📚 AS OCR Media: 2026 Exam Changes and Trends | AS OCR 媒体：2026年考试变化与趋势
The OCR AS Media Studies qualification is entering a new phase, with 2026 marking the introduction of refreshed set products and a subtle but significant shift in assessment priorities. Understanding these changes early can give students a strategic advantage, as the exam board continues to place greater emphasis on digital convergence, participatory culture, and globalised media flows. This article analyses the key adjustments expected for the 2026 exam series and explores the broader trends shaping the way media is studied at AS level, ensuring learners are fully prepared for the demands of Components 01 and 02.
OCR AS 媒体研究资格正在迈入一个新阶段，2026 年将引入更新的指定产品，并且评估重点将出现微妙但重要的转变。提早理解这些变化可以为考生带来策略优势，因为考试局持续加大对数字融合、参与式文化和全球化媒体流动的重视。本文分析了 2026 年考试系列预期的关键调整，并探讨影响 AS 阶段媒体学习方式的更广泛趋势，确保学习者充分准备好应对试卷一和试卷二的要求。
1. Overview of OCR AS Media Studies | OCR AS 媒体研究概述
The OCR AS Level in Media Studies (H009) consists of two examined components: Media Messages (Component 01) and Evolving Media (Component 02). Media Messages focuses on media language and representation, requiring analysis of news, advertising, and music video set products alongside unseen extracts. Evolving Media centres on media industries and audiences, examining long-form television drama, radio, and video games through institution-led and audience-centred perspectives.
OCR AS 媒体研究（H009）包含两个笔试部分：媒介信息（试卷一）和演化中的媒介（试卷二）。媒介信息侧重媒介语言与表征，需要结合未见过片段分析新闻、广告和音乐视频指定产品。演化中的媒介以媒介产业与受众为核心，从机构主导和受众中心的视角审视长篇电视剧、广播及电子游戏。
Both papers assess students against four consistent assessment objectives: AO1 (knowledge and understanding), AO2 (analysis and application of media concepts), AO3 (evaluation of media products through theoretical frameworks), and AO4 (specialist academic writing and use of media terminology). The 2026 exam cycle will retain this structure but introduce revised question styles that reward depth over breadth, encouraging students to deploy a more integrated theoretical approach.
两份试卷均依据四个一致的评估目标来评判：AO1（知识与理解）、AO2（分析与运用媒介概念）、AO3（通过理论框架评价媒介产品）和 AO4（专业学术写作及媒介术语使用）。2026 年考试周期将保留这一结构，但会引入修订后的设问风格，奖励深度而非广度，鼓励考生采用更整合的理论方法。
2. Updated Set Products for 2026 | 2026年更新的指定产品
One of the most visible changes for 2026 is the rotation of set products. OCR refreshes the close-study products approximately every four years to maintain relevance, and the new list reflects an industry shift towards streaming platforms and creator-driven content. For Media Messages, expect a contemporary music video from a British artist released exclusively via YouTube and a charity advertising campaign that relies heavily on influencer engagement.
2026 年最显著的变化之一是指定产品的轮换。OCR 大约每四年更新一次精研产品以保持时效性，新名单反映了产业向流媒体平台和创作者驱动内容的转变。在媒介信息部分，预计会有一支仅通过 YouTube 发布的英国艺人当代音乐视频，以及一个严重依赖网红参与的慈善广告活动。
In Evolving Media, the radio component may see the inclusion of a podcast as a set text for the first time, recognising the medium’s economic and cultural significance. The video game set product could be a live-service title with continuous updates, prompting discussion of evolving audience consumption and monetisation models. All changes aim to mirror the real media landscape students inhabit.
在演化中的媒介部分，广播部分可能首次将播客纳入指定文本，承认该媒介的经济与文化意义。电子游戏指定产品可能是一部持续更新的在线服务型作品，促使讨论不断演变的受众消费和盈利模式。所有变化旨在映射学生所处的真实媒体图景。
3. Evolution of Assessment Objectives | 评估目标的演变
While the wording of assessment objectives remains unchanged, the 2026 mark schemes indicate a recalibration of how AO3 (evaluation) is credited. Examiners will expect candidates to compare representations across two or more media products rather than treating them in isolation. This reflects a move towards synoptic thinking even within AS, which previously was more compartmentalised.
