media representations (1/2)

class, age, ethnicity

media gaze

how the media view society and how it is then represented within the media such as chavs wearing tracksuits

what is the main reasoning for varied representations of social classes within media

aims to prevent the revolution against the ruling class

how is the upper class generally represented in the media

in a positive light where wealth and hierarchy are celebrated, little attention to the inequalities in wealth

what is the best example of british upper class representation within the media

the monarchy

who spoke about the representation of the monarchy within the media, what did they say

Nairn, most of the modern media support the monarchy after it was rebranded during media collusion to the “royal family”

why is the royal family liked by the public

sense of national identity, presented as a family that is like us but not like us, royal events are prioritised and broadcasted nationally

how are the wealthy represented by the media and who spoke about this

Newman, said that there is a positive focus on wealthy lifestyles and emphasis on consumer items such as cars, holidays, houses etc

from a news perspective, how are the wealthy represented in the media

lots of print of business and stock news regardless of few brits engaging in this lifestyle, rare focus on the inequalities in income such as big bonuses

why do pluralists support the representation of the upper class within the media

argues that it promotes meritocracy and will improve the quality of the labour market, focus on finance and business news reflects the need for tertiary workers

how are the middle class generally represented in the media

lots of representation in tv dramas and emphasis on their concerns regarding their class positions

what are some middle class concerns that are often published in newspapers

euro position, asylum seeking, immigration, housing costs, anything that threatens their societal position

link moral panics and the middle class in regards to media representation

stories can be blown out of proportion to accommodate for middle class concerns such as the over reporting of asylum seekers and racism

how are the working class generally represented within the media

generally aims to show them as bad and negative to allow them to remain in their position

what does Newman say about working class media representations

there are few tv dramas representing working class lifestyles, over representation of middle class dramas

what does Jones say about working class media representations

working class figures within the media are used as middle class assault, they are generally used as characters of moral concern

liberal bigotry

idea that middle class journalists possess, assume that the working class are othered from moiety and are racist, xenophobic, hate immigration etc

how does working class print differ, who spoke about this?

curran and seaton, said that working class aimed newspapers such as the sun and the daily star dumb down many stories and make political debates a battle of personalities, much of the newspaper has gossip and sport

what do marxists suggest about working class aimed media

much of the media types are used to distract the w/c from class inequalities

what do pluralists suggest about working class aimed media

the working class are more likely to consume lifestyle based media so companies will therefore publish such to make more profits

what is an evaluative example of the representation of the working class within media

soaps such as eastenders and hollyoakes represnt the working class as actual people and showcase their issues such as poverty and community in a positive light

how are the underclass represented in the media

not as much research but generally in a very negative light and made it to seem their fault, usage of chavs and other terms to make people undeserving of public sympathy

how can the underclass be socially stigmatised

use symbolic labelling such as hoodies, slang, chavs etc makes people believe that those that have such qualities are part of the underclass

what does the media do to continue shared culture on an age basis

boundary maintenance

boundary maintenance

the process of social control that is continues through media through showing consequences of poor behaviour

what do media stories of young people remind society of

safeguarding and social expectations

how is childhood generally represented within the media

positively

what are the 6 main ways children are represented in the media, include examples

cute (baby product adverts), devils (comedy dramas like the simpsons), heroes, brave (having long term illness), accessories (to celebrities to make them more human), modern (smart and knowledgeable)

what does Herintz Knowles say about the portrayal of children

children are shown as motivated by peer groups, sports and romance rather than by community, school or religious groups, they are rarely shown coping with social issues

how has the media representation of children changed recently

issues are shown more from the childs perspective and they are given more of a voice eg fighting for social issues

how do consumerism and childhood link in media, who determined the theory

Evans and Chandler, more children in commercials which causes pester power where children demand consumer goods from parents to gain status, causes parental anxiety

how are the youth generally represented in the media

either as a social problem eg folk devils or as people constructing a consumerist based identity ie through magazines

who constructed a content analysis on youth based news

Wayne et al

what did wayne et al’s content analysis show

80% of youth stories were crime related with a lack of youth perspective, they are shown as a threat to society and don’t explore issues they may face such as housing, unemployment and mental health

what do functionalists say about the representation of the youth within media

mandatory to instil boundaries and control behaviour

what do pluralists say about the representation of the youth within media

consumers of media choose to read such stories, crime is newsworthy so its more likely to be published

what do interactionists say about the representation of the youth within media

older generations frequently label youth as a threat due to the moral panics within the media about youth

what do hegemonic marxists/ the GUMG say about the representation of the youth within media

journalists have a consensus view about society and want to please those at the top, media owners set the agenda and journalists have to follow it

what do postmodernists say about the representation of the youth within media

we live in a media saturated society that has varied stories on youth, negative portrayals are only a small amount of representations, youth are key consumers and producers of media so their contributions are more significant

how is old age generally represented in the media

often as devalued, advertising says it should be avoided at all costs

how is gender and old age represented within the media

older women are have lower status than older men, men take higher roles in tv and news presenting whereas women take background women

how does negative ageing take form for older men

occupational success rather than physical looks, for women its more about appearance

what are the three generic stereotypes of the elderly within the media, explain them withe examples

grumpy with interactions such as talking about youth poorly, mentally challenged as people have to do things for them and a burden when needing care

ageism

discrimination of someone based on age

what charity investigated media representation of old age and what were their conclusions

