sociological approaches: new media

Marxism

the media reinforces the dominant position of the ruling class in a capitalist society and affirms the patterns of power that exist

this creates an ideological smokescreen that persuades the WC to accept their position in society

ruling class hegemony

Marxists believe that the media is owned and controlled by the ruling class and those who own the media will directly influence the content to reflect their interest

this maintains RC hegemony and feeds into the proletariat’s false class consciousness

socialisation of journalists

they also argue that journalists are socialised in the dominant ideology and will therefore reflect the values of the RC

journalists will go along with the owner’s views as they depend on them for their jobs

neo Marxism

the media emphasises the power of ruling class hegemony

this ideology is spread because the journalists accept it and believe it to be reasonable to do so

they argue the media is controlled by journalists who are socialised into the dominant ideology so will reflect RC values

however, this bias is unintentional it’s a by-product of the journalists’ socialisation

preventing ideological domination

the diversity of the mass media products, the different platforms for broadcasting and the range of pressures that influence the production of the media serve to ensure that ideological domination can’t take place

consumer choice

pluralists argue that consumer choice will dictate the content of the media and all tastes are catered for

pluralism

they point out that the media is owned by different organisations, regulated by the government and the content is controlled by consumer choice

profit

owners want profit and need an audience so they provide the audience with what they want

journalists

have independence and are not manipulated by the owners