Ownership and control of the media

Describe the power of the Media

In the UK, by 2014 93% of adults had mobile phones, 57% of which could access the internet. Around 7.5 million newspapers are sold daily

Society has become media saturated, with the media being important sources of information. If the media didnt report on an event, we likely wouldnt know about it unless we were involved

What are the formal controls of the media

Ofcom were established in 2003, and takes responsibiliy for furthering the interests of consumers, securing the best use of radio, protecting the public from any offensive or harmful effects of broadcast media and safeguarding peopel from being unfairly treated

The BBC is an established roya charter, governed by the BBC Trust, whose members are appointed by the monarch. The trust sets the strategic direction of the BBC and has a clear duty to reprsent the interests of license fee payers

Independent briadcasters include all the non-BBC TV and radio stations. they are regulated by Ofcom

How may governments influence and control media output

Official governemnt press conferences and breifing of journalists, which present the governmnt position on contemporary issues

Leaks and off teh record breifings are used to see the reaction of the markets and firms to certain decisions

The government may also attempt to bury bad news by releasing it at the same time as a more sensational story

What firms have a dominant market share in the UK newspaper sector

News Corp, owned by Robert Murdoch have around 32% of UK newspaper market share, including newspapers such as the Times and the Sun

Daily mail and general trust own 24% of the market share, including newspapers such as the metro and the daily mail

Trinity mirror have 15% of the market share and own the daily mirror, Sunday mirror along with over 130 local newspapers

Pearson have 3% of the market share, including newspapers such as the financial times, as well as owning 50% of the economist

What is Bagdikan’s lords of the global village

Bagdikan argues that a small number of firms domiante the worlds media, controlling the flow of information. Features of their ownership include:

Concentration of ownership - Most of the media are concentarted into few hands

Integration - Firms often own all the stages of production and other media firms, allowing them to control the medium and output of information

Conglomeration - media companies often own companies with a wide range of of diversity and interests around the world, for example Virgin have an airline, a train company and a bank, along with its media interests

Synergy - Synergy occurs when media companies promote and sell a product across multiple platforms to maximise profits. For example, a film may be advertised in magazines, adapted into books, games, and merchandise. Franchises like Harry Potter and Star Wars use this strategy to become global phenomena.

Describe an example of Bagdikan’s Lords of teh global village

The concentration of ownership is clearly illustrated by the media in the USA. Bagdikan nots that 5 of the fortune500 firms (Disney, News Corp, time warner, CBS and Viacom) own the majority of the media including tv, film production, newspapers and more. Each medium covers the entire country and the owners prefer stories that an be used anywhere. Bagdikan suggests this concentration of ownership gives each of the 5 firms and their leaders more communications power than was exercised by any despot or dictatorship in history.

What is the link between media and ideology

The ideological role of the media is to socialise audiences into a particluar world view, which can be achieved through what Morley calls preferred reading

Marxists such as Miliband and GMG argue that the media spread a dominant ideology by controlling access to knowledge and forcing peopel to accept societal inequalities through ideological state apparatuses

Describe the manipulative apporach to control of the media

The Manipulative (Instrumental Marxist) Approach, developed by Miliband, argues that media owners directly control content to protect their profits and reinforce ruling-class ideology. Journalists and editors have little choice but to follow the owners’ interests, as going against them could cost them their jobs. This approach assumes that the audience is passive and easily manipulated into accepting dominant ideas. For example, in 2007, Rupert Murdoch admitted to influencing his newspapers to support the Iraq War, despite laws prohibiting such interference.

Criticisms of the manipulative apporach of control of the media

The state regulates media ownership so no one person or company has too much influence. By law, media outlets in the UK must report news impartially

Audiences aren’t as gullible and easily manipulated as the approach suggests. People can accept, reject or reinterpret

What is the hegemonic apporach to control of the media

The Hegemonic Approach, linked to the Glasgow Media Group (GMG), argues that the media reinforces ruling-class power by spreading dominant ideology, but not through direct control by owners. Instead, journalists—mostly white and middle-class—support these ideas voluntarily due to their backgrounds, reflecting the neo-Marxist concept of hegemony, where the working class accepts ruling-class dominance. Media managers shape content using news values to attract attention, while gatekeeping and agenda-setting ensure certain topics are excluded. Philo’s study of the 2008 financial crash highlights this bias. As a result, audiences come to see the dominant ideology as universally correct.

Criticisms of the hegemonic approach to control of the media

Underestimates the power and influence of owners

Agenda setting and gate keeping mean the audience lack real choice, mainstream newspapers and TV programmes are produced in line with the dominant ideology

Describe Philo’s study on teh 2008 financial crash

Greg Philo, a researcher from the Glasgow Media Group (GMG), studied media coverage of the 2008 financial crash. His research found that mainstream news predominantly framed the crisis from an establishment perspective, focusing on the views of bankers, politicians, and financial experts while largely ignoring alternative perspectives, such as those from trade unions or ordinary people affected by the crisis.

Philo argued that this selective reporting reinforced dominant ideology, making audiences more likely to accept the idea that the economic system was unavoidable rather than questioning its structure. This study is an example of gatekeeping and agenda-setting, where the media shapes public understanding by choosing which voices and viewpoints to highlight or exclude.

What is the Pluralist approach to control of the media

Pluralism sees the exercise of power in society as reflecting a broad range fo social interests, with power spread among a wide variety of comepting interest groups and individuals, with no single one having monopoly power

The wide variety of comepting newspapers, tv channels etc reflects a huge range of ideals, including ideas which challenge the dominant ideology. Therefore, pluralists argue that consumer choice is the only control over the media, as if the media arent responsive to changes in consumer interests, they will go out of business

The internet in particular enables an unprecedented range of views to be represented through citizen journalism. Ordinary people can now communicate their views and report current event through social media. This is in contrast to Marxist analysis of the media

Criticisms of the Pluralist perspective on control of the media

Media owners appoint editors and often choose people with similar interests to themselves

News is usually collected from a limited number of news agencies

Not all societal groups have equal influence. The most powerful people are those who are most likely to be interviewed on TV