2. Ownership and Control Flashcards
Traditional media
Mass media
Communicated in one way
Non-interactive process
E.g. TV, radio and newspapers
New media
Interactive
Screen-based
Digital technology
E.g. computers, internet, e-books, TV and video games
Who talked about the concentration of ownership of the media over time?
Bagdikian
Comparison of concentration of ownership of the media by Bagdikian in 1983, 1992 and 2014
1983 - 50 corporations controlled majority of all news media in the US
1992 - 22 corporations
2014 - 6 corporations
3 types of integration
Horizontal integration
Vertical integration
Lateral integration
Horizontal integration
Bigger media companies often own a range of different types of media outlets (E.g. News Corp owns newspaper, Fox TV and HarperCollins publishers)
Vertical integration
Controlling all levels of media production (E.g. a company making its own films and distributing them to their own cinemas)
Lateral integration
When media companies diversify into new business areas in order to spread economic risk (E.g. The Virgin Group owns music, travel and fitness sectors)
What does spreading economic risk mean?
If one sector losses money, it won’t have a massive impact as the other sectors will continue to make up the profits that the other sector lost
3 approaches to ownership and control of the media
Manipulative/instrumentalist approach (Marxism)
Hegemonic approach (neo-Marxism)
Pluralist approach
What does society have according to Marxists and how does this link to the media? (Manipulative approach)
Society has a dominant ideology, which is spread through society by the ISA. The media is a part of the ISA
How does the media reinforce dominant ideology? (Manipulative approach)
It controls the knowledge people have about society and encourages individuals to accept inequality.
Level of control that media owners having (Manipulative approach)
Media owners have direct control over media content.
They manipulate media audiences to protect their profits and spread the dominant ideology
What enquiry support the manipulative approach and how?
2012 The Leveson Inquiry supports the approach as it found that media support is given to political parties in return for government policies favourable to interests of media owners
Assumptions made about media audiences (Manipulative approach)
They are passive and unquestionably accept the interpretation / point of view of the limited range of opinions found in media content
How is the public distracted by serious issues? (Manipulative approach) (2 ways with one key phrase)
Through being fed bumped down trivial content
Commodity fetishism - consumers encouraged to focus on must have products rather than think about serious issues
Criticisms of the manipulative approach (3)
State regulates media ownership so no one person /company has too much influence
Audiences aren’t as easily manipulated as the approach suggests
Pluralists suggest new media with citizen journalism undermine the influence of media owners
What does the hegemonic approach suggest?
Owners have little day to day control of the media content as it’s in the hands of editors, managers and journalists
Hegemony
The dominant ruling class ideology is made to seem everyday common sense to all classes
GMG
Glasgow Media Group
Media managers, editors and journalists according to the GMG (hegemonic approach)
They generally support the dominant ideology by choice, not because they are ordered to by owners
Characteristics of most journalists
White
M/C
Male
Their socialisation means they have similar views to the ruling class
56% of journalists attended private school
How does the media go along with the dominant ideology according to the hegemonic approach?
Some items are deliberately excluded from the news or some parts of a story are prioritised over others
E.g. reporting of 2011 London Riots focused on the acts rather than the reasons/motives for the riots
Criticisms of the hegemonic approach (2)
Underrates power of media owners (E.g. Murdoch’s papers / news agreed with the Iraq War which is his view as he stated it in many interviews)
Pluralists believe that the diversity of the media has put power in the audiences hands
Power in society according to the pluralist approach
Modern societies are democratic and therefore power on society is spread among a wide variety of groups and individuals
Whose views are represented in the media? (pluralist approach)
The media gives everyone’s views a platform
What are audiences seen as by the pluralist approach?
Heterogeneous (diverse)
What choice does the media have over its content? (pluralist approach)
The only choice is consumer choice. The media have to be responsive to audiences tastes otherwise they’ll go out of businessn
What does media content reflect? (pluralist approach)
What audiences want
What are audiences free to do? (pluralist approach)
Free to choose what media they consume in a pick and mix approach as there’s a wide range of media to choose from
Audience and views portrayed in the media (pluralist approach)
Audiences has freedom to accept or reject views presented
3 reasons why owners are unable to control the media (pluralist approach)
Regulators investigate the quality of the content
Media businesses are too large for owners to constantly interfere
Competition to attract audiences
2 criticisms of the pluralist approach
Not all groups have equal influence. Mains sources of information tend to consist of most powerful and influential members of society
Only very rich groups will have resources required to launch major media companies
