The following are more notes than anything else, but with just a little research, will all make excellent case studies for the AS Media Studies exam.
Ethnocentrism - Haiti earthquake
2010 (January). 7.0 on richter scale, 250,000 people die.
Coverage of the the disaster focussed on missing and injured British nationals. Example of ethnocentrism. News broadcasts tailor media to suit the audience. This makes the assumption that British audiences are only interested in British issues and British people. Ethnocentrism - the belief that one's nation, country or immediate group of people are more important than everybody else. UK news reports tend to focus on the amount of British people who die, making a separate statistic for British deaths. Impact on British audience: Reinforces the notion that British lives are in some way more important than the lives of other nationalities.
Note - this is potentially more of an 'event' than an issue, and if using this example to answer a question about the representation of issues, you would really have to push the 'ethnocentrism' aspect.
Misrepresentation of ethnic minorities in mainstream cinema - Oscars debacle
Not enough awards given to black actors, and universally it is white actors who are noticed, even when they are playing smaller parts. Many black performers completely overlooked, with absolutely no black actors nominated at all. This started a high profile boycott of the oscars, with many actors boycotting the event. Chris Rock, a prominent black comedian hosted the oscars, despite calls for him to also boycott. Huge Twitter and social media backlash. Can cite the 'oscarssowhite' hashtag. Open source, grassroots based audience driven protest. Excellent example of uses and gratifications theory, where audiences use media for their own purpose. Impact on black audience - can polarise or completely drive away from the Oscars and mainstream/Hollywood cinema. Feel they cannot contribute to directing, making or acting in films. The a group is further marginalised and pushed to one side in society. Black people are denied a voice, and black audiences are made to feel marginalised and inadequate.
Body image - Mail Online and the 'sidebar of shame'
Use of language suggests a choice. "Chloe Madley shows off her new physique...', 'Alexandra Daddario shows off her flat stomach...'. However these images have been taken either incognito, or have been taken from the celebrities social media account. Through textual analysis, content of the sidebar is resolutely sexual. Exclusive focus on women's breasts, legs and bottoms, with extreme close-ups of bodily 'flaws' taken, often with a telephoto lens. Definite notions of voyeurism. This has several potential impacts for the predominately female audience of the Mail Online. Firstly, it celebrates certain bodily attributes, such as having particularly long legs or large breasts, which excludes certain audience members from being 'conventionally' beautiful. It also enforces the notion that, in order to be successful a woman has to be conventionally attractive, and must too 'make the choice' to 'attract attention in a sexy red swimsuit'. Thirdly, and maybe most importantly, it reinforces the idea that the gaze is male. The only way a woman can be successful is to get the attention of a heterosexual man. This in turn reinforces patriarchal hegemony. Women are once more taught to assume submissive, sexualised roles, and the advantages that men have in society are further protected.