6. Media Representations of Ethnicity, Social Class and Age

Question 1

Who conducted a content analysis into media representations of ethnicity of news items across the world over several decades?

Answer 1

Van Dijk

Question 2

Van Dijk’s 3 stereotypically negative views shown in media representations of ethnic minorities

Answer 2

MEG’s are a threat
MEG’s are criminals
MEG’s are unimportant

Question 3

Findings of Cushion et al’s study of MEG representations in newspapers, nightly TV news and radio programmes?

Answer 3

7/10 stories of black young men and boys were related to crime, especially violent crime involving knives and/or gangs

Question 4

When it comes to MEG being represented as criminals, what is there little attempt to do in the media?

Answer 4

Little attempt to provide context or to discuss the possible structural or social factors that might contribute to their motivations for crime

Question 5

How are MEG outbreaks treated by the media? (3)

Answer 5

Back says that inner-city race disturbances involving MEGs are often described as riots, which has connotations to irrationality and criminality and conjures up images of rampaging mobs that need to be controlled by the police
Journalists rarely use the word ‘uprising’ as it suggests that MEGs may have a genuine grievance
Rebelling against injustice rarely forms part of the media coverage of such events

Question 6

What 3 groups seem to constitute the greatest threat to the UK according to newspapers and TV?

Answer 6

Immigrants
Refugees and asylum seekers
Muslims

Question 7

Why are immigrants portrayed as a threat?

Answer 7

Because of their large numbers making them a threat to the supply of jobs, housing and other facilities

Question 8

What are asylum seekers and refugees portrayed as?

Answer 8

People coming to Britain to abuse the welfare state

Question 9

What organisation conducted research into the media representation of refugees and asylum seekers?

Answer 9

Information Centre about Asylums and Refugees (ICAR)

Question 10

What does ICAR note?

Answer 10

The media have constructed an image of migrants as a problem and threat to British identity and cohesion (unity)

Question 11

Consequence of the unbalanced and inaccurate media image of asylum seekers

Answer 11

Made a significant contribution to their harassment

Question 12

What are Muslims often portrayed as in the media?

Answer 12

The ‘enemy within’

Question 13

According to Poole, how has Islam always been presented in Western media?

Answer 13

It has always been demonised and distorted by the Western media, and presented as a threat to the security of the UK and British values

Question 14

When the media did talk about Islam, what did it focus mainly on according to Moore et al’s research of British media coverage between 2000 and 2008?

Answer 14

1/3 of stories focused on terrorism
1/3 of stories focused on the differences between the Muslim community and British society
Stories about Muslim attacks and Islamophobia were fairly rare

Question 15

How is multiculturalism portrayed in the media?

Answer 15

Portrayed damaging as it is allowing Muslim extremists to spread their views

Question 16

Black victims of crime compared to white victims of crime in the media

Answer 16

Black victims of crime are not paid the same degree of attention by the news media as white victims

Question 17

What two institutional problems do MEGs face when they do appear on TV?

Answer 17

They are often portrayed in stereotypical low-status roles
They appear in the programme because of tokenism

Question 18

Pluralists view on the representation of ethnicity

Answer 18

Newspapers are simply acting in the interests of their readers by demanding that those in power take action to control MEGs

Question 19

Why do pluralists argue that the current representation of ethnicity isn’t changing ?

Answer 19

It’s not changing because if people didn’t want to read such stories, they would buy other newspapers or watch other media as there is a diversity of media out there

Question 20

Marxism on representations of ethnicity

Answer 20

Negative reporting is used to justify more official spending on the social control of MEGs
Plays on white w/c fears that immigration is more problematic than societal inequalities

Question 21

Why do mass media representations of ethnic minorities tend to be negative according to the hegemonic approach (neo-Marxists)? (3)

Answer 21

Most of those involved in the media are white, and so share the same view about how society should be
White opinions are reflected in the media because white people constitute the majority audience (more audience = more advertisers = more money)
Media professionals don’t want to risk alienating their white audience by focusing on minority cultures or interests

Question 22

Media representations of the upper class

Answer 22

Those who benefit from society generally receive a positive press as celebrities who are deserving of their position

Question 23

Representation of the upper class in popular films and TV costume dramas

Answer 23

Rosy, idealised picture is painted of the elite characterised by honour, culture and good breeding in media such as The King’s Speech and Downton Abbey

Question 24

Representation of the monarchy in the media post WW2

Answer 24

After WW2 the monarchy reinvented itself as the Royal Family with a cast of characters who stood for national values
Resulted in a national obsession with the Royal Family, reflected in media coverage that focused positively on every trivial detail of their lives

Question 25

Representations of wealth according to Newman

Answer 25

The media focus very positively on the lifestyles of the wealthy, observing that the media focus too heavily on consumer items that only the wealthy can afford
Enormous amount of media is dedicated to daily business news and stock market quotations, despite few people actually owning stocks and shares

Question 26

Three ways in which pluralists justify the media representations of wealth

Answer 26

They are represented of the idea of meritocracy
Such stories may motivate people to work hard, which benefits the economy
Focus on finance, stocks and shares may reflect importance of these sectors for the economy

Question 27

Who is more represented on TV…the m/c or w/c?

