Mass Media Flashcards
Modern Media
Internet Mobile Phones Digital Radio TV DVDs Video Games
Traditional Media
Newspapers Magazines Books Television Radio Cinema
What is the difference between modern and traditional media?
Modern media reaches is more accessible so reaches more people faster than traditional media.
Digital Media
Anything visual and computerised, e.g. BBC News Website
3 main purposes of media
- Inform, e.g. news about the world
- Entertain, e.g. celebrity gossip and games (crosswords)
- Persuade, e.g. adverts and political opinions
Broadsheets
A type of newspaper that has the following qualities:
- Bourgeoisie targeted, i.e. print stocks and league tables
- Bigger in size
- Reading age is 15
- Fewer pictures
- More expensive (£1-2)
- Mentions sophisticated sports like polo
The Times, Guardian and Daily Telegraph
Tabloids
A type of newspaper that has the following qualities:
- Proletariat targeted, i.e. Includes supermarket vouchers
- Smaller in size
- Reading age is 11
- Cheaper (20-40p)
- More pictures
Sun and Mirror
Role of Media in Socialisation
- Development of Identity (age, gender, class, sexuality and ethnicity)
Religious Channels, e.g. Sundays on BBC is ‘Songs of Praise’ - Gender socialisation, e.g. Iceland slogan is ‘That’s why mums go to Iceland’ in TV advertisements
- Morals, e.g. having the villain caught in TV programmes
- Relationships, e.g. girlfriend-boyfriend
Mass Media
A way of communicating to large audiences.
Stereotype
Generalisations made about a group of people based on the actions or characteristics of a minority from that group.
Stereotypes for Disabled People
- Pitiable and Pathetic
- Cripple
- Laughable
- Burden
- Non-sexual
Media bases its judgments on traditional misconceptions and superstitions surrounding disabled people.
Changes to Media and Disabled people
- Disabled People Movement has given actual disabled people influence over how they are presented so they are presented as part of society.
- Laws, such as the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) and Equality Act (2010) protect them against discrimination.
Stereotypes for Black people
- Presented in criminal roles
- Narrow roles, e.g. singers, dancers, musicians or sports people
- Associated with muggings, riots and knife crime.
Changes to Media and Black people
The Cosby Show in America
- all main characters were black
- presented in a realistic, non-stereotypical way
- presented as successful middle-upper class
Research in Media and Gender
Cumberbatch (1990) carried out research on the British Standards council to find out how men and women are presented in the media:
- Women in advertisements were more likely to be young and blond
- Men were more likely to be shown in the work setting
- Women were frequently shown with a male partner
Stereotypes for Women
- Iceland slogan
- Page 3 of the Sun has a glamour model
- Williams (1997) found that women’s football had little coverage compared to men’s football
Stereotypes for Single Parents
- Welfare spongers, i.e. take up council houses
- Create dysfunctional individuals
- Pew Research Centre conducted a survey in America and found that people were more likely to accept gay/lesbian parents over single parents
Stereotypes for Environmentalists/Animal Rights Activists
- Aggressive
- Judgemental
- Outlaws
Politicians and companies want to discourage protests because they make a living exploiting the environment.
Mass Popular Culture
Refers to cultural products such as music, art, literature, fashion, dance, film, television, and radio that are consumed primarily by non-elite groups such as the working, lower, and middle class.
Theories on Mass Popular Culture
- Bourgeoisie (who tend to control the mass media) use it to control the Proletariat as it dulls their minds, making them passive and easy to control.
- It is vehicle for rebellion against the culture of dominant groups.
Hyper-reality
The inability to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality, especially in technologically advanced societies.
Propaganda
Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause of point of view, e.g. in Nazi Germany.
Stigmatised
Being described or regarded as worthy of disgrace.
Digital divide
The spilt between those who have readily access to computers and the internet, and those who do not.
Substitute Hearth
The idea that the television has replaced the fireplace as the centrepiece in the living room.
Media and Politics
- TV programmes, e.g. Sunday Politics and Question Time
- Newspapers will be more right/left wing and will criticise opposing political parties
- Social Media Campaigns, e.g. Ed Miliband
Hypodermic Syringe Theory
- Media acts like a drug and has a direct influence on you
- Propaganda, e.g. in Nazi Germany against Jews
- Persuasion tactic used by repeating certain words
Albert Bandura
He found that children (aged 5) were desensitised by the videos they watched of a women behaving aggressively towards Bobo dolls. They ended up imitating her violent actions when given the doll.
Steven Miles
Teenager stabbed and dismembered his girlfriend after watching the violent Dexter series.
Policy Studies Institute
Found that young offenders who were convicted did not watch anymore violent shows than non-offenders.
Uses and Gratification Approach
People control the media, and not vice versa. Media uses:
- Soap Operas for entertainment and a substitute for companionship
- Reality TV to forget about their own problems
- Documentaries to increase their understanding of the world
- People restrict their children’s access using pins and blocking sites
Decoding Approach
- Media is interpreting in different ways depending on your age, gender class and ethnicity etc.
- E.g. some people might view the villain in a movie as a hero
Alternative Explanations to Violence
- 10% of young people suffer from mental health issues (Young Minds)
- Imitating violent behaviour of family/peers
- Dysfunctional upbringing, e.g. Howard Bowlby and Stanley Cohen
Moral Panic
- A media-fuelled overreaction to social groups or issues.
- Involves the media exaggerating the extent of the social problem and creating fear in the public.
- A particular group is outcast as a folk devil because they are defined as threat to society’s values.
Folk Devils
A group that is defined as a threat to society’s value, e.g. ethnic minorities.
Scapegoating
The process of blaming an individual or group for something that is not their fault, e.g. immigrants (economic) and Muslims (terrorism)
Example of Moral Panic
HIV and AIDS in the 1980s
- Idea that HIV was transmitted through homosexual sex.