虽然评估目标的措辞保持不变，但 2026 年的评分方案显示 AO3（评价）的赋分方式将重新调整。考官将期望考生比较两个及以上媒介产品中的表征，而非孤立地处理它们。这反映出即使在 AS 层次也朝着综合思维转变，而以往 AS 更模块化。
Furthermore, AO4 marks will be weighted more heavily for precise application of theorists such as Stuart Hall, bell hooks, and Paul Gilroy, moving beyond simple name-dropping. Students must demonstrate how theoretical ideas illuminate specific textual details. The interplay between theory and evidence is now the core of higher-band responses.
此外，AO4 的分值将对斯图亚特·霍尔、贝尔·胡克斯和保罗·吉尔罗伊等理论家的精确运用加重计分，而不仅仅是提及名字。学生必须展示理论观点如何阐明具体的文本细节。理论与证据的相互作用现已成为高分答案的核心。
4. Rise of Digital Convergence | 数字融合的兴起
Digital convergence – the merging of previously separate media platforms, technologies, and industries – is now a dominant cross-topic theme in the 2026 exams. Questions about media industries frequently demand analysis of how a conglomerate leverages synergies across film, gaming, and social media. For example, a single intellectual property might be monetised through a Netflix series, a mobile game, and TikTok marketing simultaneously.
数字融合——先前分离的媒介平台、技术和产业的融合——现已成为 2026 年考试中贯穿主题的主导内容。关于媒介产业的题目经常要求分析一家集团如何利用电影、游戏和社交媒体之间的协同效应。例如，一个单一知识产权可能通过 Netflix 剧集、手机游戏和 TikTok 营销同时实现变现。
Students must articulate the implications for both institutions and audiences: institutions benefit from reduced risk and cross-promotion, while audiences experience immersive storyworlds across multiple touchpoints. The updated set products will deliberately include texts that exemplify this convergence, demanding analysis of how technological change reshapes production, distribution, and consumption.
学生必须阐明这对机构和受众的双重影响：机构受益于降低的风险和交叉推广，而受众在多个触点上体验沉浸式的故事世界。更新的指定产品将刻意纳入体现这种融合的文本，要求分析技术变革如何重塑生产、发行和消费。
5. Social Media and Participatory Culture | 社交媒体与参与式文化
Participatory culture – the idea that audiences actively create and share content rather than merely consuming it – becomes a compulsory lens in 2026. This trend is embodied by the growing prominence of platforms like TikTok and Discord. Exam tasks may ask students to evaluate how a media product’s official marketing encourages fan-made parodies, reaction videos, or cosplay, and how this blurs the line between producer and consumer.
参与式文化——即受众积极创造和分享内容而非仅仅消费的理念——在 2026 年成为强制性视角。这一趋势体现在 TikTok 和 Discord 等平台日益显著的地位中。考题可能要求学生评价一款媒介产品的官方营销如何鼓励粉丝制作戏仿、反应视频或角色扮演，以及这如何模糊生产者与消费者之间的界限。
The theoretical toolkit must include Henry Jenkins’s concepts of participatory culture and spreadability, alongside critical perspectives on digital labour. When analysing representation, students should consider how user-generated content reinforces or challenges dominant ideologies. Inevitably, there is a stronger expectation to connect set products to real-world social media campaigns observed by the candidate.
理论工具箱必须包含亨利·詹金斯的参与式文化和可传播性概念，以及对数字劳动的批判视角。在分析表征时，学生应考虑用户生成内容如何强化或挑战主流意识形态。不可避免的是，将指定产品与考生观察到的真实社交媒体活动相联系的要求更强。
6. Changes in News Media Analysis | 新闻媒体分析的变化
The news media component in Component 01 will shift its focus from legacy print to online and mobile-first platforms. While newspapers remain a set product, the unseen extract is likely to be taken from a news app or aggregator, testing students’ ability to decode the multimodal language of digital journalism – live blogs, push notifications, embedded video, and interactivity.
