Sociology : Media Ownership and control of the media

What is meant by the concentration of media ownership?

Idea that media is owned and controlled by a small number of ruling elite individuals or companies

Shows how power is centralised in media industries

What did Curran find about UK newspaper ownership?

Seven people/ companies dominate ownership of all UK natrinal daliy and sunday newspaper

Demonstrates extreme concentration ofpower in brithish media

What did Bagdikia find about owenership ?

American media ownership fell from over 50 owners in the 1980s to just 7 major owners

Highlights global trends towards media monoplies

What is vertical intergration in media?

When media company controls all stages of production, distrubution and exhibition of content

Shows how companies maximise profit an dcontrol

How does Disney demonstrate vertical integration?

Production : own pixar, Marvel studios

Distrubtion : Owns diseny plus

Exhibition : Owns theme parks and resots promoting its content

What is horizonatal integration in media ?

When media corparation owns a diverse range of media forms also called cross media ownership

Shows how companies expand infuence across sectors

How does Rupert Murdoch demonstrate horizontal intergration?

His coroparation owns news papers across countries

Illistrating cross platform control and audience reach

What is diversification in media ownership?

When media companies invest in non media buissnes areas

Shows how companies spread risk and increase profit streas

How does Virgin demonstrate diversification?

Opperates across many industries, virgin media , virgin radio , virdgin atilantic

What is synergy in media?

When companies use multiple products to promote and sell a concept or when a company owns outlets that advertise its own products

Whos how brands maximise exposure and profit

How does minecraft demonstrate synergy?

Game and merch

Media tie ins - Youtube, animated series and movie

Across multiple platforms - Xbox , wondows

What do pluralists argue about media power?

Media is diverse , democratic and shaped by audience demand, consumers hold power and can accept or reject content

Contrasts with Marxists views of elite control

What examples support pluralism?

Social media lets anyone create content

Netflix offers diverse global geners

Indapendent journalists and influencers provide alternative views

Political diversity exists across outlets

Showing audience choice and active consumption

What are key criticisms of pluralism?

Media owners hire/ fire editors aligned with their belifes

Top journalists are establishment linked - 50% of BBC journalists privtely educated

Female voices are lacking and ofen objectived

Shows pluralism igoners strucural inequalities

What do instrumental marxists argue about media control ?

MEdia is directly controlled by rulling class owners who spread dominant capitalist ideology creating false conciousness Shows media as a tool of elite power

What examples support instrumentalist marxists?

Billionair owned media promotes right wing agendas

5/7 majour UK news paper groups owned by press barons

Coverage down plays poevery / inewuality

Consumerism and individualism promoted

working class voices steryotyped or excluseded

Demonstrates ideological manipulation

What are criticisms of instramuental marxism?

Economic reductionism ignores patriarchy

Working class have dual conciousness and may support right wing populaism (gramsci)

Dual consciousness shows the working class is not totally brainwashed or controlled, so instrumental Marxism exaggerates ruling‑class power and oversimplifies how control works

Jouralists sometimes expose corruption (instatutionalised racism in the met) shows media is not fully controlled by elites

What does Gramsci say about dual class conciousness?

Dual consciousness (Gramsci) is when the working class holds two sets of beliefs at the same time:

1. Ruling‑class ideology they’ve been taught (e.g., “capitalism is normal”),
   and

2. Their own lived experience of exploitation and unfairness.

So they partly accept the system, but also partly recognise it’s unfair.

Relevance: This helps explain why the working class doesn’t always resist capitalism — their awareness is mixed, not fully revolutionary.

What do hegemonic marxists argue about media bias?

Bias is unintentional , shaped by journalists backgrounds; 50% of top journalists are privetly educated the media also avoids extremes to protect advertisers

Shows subtle ideological influence

What AO2 examples support hegomonic Marxism?

BBC gives more airtime to mainstream party s

The sun promotes dominant ideologies via celebrity gossip , nationalism , moral outrage and structrual issues like poverty and sidelined

DEmonstrates agenda setting and gate keeping

What are criticisms of hegomonic marxism?

Economic reductionism ignores patriarchal limits on women (oversimplifys just focusing on the economy and class ignoring cultrurer etc)

Citizen journalism challenges traditional media power

Shows media influence is contested

What does Trowler argue about media in postmodern society?

Media is the defining feature of post modernity , globalisation increases choice , multiple truths exist, audiences attach their own meaning

Shows decline of owner influence

What is Baudrillar concept of hyperreality?

Media images replace relaity ,simulations feel more real then real life

explains blurred boundaries between fiction and reality?

How does participatory culture support postmodernism?

Audiences create, remix and shape meaning, roles of producer and consumer blur e.g thorough youtube

Shows breakdown of traditional authority

What is a crisicism of postmodernism?

Choice is an illusion, content is repetitive

Ignores power inequalities and corprate control

Influencers absorbed into mainstream via sponsorship

Challanges the idea of true audiences freedom