Age Concern, said that there is a under representation of the elderly within media which ultimately leads to ageism

link the elderly with consumerism

the elderly have the grey pound where they have more disposable income due to retirement, causes more marketing for elderly activities eg cruises

what is some evidence for positive representation of the elderly within media, what is the general issue with this

so called “golden agers“ who are active and alert, yet lacks reality of what older people go through such as loneliness, illness and widowism

what is the general issue with age representations within media

there is a significant lack of research within the area, it is mainly American,

how can media contribute towards faster ageing

more representation of children within adults settings and more sexualisation of children which leads to image complications, eg balenciaga bondage doll advert

what do feminists say media does to young girls

makes them more insecure about patriarchal issues such as image, means they will want to change their body at an early age

link classism and ageism

lower classes are even more poorly represented within media as poor old people or those that cannot please their children that demand goods, upper classes are more positively represented

who was the main sociologist that’s spoke about representation of ethnic minorities within media

Van Dijk

what were the three categories that van dijk said minority ethnic groups are sorted into

ME groups as criminals, ME groups as a threat, ME groups as unimportant

how are minority ethnic groups represented as criminals within media

demonised as a threat to the law abiding white society, usually the stem of moral panics, usually have crime associated with their stories

what did wayne say about ME criminality within media

close to 50% of stories about black youth depict some sort of criminal link

provide an example of a moral panic that uses ME groups as a scapegoat

Stuart Hall’s policing the crisis study where 1970’s immigration lead to the stereotype of the black mugger

how are minority ethnic groups represented as a threat within media, provide an example

groups are shown as a source that can diminish the dominant white culture, usually causes a moral panic, example includes immigrants taking resources or Muslims being labelled as fundamentalists

fundamentalists

people who take their religion literally with generally conservative and traditional morals, modern ideas are usually rejected such as equality and homosexuality

what did moore investigate during his content analysis of the British media

the representation of muslims within the media

what did moore find during his content analysis on muslim representation

1/3 of stories were on terrorism and 1/3 were on cultural differences, islam is shown as dangerous and irrational with a clash between western democracy and a threat to British law, stories lack muslim perspective and can be islamophobic

islamophobia

prejudice and discrimination against muslims

what is the media discussion around hijabs

some see it as a symbol of oppression that women are patriarchally forced into, women are often reduced to victims rather than people who choose to wear it

what did Nahdi say about muslim audiences within the media

there is a decline in the quality and trust between muslims and media sources, leads to muslims disliking media sources and western ideology

what did mirza say about hijabs

they are not a symbol of patriarchal oppression but rather a choice made by muslim women to symbolically assert themselves with islam

how are minority ethnic groups represented as unimportant within media

implication that the lives of white people are more important than non-white people, black victims not paid the same level of attention, institutional racism within journalism

institutional bias in media

bias towards white people in media and entertainment, usually use ethnic minorities as tokenistic acts

tokenism

usage of minority groups within casting or hiring to achieve an appeared sense of diversity, a symbolic effort

what do pluralists say about media representation of ethnicity

ethnicities are represented in a way that reflects the concerns of the audiences, institutions act in the interests of their readers for profit, people can choose to not purchase the media

evaluate the pluralists perspective about media representation of ethnicity

some peoples opinions about minority groups may only be formed from the media rather than reality so journalists construct and shape racist ideologies on behalf of the readers

what do marxists say about media representation of ethnicity

there to divide the working class based on racial grounds and prevent a revolution, EM threaten the stability of white society, justifies the spending on the control of EM groups

evaluate the marxist perspective about media representation of ethnicity

limited evidence of direct racism within media, media marketplace is competitive and diverse and not everyone has the same ideological goal of dividing society

what did cottle say is an example of the changes in media representation of ethnicity

The Guardians reporting of Stephen Lawrence highlighted existence of institutional racism within the investigation

what do hegemonic marxists say about media representation of ethnicity

most media owners are white and have a consensus view about media so won’t publish conflict based stories, white audiences are the majority and institutions want profit, white experts are the top of the hierarchy of credibility ie police

what did cottle say about EM based sources within media reporting

lack of use of sources that are generated by ethnic minorities

what did cottle say about audiences within media

pursuit of larger audiences has meant that stories are dumbed down and complex racial based issues are rarely spoken about

tabloidization

the transformation of media to a popularised, sensational format

what are the conclusions of representations of ethnicity within media

positive changes with more representation in roles, more diverse stations eg BBC asian network