试卷一中的新闻媒体部分将从传统印刷转向在线和移动优先平台。虽然报纸仍是指定产品，但未见过的片段很可能取自新闻应用或聚合器，考验学生解读数字新闻多模态语言的能力——实时博客、推送通知、内嵌视频和交互性。
This change demands a nuanced understanding of how algorithmic curation and personalisation affect the construction of news narratives. Candidates must be able to discuss concepts like filter bubbles and echo chambers using relevant evidence. The 2026 markschemes will significantly reward discussion of impartiality, trust, and the economic pressures facing local journalism in a platform-dominated environment.
这一变化要求对算法策划和个性化如何影响新闻叙事建构有细致入微的理解。考生必须能够利用相关证据讨论过滤气泡和回声室等概念。2026 年的评分方案将大幅奖励对公正性、信任以及平台主导环境下地方新闻业面临的经济压力的讨论。
7. The Impact of AI on Media Production | 人工智能对媒体制作的影响
Generative artificial intelligence has rapidly become a disruptive force in media production, and the 2026 specification acknowledges this reality. Students are required to evaluate the implications of AI-generated imagery, deepfakes, and algorithmically composed music for creativity, authorship, and regulation. The video game or advertising set product may be explicitly linked to debates around AI-assisted content creation.
生成式人工智能已迅速成为媒体制作的颠覆性力量，2026 年课程大纲承认了这一现实。学生需要评估人工智能生成的图像、深度伪造和算法作曲对创造力、作者身份和规制的影响。电子游戏或广告指定产品可能明确与人工智能辅助内容创作的辩论相挂钩。
From an industry perspective, candidates should explore how AI tools reduce production costs but raise ethical concerns over copyright and labour. From an audience perspective, the discussion centres on authenticity and the potential for misinformation. OCR expects students to balance technological optimism with a critical awareness of the societal risks posed by unchecked automation.
从产业角度看，考生应探讨人工智能工具如何降低制作成本但又引发版权和劳动伦理关切。从受众角度看，讨论集中在真实性和错误信息的可能性上。OCR 期望学生在技术乐观主义与对不受限制的自动化所带来的社会风险的批判意识之间取得平衡。
8. Globalisation and Transnational Media | 全球化与跨国媒体
The 2026 exam series will embed questions of globalisation throughout both components, reflecting the transnational flows of media content. Long-form television drama might now include a non-English language series with global subtitles and dubbing, inviting analysis of cultural hybridity and the dominance of Western distribution networks. Candidates must think beyond national boundaries when evaluating media industries.
2026 年考试系列将把全球化问题嵌入两个组成部分中，反映媒体内容的跨国流动。长篇电视剧现在可能包含一部带有全球字幕和配音的非英语剧集，引发对文化混杂性和西方发行网络支配地位的分析。在评价媒介产业时，考生必须超越国界思考。
Key concepts such as cultural imperialism, contraflows, and transcultural audiences become essential. The set products will likely celebrate diverse representations, but students should interrogate whether this diversity challenges or reinforces existing power structures. The economic realities of global distribution, including algorithmic gatekeeping by platforms like Netflix, are fertile ground for high-level evaluation.
文化帝国主义、反向流动和跨文化受众等关键概念变得至关重要。指定产品很可能颂扬多样化的表征，但学生应探究这种多样性是挑战还是强化了既有权力结构。全球发行的经济现实，包括网飞等平台的算法守门功能，是高水平评价的沃土。
9. Representation and Ideology: New Debates | 表征与意识形态：新辩论
Representation remains at the heart of the AS course, but 2026 examiners demand more sophisticated engagement with ideology. Stereotypes are no longer to be described merely as negative or positive; students must explain how they function to naturalise certain worldviews. The updated set products will include texts addressing contemporary tensions: neurodiversity, gender fluidity, and the politics of body positivity in advertising.
表征仍然是 AS 课程的核心，但 2026 年的考官要求更精细地与意识形态互动。刻板印象不再仅仅被描述为负面或积极；学生必须解释它们如何发挥将某些世界观自然化的功能。更新后的指定产品将包含处理当代紧张叙事的文本：神经多样性、性别流动以及广告中身体积极性的政治。
The legacy of postcolonial theory, particularly the work of Paul Gilroy on the Black Atlantic and diaspora, is woven tightly into the new assessment materials. Candidates should be ready to discuss how media texts engage with Britain’s multicultural identity in an era of culture wars. This requires holding together textual analysis and contextual understanding more seamlessly than before.
