MEDIA (not complete)
7.1 THE NEW MEDIA
The new media
the media refers to the predominant means of communication
The new media uses digital technology and the potential audience for new media is much larger than traditional media forms
The key features of the new media
convergence — one device can be used to access a variety of media
Interactivity — facilitate more interaction than old media, the audience is able to engage
Audience/ user power — able to influence media content through their interaction and even create/ share the content themselves
Accessibility — able to get instant and easy access
Is new media revolutionary — evaluation
Cornford and Robins argue that new media developments are evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Suggesting that interactivity was present in older media forms (e.g letters and newspapers), so new technology just built on existing technology (however this may be outdated as the new media has developed very rapidly since this study)
Boyle and Haynes also suggest that new media has added to what was available from old media rather than replacing it. They also acknowledge that the main change is the speed of communication (however this may be outdated as the new media has developed very rapidly since this study)
The significance of the new media is overstated, this is in relation to the inequality of access. The new media is used mostly by young people and this can lead to a digital underclass because important tasks are being done online
Attitudes to the new media
Curran and Seaton
they identified big differences in the attitudes of individuals to the new media, categorised these into 2 groups…
Neophiliacs
positive about the benefits of the new media
Believe that the new media has led to increased choice and the revitalisation of democracy and democratic engagement
This is done by giving audiences more control over the media they consume (through interactivity and choice)
Cultural pessimists
critical about the new media
Believe that the new media has led to increased surveillance, such as google and Facebook using peoples data to help target advertising
Also concerns about media exposing people to crime (e.g identity theft)
Has the same disadvantages of the old media — controlled by big corporations, can have negative influences on audiences. Plus additional disadvantages — more ‘fake news’/ inaccurate information
Who controls the new media
Neophilliacs believe that the new media is democratic and bottom up, so it is the public who is in control
Those with a negative view would believe that nobody is in control, it is anarchic and full of fake news and potential dangers
Andrew Keen argues that the media’s democracy makes it dangerous. The ‘uncensored freedom’ can be seen as full of opportunity or full of danger
However some may question how ‘free’ the new media is, as it is dominated by a small number of large corporations. Even though it is impossible for them to control and censor all the content, they can still use the content to generate advertising revenue and to gather data
So cultural pessimists would argue that there is largely unregulated content (which is misleading/ offensive) which exists as by-products of marketing organisations
7.2 OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL
Who owns the Uk media
5 billionaires own 80% of the UK media (Rupert Murdock, Richard Desmond, viscount rothermere and the Barclay brothers
The big 6 corporations: Comcast, Disney, News Corp, time warner, Viacom and CBS
Media moguls = an individual who owns a significant share of a media company. For example Rupert Murdock who owns a number of newspapers and TV broadcasting companies around the world
Curran points out that it has always been this way: in 1937, four men owned half of all newspapers sold nationwide
Features of media ownership in the UK today
horizontal integration — this is where a media company will expand, often by buying or merging with competitors
Media convergence — this is where different media corporations join with other companies to offer a product or service
Global conglomerates — this refers to companies that consist of a lot of different businesses/ interests that may operate on an international level
Marxist views
the media is owned and controlled by members of the bourgeoisie
These owners instruct editors and journalists to put across a particular message to the audience
These messages spread the dominant ideology which seeks to justify inequalities, which contributes to false class consciousness (apart of althussers ideological state apparatus)
This idea of direct control is the manipulative approach, associated with Ralph Miliband. He argued that editors and journalists will not use their autonomy against the owners because they lack power and depend on the owners for their jobs
Examples
Richard Desmond (former owner of the express), apparently regularly visited the newspaper offices, making clear demands of what should be included
Curran found that ‘press barons’ were quite open about their propagandist role and that there have always been more conservative-supporting newspapers. This reflects them serving the interests of wealthy owners
Politicians also believe media moguls to have a great deal of control over media content as they try and get on the ‘right side of them’. Tony Blair flew to Australia to meet with Rupert Murdock and was rewarded with the support of ‘the sun’
Evaluation of Marxist views
neomarxists would suggest that owners of the media do not have time to micromanage. So media content is controlled by the editors and journalists
