Semiotic and Media

Semiotics and Media

Semiotics involves studying the messages relayed by media images. It is the analysis if signs, how they are distributed, and consumed through media outlets. Semiotics is important because it prepares the media audience to understand and appreciate the important messages as shared (Branston and Stafford, 2003). The understanding and interpretation of signs can be different as per the observer. It relies mostly on the assumptions of the audience and the state of the society at the time of information dissemination.

Importance of Semiotics for Educators

Semiotics allows for a comprehensive and systematic analysis of communicated information. Semiotics synthesizes many approaches of social science such as linguistics, philosophy, and cultural anthropology. It studies the way human beings constructs community life using signs. Particular cultures and societies use coded signs to communicate specific messages—semiotics deciphers such information to create meaning.

The purpose of semiotics as a uniting factor in the societal studies and human behavior marries the main goals of education.  In fact, education enhances the capacity of learners as cultural sign interpreters besides being users and creators of sign systems (Chandler, 1994). As such, semiotics ensures that the educators are good sign readers. It also informs of the learning settings and offer guidance of message readings for a conceptualization of better ways of learning.

Annotation of Guardia Newspaper’ Front Page

            Newspapers communicate news presented in code forms to inform readers on world developments. As a medium, the newspaper presents graphical signs to be interpreted freely by readers. The Guardian is one of the most reputed news outlets in the UK. It presents news in three distinct approaches of ideologies hence can interesting for varied groups of readers. It is a broadsheet disseminated on a daily basis and has detailed articles and news stories.

During 23^th January in the year 2006, the Guardian headline story was about The dangers that migrant children face as they travel from war-torn Middle Eastern countries to Europe. It concerns the UK prime minister’s call for admission of migrant unaccompanied children in to the United Kingdom. The story report carries weight especially given that most of the UK’s public are against admission of migrants due to possible dangers of Islamic extremism. A photo of two innocent young girls posing in sub-zero temperatures at Macedonia-Serbia border covers half of the front page. The rest of the page had a report on the migrant children.

The photograph has 10 and 9-year-old girls of Arabic descent with the later shedding tears. They are covered in woolen clothing and blanket to indicate the harshness of the weather conditions the location. Besides, at the background, there is mud and snow. The photographer shot the image at a close proximity to capture intricate details and facial expressions of the children. On the other hand, the girls stare back sadly at the photographer with eyes wide open as if they are asking for assistance. The photograph is intended to elicit emotional reaction from the reader as he/ she try to relate to the conditions that children—as young as them—are exposed to. In fact, it is Milos Bicanski’s (photographer) aim to convince readers on the need for the parentless migrant children to receive aid.

‘Britain ‘poised to open door to thousands of migrant children’ is the heading of the article (McVeigh, 2016). It quotes the words of British Prime Minister. The headline is carefully selected to demonstrate the government leadership’s intentions and determination to resolve the crisis and its effects. It is bolded with the largest letters. The headline font is almost the size of the newspaper’s name. Notably, the use of lowercase letters implies the objectiveness of its standpoint. It balances the story to make sure that the photograph and the report do not shock readers. Instead, the heading is empathic for the photograph.

The Guardian’s detailed front page demonstrates its objectiveness towards balancing its pace with visuals and written story. It is clear that the authoritative focuses on keeping an objective liberal view aimed at readers that look for facts of the news to decipher and judge on their own. This is in line with the overall goal of semiotics.

Bibliography

Branston, G. and Stafford, R., 2010. The media student's book. Psychology Press.

Chandler, D., 1994. Semiotics for beginners.

Semetsky, I. ed., 2010. Semiotics education experience. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

McVeigh, T. and Elliot, L., (2016). Britain is ‘Poised to open door to thousands of migrant children’. The Guardian. [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/23/britain-poised-open-door-migrant-children [Accessed 25 Jan. 2016].