Answer 27

In general the m/c are over represented on TV while the w/c are underrepresented

Question 28

Media representation of w/c people according to Newman

Answer 28

There have been very little TV dramas or films in the past 10 years focusing on the everyday lives of the w/c, despite them making up a huge section of society

Question 29

What does the reporting of w/c issues such as poverty, single-parent families and unemployment often focus on?

Answer 29

Focuses on blaming it on personal inadequacy rather than government policies

Question 30

Content of newspapers aimed at w/c audiences

Answer 30

Newspapers aimed at w/c assume that they are uninterested in serious analysis of either the political or social organisation of UK society
Content of papers like The Sun and Daily Star assume that such audiences want to read about celebrity gossip

Question 31

Changing representations of the w/c

Answer 31

Some media representation of w/c people portray them very sympathetically, portraying w/c life and problems in a dignified, realistic and supportive way, and even challenging social inequality

Question 32

How do Marxists view the media content of papers aimed at the w/c?

Answer 32

They believe such content is an attempt to distract w/c audiences from the inequalities of capitalism

Question 33

How do pluralists view the content of papers aimed at the w/c?

Answer 33

They argue the content is what tabloid newspapers readers want and the evidence lies in the sales for the newspapers (The Sun had 1.5 million more readers than the Daily Mail in 2015)

Question 34

Portrayal of children in a study of children in American TV shows

Answer 34

Children often portrayed as motivated by peer relationships, sports and romance
Rarely shown as coping with societal issues like racism or with major family issues like child/domestic abuse

Question 35

Children being represented as consumers in the media

Answer 35

Children represented in TV commercials in ways to socialise them to become active consumers
Children encouraged by TV advertising to have an appetite for toys and games
Pest power - the power of children to manipulate their parents to spend money on consumer goods that will increase the children’s status in the eyes of their peers

Question 36

Limitations of the representation of children in the media

Answer 36

Most studies have been American so there may be cultural differences

Question 37

Youth portrayal in the media

Answer 37

Youth often portrayed by news media as a social problem, as immoral or anti-authority, and they are consequently constructed as folk devils and part of a moral panic

Question 38

What group has the majority of moral panics been constructed around since the 1950s?

Answer 38

They youth

Question 39

Out of 286 stories that focused specifically on young people in May 2007, what percentage focused on young people as either the victims or perpetrators of violent crime? (Wayne et al)

Answer 39

82%

Question 40

What featured in 1% of 2130 UK news items in May 2006 according to Wayne et al?

Answer 40

A young person’s perspective

Question 41

How do functionalists see the media representation of young people?

Answer 41

Media representations remind young people what is socially expected of them and the punishment they can expect if they transgress

Question 42

Pluralist view of the representations of young people in the media

Answer 42

Young people commit more crime and deviance than any other social group so therefore such media representations reflect reality

Question 43

Interactionist view of media representations of young people

Answer 43

Young people are frequently labelled by older generations as a threat to social stability
Representations are a form of moral panic

Question 44

Postmodernist view of the representations of young people

Answer 44

In media-saturated, postmodern societies, negative portrayals are only a small aspect of media representations
Young people in the new media can be creators and reporters so they can use it to construct positive representations of themselves

Question 45

How do the representations of old age differ between men and women?

Answer 45

Female film and TV stars are often relegated to character parts once their looks and bodies are perceived to be in decline (after age 40)
Male actors continue to play leading roles regardless of their age

Question 46

Overall opinion of age shown by the media

Answer 46

The emphasis on youth and beauty in TV, film and advertising imply that ageing should be avoided at all costs

Question 47

Stereotypical ways the elderly are portrayed

Answer 47

Grumpy (stubborn and conservative)
Mentally challenged (decline of mental functions with age)
A burden (economic burden with welfare dependency or social burden on younger members of their families)

Question 48

The change in media representations of old people

Answer 48

Recent research suggests that media producers may be gradually reinventing how they deal with older people, especially as they realise that they may have more disposable income to spend on consumer goods (the grey pound)