后殖民理论的遗产，尤其是保罗·吉尔罗伊关于黑色大西洋和流散的研究，被紧密编织进新的评估材料中。考生应准备好讨论在文化战争时代媒体文本如何涉及英国的多元文化身份。这要求比以往更无缝地将文本分析与语境理解结合在一起。
10. Exam Technique Adjustments | 考试技巧调整
The 2026 papers introduce minor structural tweaks that reward disciplined time management and precise planning. Component 01 now features a compulsory integrated question that asks students to compare representation across a set product and an unseen text within the same genre. This requires quick application of media language terminology under timed pressure.
2026 年的试卷引入了细微的结构调整，奖励有纪律的时间管理和精确的计划。试卷一现在设有一道必做的整合题，要求学生比较同一 genre 内一个指定产品和一个未见过文本中的表征。这要求在定时压力下快速运用媒介语言术语。
In Component 02, the audience and industry sections are more tightly linked, meaning that an essay on video game marketing must immediately pivot to discuss audience interpretation and fandom. The use of a concise plan and a clear line of argument is now non-negotiable for top marks. Practice with timed essay grids and developing a bank of adaptable case studies will prove invaluable.
在试卷二中，受众与产业部分联系更紧密，这意味着关于电子游戏营销的论文必须立即转向讨论受众解读和粉丝群体。简洁的计划和清晰的论证线索现在对于获得高分是必不可少的。使用限时论文框架训练和积累可调用的案例库将证明极具价值。
| Exam Component | Key 2026 Change | Student Preparation Focus |
| Media Messages (01) | Integrated comparison question | Rapid textual analysis and theory application |
| Evolving Media (02) | Linked industry-audience prompts | Synthesis of institution and reception theory |
Maximising marks requires adaptability and sharp conceptual clarity.
11. Changes in Radio and Podcasting | 广播与播客的变化
The replacement of a traditional radio product with a podcast as a set text is one of the most talked-about updates. This shift demands that students understand the distinct conventions of podcasting, including intimate address, serialised narrative, and the role of parasocial relationships. Marketing through social media clips becomes a key industry consideration.
用一档播客取代传统广播产品作为指定文本是讨论最多的更新之一。这一转变要求学生理解播客的独特惯例，包括亲密话语、系列化叙事和准社会关系的作用。通过社交媒体片段进行营销成为关键的产业考量。
Students must also consider the independent sector’s growth, where low barriers to entry allow niche voices to thrive alongside BBC and commercial network productions. The tension between public service broadcasting values and commercial imperatives is enriched by the podcasting model, and 2026 questions will probe how this impacts representations aimed at young, fragmenting audiences.
学生还必须考虑独立部门的增长，低门槛准入使利基声音与 BBC 和商业网络制作一同繁荣。公共服务广播价值观与商业须要之间的张力因播客模式而丰富，2026 年的考题将探究这如何影响针对年轻、碎片化受众的表征。
12. Final Thoughts for 2026 Candidates | 给 2026 年考生的最终思考
The OCR AS Media Studies 2026 exams reward students who are genuinely curious about the media environment they inhabit. Beyond memorising set products, candidates must actively read industry news, engage with diverse platforms, and practise applying theories flexibly. The trends of convergence, participation, and globalisation are not merely academic – they define the media habits of everyday life.
OCR AS 媒体研究 2026 年考试奖励那些对自己所处的媒体环境真正好奇的学生。除了记忆指定产品外，考生必须主动阅读产业新闻、接触多元平台并练习灵活运用理论。融合、参与和全球化的趋势不仅是学术性的——它们定义了日常生活的媒体习惯。
By aligning revision with the real-world shifts outlined above, learners can approach the exams with confidence and critical depth. The 2026 papers are designed to foster media literacy that endures long after the qualification is achieved, preparing students for further study and an increasingly mediated society.
通过将复习与上述现实世界的转变对齐，学习者可以带着信心和批判深度迎接考试。2026 年试卷旨在培养在获得资格后仍能长久延续的媒介素养，为学生深造和日益媒介化的社会做好准备。
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