2. Pluralists views on Ownership & control of the media

Question 1

Outline pluralist views on Ownership & control of the media

Answer 1

Media content is not driven by a dominant ideology of owners, but instead media owners are driven by profit,
journalists are free from direct control, providing audiences with content they want - thus see media content as determined by consumer demand

Audiences are free to ‘pick and mix’ whatever interpretation suits them, they have freedom to accept, reject or re-interpret media content in accordance with taste and beliefs.

Pluralists argue that power in democratic, free market societies is spread out among diverse competing interest groups, and not concentrated in the hands of a minority economic elite, as Marxists suggests. **

Question 2

A01

Outline how media content is driven by profit

Pluralists

Answer 2

Pluralists argue media companies compete for customers, thus provide content customers want in order to make a profit & survive.

If a company fails to provide news & entertainment that people want, customers will stop buying their media products forcing that company out of business.

Media owners primarily want to make money and so they would rather so will adapt their media content to be more diverse and keep money coming in, rather than use their media channels to publish their own narrower subjective views and opinions.

Question 3

Outline how consumers determine content

Answer 3

pluralist perspective- audiences are active rather than passive and not easily manipulated. They are free to select, reject and re-interpret a wide range of media content, and they increasingly take advantage of new technologies & new media to produce their own content.

It is thus consumers of media/ the wider audience who determine media content rather than the media owners.

Question 4

Evaluate Pluralists views on Ownership & control

Answer 4

Marxists argue audience is manipulated & media deliberately creates false needs. if media is able to manipulate people into buying products through advertising, that must include media products. Marxists argue people are manipulated into buying products which then manipulate them further

Barnett & Weymour- argue people are not influencing media content in meaningful way when they make their market choices because choices are not rlly about content. People choose channels over another cause of branding, whether like presenter, rather than approving or disapproving of the general nature of media content -referred to fallacy of choice

They also argue media market has resulted in a dumbing down of media content, *
that’s why there’s little choice as in order to keep audience members & advertisises happy programme makers make visually appealing entertainment programmes in turn acts as opium of the masses-contributing to false class consciousness