Globalisation and Popular Culture

How do media owners influence the news?

They can give instructions to editors, influence available resources and affect which stories journalists have the ability to cover.

How can journalists' careers influence news reporting?

Journalists may avoid stories that could upset media owners or advertisers because they are concerned about their careers.

Why are media owners concerned with attracting large audiences?

Large audiences help media companies make profits through advertising and sales.

How does advertising influence the news?

Advertisers want access to large audiences or smaller wealthy audiences, so media companies may avoid stories that could offend or alienate these audiences.

What did Herman and Chomsky argue about advertising?

Advertising is a major source of profit for mainstream media companies and can influence what news gets reported.

How can advertising lead to stories being repressed?

Media companies may avoid reporting stories that could upset advertisers or important sections of their target audience.

How can ownership and advertising encourage conservatism in the media?

The need to avoid offending owners, advertisers and audiences can discourage controversial reporting and encourage conventional views.

What is infotainment?

The combination of information and entertainment, where serious news is increasingly replaced or presented alongside celebrity, gossip, scandal and human-interest stories.

Why has infotainment become more important?

The competitive media market encourages companies to produce content that attracts large audiences and generates profit.

How has globalisation increased competition between news providers?

The growth of global media companies and online news has created a much larger number of competing news providers.

How has new technology changed the news?

News can now be accessed instantly through websites, social media and rolling news, creating pressure for media organisations to provide constant updates.

How does citizen journalism challenge mainstream media?

Individuals can create and share news themselves, competing with professional journalists and potentially reducing the influence of owners and advertisers.

What is citizen journalism?

When ordinary individuals create and share news content, taking on roles traditionally performed by professional journalists.

What did Bowman and Willis argue about citizen journalism?

It involves individuals creating and sharing news content and taking on roles traditionally held by professional journalists.

What did Bivens argue about citizen journalism?

Citizen journalism allows individuals to create and distribute news, challenging the traditional role of professional journalists.

What practical constraints influence the news?

Financial resources, deadlines, journalistic ethics, target audiences, available time and space, and the immediacy and actuality of events.

Why has investigative journalism declined?

News gathering is expensive, while media companies face financial pressures and competition for large audiences.

How does the cost of news gathering affect news content?

Expensive investigative journalism may be reduced, while cheaper and more audience-friendly content such as infotainment becomes more important.

How do pluralists explain the practical constraints influencing the news?

They argue practical constraints are more important than ideology because journalists broadly share the values of mainstream society.

How do Marxists explain the practical constraints influencing the news?

They argue ideological influences are more important because journalists' values reflect the dominant ideology of the ruling class.

Why is the news socially constructed?

News is not simply discovered; journalists and editors select, filter and present events according to news values and professional practices.

What are news values?

The assumptions and criteria journalists use to decide which events are newsworthy, what to report, what to leave out and how stories should be presented.

What is immediacy as a news value?

Events that are happening now or have just happened are more likely to be considered newsworthy.

What is frequency as a news value?

Events that occur suddenly or unexpectedly are more likely to receive news coverage.

What is proximity as a news value?

Events that happen geographically or culturally close to the audience are more likely to be reported.

How does unexpectedness affect newsworthiness?

Unusual, surprising or one-off events are more likely to receive media attention.

How does conflict affect newsworthiness?

Events involving conflict, disagreement or confrontation are more likely to be considered newsworthy.

What is agenda setting?

The process by which the media influences which issues the public think about by giving greater prominence to certain topics.

What does the phrase 'the media doesn't tell us what to think, but what to think about' mean?

The media may not directly control people's opinions, but it can influence which issues receive public attention.

What did the Glasgow Media Group argue about agenda setting?

Media organisations operate within the dominant ideology, helping determine which subjects the public are encouraged to think about.

What is gatekeeping?

The process where editors and journalists decide which stories are selected, how much attention they receive and which stories are excluded.

What did Gans argue about gatekeeping?

