Music and news (Component 02): complete overview - OCR GCSE Media Studies

Component 02, Music and News, is a 1 hour 15 minute written exam worth 70 marks (35 per cent). Section A, Music, studies three set products: a pair of music videos, a radio product (BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge) and a music magazine (MOJO). Section B, The News, studies a national newspaper (The Observer) through its print front covers and its online, social and participatory media. This overview maps the six dot points in this module and how to study them. Comparison and context are central, and the current set products should always be confirmed with OCR.

The six dot points

• The music video set products. The set pair, studied for media language and representation, compared directly. See the music video set products.
• The radio set product. BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge: the course's clearest example of public service broadcasting. See the radio set product.
• The music magazine set product. MOJO: cover conventions, publisher, funding and a specialist reader. See the music magazine set product.
• The news set products. The Observer's print front covers: front page conventions and the mediation of news. See the news set products.
• Online, social and participatory news. How the news brand extends across platforms and how participation changes the audience relationship. See online, social and participatory news.
• Comparing historical and contemporary products. How the media have changed over time, tied to context. See comparing historical and contemporary products.

Section A: music

Section A studies three music forms. The music videos (a set pair, usually chosen to contrast) are studied for media language (performance, narrative, editing to the beat, star image) and representation (gender, identity), and compared directly. The radio product (BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge) is the course's clearest example of public service broadcasting, studied for audio conventions, the BBC's remit and funding, and a young audience. The music magazine (MOJO) is studied for its cover conventions, publisher and funding, and its specialist, knowledgeable reader, the clearest example of audience targeting.

Section B: the news

Section B studies the news product through its print front covers and its online, social and participatory media. The central idea is that news is constructed, not neutral: a front page is the result of selection and construction, so it mediates events and carries a viewpoint. The brand also converges across print, website and social media, and the online and social platforms shift the producer-audience relationship from one-way reception to two-way participation. Comparison of historic and contemporary covers, tied to context, runs through the section.

The comparative and contextual skills

Component 02 rewards two skills above all: direct comparison (of the two music videos, and of historic and contemporary front covers) and context (tying differences to the social, technological and historical contexts of each era). In both, compare the same feature across products and explain the change or difference, anchored in specific detail, rather than describing each product separately.

How to study Component 02

1. Build fact files. A full-framework fact file on each set product.
2. Master mediation. For the news, analyse how selection and construction mediate events into one constructed version.
3. Master public service. For the radio, explain how the BBC's funding and remit shape what is made.
4. Compare directly. Compare the two music videos, and historic and contemporary covers, tied to context.
5. Practise with OCR past papers and confirm the current set products with OCR.

For the official specification

OCR publishes the specification (J200), past papers, mark schemes and the set product list at ocr.org.uk. Always revise from the current specification and OCR's own past papers, because question wording, set products and mark schemes are board-specific.