Pluralists would argue that owners of the media’s main focus is not to spread their opinions, but is to make profits. So their focus is on what they customers want and what will sell. James Whale argued that media moguls are busy dealing with business matters, not what story to run on a newspaper
Suggests that the audience is passive
Neomarxist views
the role of the media is to spread the dominant ideology
They argue this is because journalists and editors are typically from upper classes, and owner will generally employ people whose opinions and values are similar to themselves
Therefore the journalists and editors will put across the ideology of the owner
The GMG (Glasgow media group) found that most journalists were white, middle/ upper class men
Jones suggests that the decline of local newspapers has removed one route that working class people could take into a journalism career, further increasing the middle/ upper class domination in media
Neomarxist also suggest that journalists and editors may be subconsciously pushing the dominant ideology, Gramsci calls this the hegemonic approach
Evaluating neo Marxist views
the Labour MP, Dennis skinner, tells a story about marching with striking miners through London and journalists at the Daily express were cheering them on from their office windows. However the newspaper regularly printed articles attacking the miners union. This shows that the owners were forcing their agenda onto the journalists and the audience (traditional Marxist)
Pluralists such as James Whale argue that the media is not a result of the social background of editors and journalists, but is rather the product of market demands and profits
Pluralists would point out that there is a diverse choice of media companies and media outlets, and by choosing these news outlets they may become more well known
It’s hard to establish if people are manipulated or indoctrinated. As pluralists would suggest, the media provides those views and values to satisfy audiences, rather than the other way around
Pluralist views
argue that the editors and journalists are professionals with ethics and integrity, so would not allow themselves to be manipulated by owners
Companies simply want to maximise profits and minimise costs which is achieved through conglomerates, integration and globalisation. They don’t see this as cultural imperialism or capitalist dominance, they see it as the functioning of the free market with choice for consumers
They argued that the audiences control the media. The audiences have choice in what they consume so the companies must meet the demands of the customers
So they believe the audience is active rather than passive
Also argue that mass media is essential for democracy, as it enables us to be informed by the media
Evaluating pluralist views
Marxists argue that the audience is manipulated and the media deliberately creates false needs. People are manipulated to buy certain products through advertising. So they are not active
Marxists and neomarxists would argue that there is no consumer choice. Barnett and Weymour said that even though there are hundreds of TV channels, there is just lots of the same thing. This is referred to as the fallacy of choice. Also this media market has led to the dumbing down of media content to keep hold of audience members, which further contributes to false class consciousness
Neo-pluralist (Davies) argued that its hard for journalists and editors to be neutral reliable professionals in contemporary society. So their input might lack fact checking and reveals bias, however their is still a choice for audiences
Postmodernists views
argue that audiences have a greater choice than ever as we live in a media saturated society, so it’s impossible for owners or editors to control what is out there
However Baudrillard suggests that media saturation means that we are unable to distinguish between real life and a media version of life (hyperreality)
Levene argued that media ownership is fluid as the gap between producer and audience has been eroded. This is seen through citizen journalism
Evaluating postmodernist views
citizen journalism lacks the same power as mass media, so depend on mass media editors and journalists to report on it. Otherwise these messages just exist in a social media bubble, where they are circulated among a self-selecting community who already agree with each other
Media saturation gives more power to owners as it creates a more passive audience, as they are anaesthetised by the fallacy of choice. And audiences are unable to distinguish between real life and hyperreality
Public service broadcasting
parts of the media owned by the government (BBC), which is funded by license fees and operated independently of state interference and is not subject to the same commercial constraints
However neomarxists such as the GMG would argue that the BBC’s heirarchy is made up of white, wealthy men with conservative views therefore would produce media content that supports these views
Some would argue that the BBC has dumbed down its content, focusing on popular entertainment to secure advertising
7.3 GLOBALISATION AND THE MEDIA
The media and global culture
globalisation is the increasing interconnectedness of the world
Hyper globalists see globalisation as positive whereas pessimistic globalists see it as damaging and gangrenous
Lechner and boil argued there is now a global culture
Strinati argues that media today is a global industry with businesses operating worldwide. This creates a global culture as content can be instantly transmitted to anywhere in the world
