, working class audience- while The Daily Telegraph conducts itself more seriously and formally to suit its middle-upper class audience.

By simply comparing these differing front pages, we can see how mediation relates to the audience because it demonstrates the ways in which producers can take a situation, adapt it in any perticular way they like, producing two very different outcomes.