Editors decide which stories are featured and how much space or attention they receive.

What did Dutton find about gatekeeping?

Editors filter the news by choosing which stories to focus on and which to ignore.

What is norm setting?

The process through which the media reinforces social norms and expectations and encourages conformity.

How does the media encourage conformity through norm setting?

It can praise or promote behaviours considered acceptable, such as obeying the law, helping others or not going on strike.

How does the media discourage non-conformity through norm setting?

It can give extensive and sensational coverage to behaviours such as violent crime, benefit fraud and illegal immigration.

How can agenda setting, gatekeeping and norm setting act as social control?

They allow the media to influence which issues are important, which behaviours are considered normal and which behaviours are presented as unacceptable.

How can inaccurate reporting influence the news?

Important details may be missed or reported incorrectly, creating a distorted representation of events.

Why might news stories be exaggerated or fabricated?

To make stories more interesting, attract larger audiences and increase profits.

How can inaccurate or exaggerated reporting contribute to moral panics?

Exaggerated coverage can make a social problem or group appear more threatening than it actually is, creating widespread fear.

How do pluralists evaluate the importance of news values?

They argue news values are becoming less influential because audiences can increasingly choose and create their own news through new media.

How does citizen journalism challenge traditional gatekeeping?

It allows individuals to bypass professional journalists and directly create and distribute news.

How does the uses and gratifications model challenge traditional views of news production?

It suggests media organisations provide audiences with the content they want because they must satisfy consumers to remain profitable.

How has new media weakened traditional gatekeepers?

People can access, share and produce news without relying entirely on traditional editors and journalists.

How might postmodernism challenge the idea of shared media norms?

The diversity of media and audiences makes it harder to argue that the whole of society shares the same values and norms.

How does the pluralist perspective view the relationship between society and the news?

The news largely reflects society's existing beliefs, interests and demands, acting like a mirror.

How does social media allow audiences to 'pick and mix' news?

Individuals can choose different sources and selectively consume news that matches their interests and beliefs.

How does Jukes challenge the pluralist view of news?

Journalists and content curators still use news values, make assumptions about audiences and frame stories to appeal to particular groups.

How does framing influence news reporting?

Journalists select the tone, focus and presentation of a story, influencing how audiences understand an event.

How do algorithms influence news consumption?

Algorithms curate and recommend content based on what they predict users will engage with or enjoy.

What is the hierarchy of credibility?

The idea that journalists give greater importance and credibility to the views of people in positions of power.

What did the Glasgow Media Group argue about the hierarchy of credibility?

Powerful individuals have greater influence over how news is defined because journalists tend to prioritise their views.

How are radical or extremist views often treated by journalists?

They may be ignored or treated unfavourably because they fall outside what journalists consider normal or acceptable.

How can the government influence the news?

Through regulation, press standards bodies, government relationships with the media and cooperation with journalists and police.

What was the Press Complaints Commission?

A body that monitored media standards and dealt with complaints about the press before being replaced following the phone-hacking scandal and Leveson Inquiry.

What led to the creation of IPSO?

The phone-hacking scandal and the Leveson Inquiry contributed to the creation of the legally backed Independent Press Standards Organisation.

Why is press freedom important?

The press is expected to hold powerful individuals and institutions, including governments, to account.

What did Hodkinson argue about the relationship between the news media, government and police?

The news media have sometimes worked with governments and the police in ways that may not serve the public's best interests.

How does social media limit government influence over the news?

Social media and blogs are less regulated than traditional media and allow individuals to publish information independently.

How does the global nature of new media limit government control?

News can cross national borders instantly, making it difficult for individual governments to control or regulate global media content.

What is the overall Marxist view of the social construction of news?

The news is shaped by ownership, advertising and dominant ideology, meaning powerful groups have greater influence over what becomes news.

What is the overall pluralist view of the social construction of news?

The news is largely shaped by audience demand, practical constraints and consumer choice, with media organisations competing to provide content audiences want.