McLuhan suggests there is a global village. We now have neighbours all over the world and have access to information instantly and from the source, so we don’t require professional media production
Flew suggests norms and values are becoming increasingly similar, offering a global outlook rather than just looking at national issues
Cultural imperialism
Fenton has suggested that the media has led to cultural imperialism
Cultural imperialism = the western world dominating the rest of the world through the media, this happens through:
Global conglomerates. Companies that combine various business interests and operate on an international level (e.g Murdock owns newspapers and radio companies in several companies)
However they don’t need to do this. Through global communications and new media, companies do not need to own local businesses in order to reach global audiences. For example Disney make films that are viewed around the world, these are aggressively marketed and distributed, which allow these companies to dominate media production. McBride suggests this western-created media changes the cultures and values of countries, this stokes demand for western products
Advertising. Through the new media (e.g facebook) companies who pay for expensive marketing dominate what people see and read all over the world (e.g McDonalds). George Ritter suggests that globalisation is causing the world to become more like McDonald’s, standardised and low-skilled
Cultural homogenisation. The world becomes the same and local cultures are killed off
Cultural hybridisation
cultures merge together, for example Bollywood being incorporated in western films. This adds to our cultural options and enriches culture
Evaluation
Curran suggests that postmodernist and hyperglobalists fail to take into account economic inequalities. The western culture has greater economic power so dominates global culture and uses other cultures to exploit it for profit (Bollywood, or McDonald’s offering falafel in Egypt)
7.4 SELECTION AND PRESENTATION OF THE NEWS
Social construction of the news
different stories can be told, but a range of practical, ideological, cultural, economic and social factors mean certain stories are chosen and told in a certain way
Galtung and Ruge - news values. More likely to be published is they are…
Unexpected
About important/ well known people
‘Bad news’
Timely
Simple
Familiar
About elite countries
This has changed as there is a greater focus on celebrities, and it’s more important for stories to be visually interesting. Also must ensure that advertisers are not offended or alienated by any political or controversial messages
Practical constraints
tight deadlines
Limited budgets
Easily accessible
This has led to churnalism, reusing old information/ media (Davies). Found that 80% of stories in 2 newspapers were reused informatioN.
Agenda setting
where journalists and editors decide what is significant or not
Gatekeeping
Gans says editors are gatekeepers because they decide what is in the news and what isn’t, so they have access to information but withhold it from the audience
Evaluation of social construction of the news
there are news programmes that have a less strong editorial hand, such as ‘without comment’ where they publish photos without any comment. However journalists still choose which pictures to film
Marxists may argue that agenda setting and Gatekeeping practices are intended to transmit the ruling class ideology, rather than being to do with news values. Viewing these chooses as entirely political
Pluralists (Jones) found that the news does fairly reflect reality. Concludes there was a balanced discussion between news broadcasts
The media often targets the powerful and exposes corruption and abuse of power. However this may just be to manipulate the audience into believing the news is fair
Argued that citizen journalism reduces practical restrictions as access is much easier, as they can access photos and information from the public. However this may be more difficult for under-developed countries
Regulating the news
Uk press is regulated by IPSO which replaced PCC after the Leveson inquiry
The leveson inquiry found that journalists at the ‘news of the world’ (owned by Rupert Murdock) had been hacking the mobile phones of people connected with news stories, most were celebrities but one was a murder victim in which they checked her telephone messages. This lead to ISPO being the new regulatory body and for the body to be independent but backed up by legislation (not state regulated)
For state regulation
press abuses
Intrusive paparazzi and lack of privacy
Lack of accountability, whereas the BBC reflects public concerns
Independent of the government politically
Against state regulation
free press
Journalists can expose and challenge the powerful, including government
Self regulation works
State involvement leads to greater state control and censorship
Politicians would be able to push certain stories for their benefit
Even though there isn’t much state interference in the UK, newspapers will often support one particular government and have reasonable relationships with government ministers. Some individuals manage to get court orders ensuring the cannot be names in certain articles in relation to certain controversies (usually celebrities), known as super injunctions. However these stories are often widely reported in other countries anyway.
7.5 AGE, CLASS AND ETHNICITY
Media representations of age
stereotypes of childhood
cute = positive, typically for babies and toddlers.
