media case studies

Boyle

a key feature of new media is technological convergence merging discincit techs into one- e.g. a smart phone which as notes, calucater, camera, etc on it negating the need to carry round those physcial items.

Helper (2011)

the use of internet has increased slower than other groups in the digital underclass +those with access rate their digital skills as poorer than more educated groups.

Boyle (2007)

new media is associated with young people.

Ofcom

older people are using social networking sites more now than in the past.

Borins (2008)

There are three siginfcaet changes in traditional media as new media’s influnce is now more notable:

• Citizen journalism is a part of the news cycle, using it a way to find content.

• Newspapers are held accountable (e.g. with the BBC being held accountable for they report about Israel’s bombing of Gaza).

• News values has changed from a professional and formal tone to a ‘non-professioanl’ content as it’s the only way to gain audiences and make a profit.

Li and Kirkup (2007)

Men are more likely to use email or chatrooms; also more likely to play video games on consoles e.g. the Xbox.

Royse et al (2007)

Women are more likely to play games that allow them to challenge gender norms.

OFCOM (2015)

Men are more likely to access the internet.

Olsen et al (2008)

Men are more likely to play video games as they want to express fantasies of power and glory with many using it as a chance to work out their anger and stress.

Hartmann and Klimmt (2006)

Women dislike the violent content and preferred the social interaction side of games e.g. Sims or animal crossing.

OFCOM (2015)

women are more likely to use social networking sites.

The Internet Advertising Bureau (2014)

state that because of the rise in smartphones, women account for 52% of all gamers because of games like Candy Crush and Angry Birds that the tech of smartphones enable to exist. More appealing to women because they were free (women generally get paid less), intuitive and accessible.

Curram and Leaton (2003)

There are 2 views of new media:

1- neophillias: believe that new media is beneficial and positive

2-Cultural pessimists: those who believe that the benefits new media has, are overexgarted.

Curran and Heaton (2003)

there are 2 views on new media:

1- neophiliacs: those who are positive about new media.

2-cultural pessimists: those who believe that the benefits of new media are over-emphazised.

Herbert Marcuse

‘Bread and Circuses’:

media ownership controls the working class though a bread and circuses approach where media produces dumbed down enterminet; keeps us fed to distract us from our expolitan.

e.g. the hunger games

millibard (1973)

ownership

media directly manipulates the way we think about the world; spreads dominat ideagoloy as the truth, playing a intentional role.

IRL ex: Rupert Murdoch controlled editors and journalists and the content to enforce the ruling class and status quo.

also agrees that content produced ridicules or ignores threating groups (e.g. liberals and leftists mocked in mainstream media)

Castles and Kosack

media suits the ruling classes and portays the ethnic groups as threats (reform uk) to take attention away from the ruling classes’s failings to distract; thus, divide and conquer.

Also believes that audiences only recivers a narrow range of ‘approved’ views

Bagdikian (2014)

In the US, media is controlled by 6 companies- if all those businesses in the big ones had owners there’d be 25,000.

Disney: ABC+ Pixar

Warner Brothers (CNN+HBO)

Media Reform Coalition (2023)

3 companies (News UK, DMG Media, Reach PLC) control 90% of the UK newspaper market- hasn't changed since 2018.

Over 50% of national UK papers sold are controlled by 2 billionaires (Rupert Murdoch and Jonathan Harmsworth 4th viscount of Rothermore).

Cornford and Robins (1999)- commercialisation

Companies that sell goods engage in consumer surveillance (cookies) as they monitor and track consumers so they can target future audiences. THIS encourages us to become materialistic and promotes consumerism. ALSO creates false needs- marxist belief- as we’re told what we need securing captialsitm domination.

Cornford and Robbins (1999)- cultural pessimists

The relationship between new and tradadtional media is like old Hollywood movies and remakes. New media is isn’t new, the speed by which news can travel (people find out about major global news via social media e.g. Pope Francis’s death) and quality is better.

Interactivy has always existed e.g. agony aunt pages where people could complain existed before new media.

New media is just a extention and refinement of traditional media.

Curran: support for instrumentalic marxist approach

Murdoch supports/witholds crictisms of governments who match his interests and goals:

• 1979-92: because the economic policies benefited him- supported tories

• 1997: supported new media as they were willing to lift policies preventing cross-media ownership, facilitating economic growth for Murdoch.

• He has a ‘personalised’ style of management where he instructed editors to follow his views, sacking those who didn't comply.

Gramsci

audiences may experince dual-class consciousness (so will not blindly believe everything shown in the media)

GUMG: social and ethnic background of journalists

journalists are overwhelmingly white and have a middle class background

GUMG: consensus views

Journalists share similar ‘consenus views’ with anything outside of this mc status being considered exterme so is either not included in media, or is riduclded.

Sutton trust (2016)

50% of top 100 journalists were privately educated- only 7% of UK privately educated

GUMG : agenda setting

the media decides what issues should be discussed by society and what should be included. they will espically promote views that align with capitalism or meritorctay.

• gate keeping is when they choose to not show us things.

Curran

instrumentalist marxist

• evidence of subtle (or not) control/influnence the owners have on media content

Strinti (1995)

idendity’s defined more by consumption patterns (what you buy and the media you chose to consume) rather than class or gender.

Media provides our social reality- defining our lifestyles and identity.

Image/idendity more important than content as we buy brands/labels rather than the goods themselves- links to Baudillard’s sign objects.

Baudrillad (1998)

media has created a ‘hyperreality’ (for the audiences) as diffulct to draw a line between real life and the media’s version of reality

• e.g. Love Island or Made In Chelsea

Trowler (1998)

media messages are polysemic (media that’s open to multiple interpretations). Just because the media is out there doesn’t mean the consumer will automatically absorb and/or interiaze the message.

Levene

choice and diversity makes it easier to challenge meta-narratives from the powerful. Now media can be used to defeat corporate giants.

Ofcom (2024): Trust and popularity of the news

• the internet is trusted by 71%, TV is trusted 70%, and social media 52%.

• Circulation of national newspapers down, only being trusted by 41% of UK adults.

• PBS (public broadcasting services) most trusted news source.

McQuail (1992)

not all events will be reported in the news because of the sheer volume of it. So, the news is socially constructed as it’s selected by the gatekeepers who decide what’s important enough to be covered and what to not put in.