Sociological Material - Paper 4 - Ownership and Control of the Media

What is Ben Bagdikian’s "Media Concentration" thesis?

In the 1980s, 50 corporations controlled the majority of US media; today, this has shrunk to just a "Big Six" conglomerates (e.g., Disney, Comcast) that dominate 90

How does the Marxist Ralph Miliband describe the "Manipulative Approach" to media control?

He argues media owners (the "Lords of the Press") directly control content to spread ruling-class ideology and protect their own business interests.

What is the Neo-Marxist (GUMG) "Hegemonic Approach" to media?

Instead of direct orders from owners, journalists naturally "gatekeep" content because they share a middle-class world view and social background, reinforcing the status quo.

What is the significance of the statistic regarding UK journalists' education?

A 2022 study found 43

How does James Whale’s Pluralist theory define "Consumer Sovereignty"?

The audience is in control of media content; the media is a mirror that reflects public demand, and diversity is ensured by market competition.

What are Galtung and Ruge’s "News Values"?

Criteria used by journalists to select news, such as Proximity (closeness to the audience), Negativity, Personalisation, and Threshold (size of the event).

What is Jean Baudrillard’s concept of "Hyper-reality"?

The idea that media creates a "simulacrum"—a copy of reality with no original—making it impossible for the audience to distinguish between real life and media representations.

What is Marshall McLuhan’s "Global Village"?

The concept that new media collapses time and space, allowing people across the world to interact and share information as if they were in a single small village.

How does James Curran’s "Digital Optimism" view the internet?

As a tool that gives "Power to the People" by allowing citizen journalism and social media to challenge traditional elites and authoritarian regimes (e.g., the Arab Spring).

What is Andrew Keen’s "Digital Pessimist" critique of the internet?

He argues it has created a "Cult of the Amateur" where professional expertise is replaced by low-quality content, "anarchy," and the rapid spread of fake news.

How much faster does false information spread on X (Twitter) compared to the truth?

Research suggests that fake news and false information spread 6x faster than the truth.

What does Sherry Turkle mean by the phrase "Alone Together"?

While we are more digitally connected than ever, we are socially isolated and often prefer the "safety" of a screen to the messy intimacy of face-to-face relationships.