Consumers = chandler talks about pester power. Advertisements treat children as consumers so the children ‘pester’ their parents to buy the product
Little angels = represented in an idealised way, being innocent and without malice
Little devils = represented as ‘cheeky monkeys’, still reasonably positive. Used to be funny and appealing, yet naughty (e.g Bart Simpson)
Victims = children being the victims of crime, in news and drama series
Prodigies = being very talented at something
Accessories = celebrities children are not seen as individuals, just ‘extras’ alongside their parents
Stereotypes of youth
— more negative than children
— 2 main ways the media represent them: 1 is to socially construct youth culture and identity. 2 is portraying the youth negatively as a source of social problems
Social constructs
media has created youth culture though products. E.g popular music and fashion
These are often associated with different subcultures, so you develop that set of norms and values
Pluralists would argue that the media gives the youth what they want but others would argue that the media constructs youth culture
Negative portrayal
moral panics. Stan cohen developed this term due to the media’s reaction to clashes between the mods and rockers. Proposed the youth had been turned into folk devils and moral panics focused on youth culture
The media shows youth engaging in ‘bad behaviour’
Wayne et al found 82% of news items concentrated on young people and violent crime
Also found that young peoples own perspectives were only sought in 1% of cases
Stereotypes of the elderly
— tend to be portrayed negatively, but Newman found that they were portrayed as being in leadership positions or elite occupations
— more news reporters are older males because the audience trust them more and see them as having more authority
— however women have less roles in the media as they get older, so media representations vary with gender
— for both old age is represented negatively, a phase of life to be delayed and avoided
Examples
grumpy = through series such as ‘grumpy old men’
A burden = discussed in the news as problems, in economic terms and to their families
Infantile = as childlike, especially in comedies
Demented and confused = shown as mentally challenged, used for comedic purposes. Rarely treated seriously
Second childhood = elderly enjoying their life, doing the things they wish they had done as a child
The second childhood trend may be a part of a reorientation of representations of age, media companies and marketing agencies now see older adults as those with more money and leisure time. So they must present them positively to attract them. Lee said they are shown as enjoying a ‘golden age’. Robinson found older viewers were attracted to advertisement that presented them positively, negative media towards older people was disliked by all age groups
Media representation of social class
The rich
celebrities = the rich are often treated like celebrities (Nairn gave the example of the royal family). Life is treated as a soap opera and are always treated as national events. 2/3 of the UK were not interested in prince harrys wedding. Another example is Elon musk
Over representation = despite being a very small proportion of the population, they take up most of media coverage. Newman said that wealth is represented as deserved, rather than as part of a ‘chaos of rewards’
Middle class
over represented = programmes being aimed at the middle classes, such as property programmes. And characters mainly being middle-class, to a point where middle class culture is seen as normal
Dominant = presenters and journalists are middle class. Owen Jones describes the media as a ‘closed shop’ for the upper/ middle class
Anxiety = represented as being anxious about contemporary society and prone to moral panic, this is due to certain publications (e.g daily mail) being targeted towards middle class readers.
Working class
a problem = Newman says they are represented as a problem, such as youth subcultures, welfare cheats or criminals. Shown as marginal and problematic. Owen Jones talks about the ‘demonisation of the working class’ with the use of chavs and roadmen
Shallow/ unintelligent = ‘dumbed down’ content is targeted at the working classes, e.g the sun. Characters in tv shows are also presented this way. Butsch found working class men are represented as flawed in dramas, whereas women are more intelligent
Salt of the earth = shown as decent, ‘normal’ people. Slightly more positive, but can still be condescending
Poverty
marginalised and dehumanised = focusing on statistics rather than the individual stories. McKendrick found there was little exploration for the causes of poverty
Entertainment = reality programmes such as ‘benefits street’ and dramas like ‘shameless’ represent life in poverty as a source of entertainment
Media representations of ethnicity
reinforce racist stereotypes
Akinti - the media focuses on problems involving ethnic-minorities, e.g crime, drugs, underachievement and gangs.
Van Dijk - content analysis of newspaper articles over many years, across several countries.
Findings
black people as criminals - shown as being involved in gangs and drugs
Moral panic about black people - e.g Stuart Hall, the black mugger, as a folk devil
Black people as a threat - a danger to the majority. Poole found this also applies to Islam and Muslims
Black people as abnormal - reporting is ethnocentric, white is presented as ‘normal’. Amelie wrote about how muslim women are reported in the media for wearing a veil
Black people as unimportant - murders of black people are underreported and under exaggerated
Invisible black people - largely absent in the media, and there’s ’tokenism’. Only being included to tick a box
However Van Dijk may be outdated as there has been an increase in representation of black and ethnic minorities in the media since 1991. But if there have been improvements, why is there still so much negative stereotypical reporting.
may be due to the ethnocentric nature of the media industry (many white editors and journalists)
Marxists would argue that the media deliberately demonises minority groups in order to create scape goats and establish a false class consciousness, others argue it is subconscious
Counter - pluralists, media is profit driven. So stereotypical material is used because the audience demands and expects it. Reflecting prejudice in society while reinforcing it.