- Misconceptions about the disease spreading through sharing cups or talking to homosexuals.
- Hippies and Homosexuals seen as folk devils.
Deviance
Behaviour that does not conform with society’s norms and values, and is not necessarily illegal.
Deviancy Amplification
- A deviant act occurs and is reported.
- Media create a television season on it to raise awareness, exaggerate and create fear in the public.
- Public concern forces the state to make laws.
- Harsher sentences in place.
- Public feel their fear is justified.
Example of Deviancy Amplification (Terrorism)
- British ISIS fighters and Paris Attacks
- Reported in the News constantly
- Counter-Terrorism and Security Act, 2015
- Muslims as folk devils/scapegoats
- School boy, Ahmed Mohammad, arrested for suspicion of making a bomb (in fact a clock) in Texas, America
Example of Deviancy Amplification (Kidnapping)
- James Bulger case
- Reported in the news constantly
- Children aged 10 can be convicted according to the Criminal Offences Act, 1994
- Parents become paranoid and keep children from playing outside
- Toxic childhood
Example of Deviancy Amplification (Domestic Violence)
- Murder of Clare Wood 2009
- BBC has a season featuring ‘Murdered by my boyfriend’
- Clare’s law introduced allowing people the right to check if their partner has a history of violence
Concentration
The idea that all media types are coming under the ownership of fewer and larger companies (conglomerates) - 5 companies produce 96% of all national newspapers in the UK.
Conglomerate
A huge corporation or company owning a range of media, formed by merging different firms.
Globalisation
The growing interconnections between different countries as the same consumer products stretch across the globe, e.g. YouTube.
Diversification
Companies now cover a range of linked media, e.g. Barclays Brothers own the The Telegraph and Sunday Business Newspaper as well as The Business and The Spectator magazine.
News Values
Issues in the media that editors consider being ‘newsworthy’.
Depends on:
- Is the issue recent?
- Is there live footage/pictures?
- Is a celebrity involved?
- Is it dramatic?
- Is it foreign news? How is Britain involved?
Agenda Setting
When media giants decide on particular topics to focus public attention. This is based on the ethos of the newspaper and its stakeholders.
Example of Agenda Setting and Gatekeeping
North Korea is under dictatorship rule:
- Ban/Block on social media and digital media
- Government owns all media outlets/journalists
- Internet access is limited to higher classes and university students
Pluralist Approach
A range of views and opinions exist in society and no single group dominates the media. The consumer holds the power to stop reading certain newspapers, for example.
Media giants must provide their consumers with what they want or they will go out of business, e.g. the Sun does not feature much international news as there is no demand for it.
Conflict Approach
There are conflicting interests in society between different groups. The owners of newspapers are seen as part of a wealthy minority group, who use agenda setting to push their ethos.
Evidence of this from concentration, globalisation and diversification.
Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch is the CEO of News Corporation, of which News International in the UK is part:
Concentration - 33% share in national newspapers
Globalisation - largest in Australia, USA and UK
Diversification - shares in magazines, Twentieth Century Fox Film and HarperCollins books etc.
Gatekeeping
The process of withholding information from the public; government claim it is in the best interest of people.
Censorship
Restricting access of media to certain audiences if it contains adult themes, e.g. sex, violence and profanity.
Example - films deemed inappropriate for younger audiences come on after 9pm as do condom advertisements.
D-notice Systems
When editors and producers must ask permission from the armed forces before publishing anything regarding defence.
Official Secrets Act
Covers a range of topics deemed ‘topic secret’ and must not be published until after 30 years. Examples include the activities of the FBI and CIA or MI5 and MI6.
Spin Doctor
People who manipulate issues which they know are untrue to cover the government. E.g. Phillip Zelikow wrote an official report on 9/11.
Example of Gatekeeping
CCTV evidence showing the pentagon building was confiscated by the FBI, and never shown again after 9/11.
Reports published by government officials on 9/11 do not mention anything about the “molten metal” found at the site of the twin towers.
Changes to the Media over the last 30 years
- Interactive, e.g. ‘red button’ and X Factor voting
- Gratification, e.g. BBC iPlayer
- Digital, e.g. Internet created in 1969
- More channels, e.g. Analogue to Digital
- Widespread, e.g. 2/3 of people in Britain has more than one television and the average family spends 25 hours weekly watching TV
Norm Referencing
The ability to shape public opnion by presenting some groups as positive and other negative in the media. For example, nurses and firefighters are positive, where asylum seekers and teenage parents are negative.
Multiple Identity
Having different ways to describe what makes you who you are, e.g. British and Muslim.
Collective Identity
A group of people which a shared interest, e.g. supporting the same football club.
Contemporary Issues in the Media
- Hacking, e.g. Hugh Grant had his phone hacked and affair exposed
- Online Grooming, e.g. Girls from Bethnal Green joined ISIS
- Poor body image leading anorexia and bulimia in girls
- Cyber bullying, e.g. Amanda Todd suicide
- Lack of Censorship, e.g. underage access to pornography
Cyber Bullying Policy
Schools have a zero tolerance approach towards cyber bullying, i.e. cases are dealt with through exclusions.
Communications Act 2013
Makes it a criminal offence to send messages by means of public electronic communications network that are grossly offensive or indecent.
Sexual Offences Act 2008
Includes online grooming
Convergence
Idea that technologies of media, telecommunications and computing come together in one product, e.g. digital televisions allow you to browse the web, check emails etc.
Content Analysis
Qualitative study of newspapers, magazines and books. Processes like counting words and assessing bias are used to determine this. Sociologists can figure out what impact this would have on audiences, e.g. if ‘muslim’ and ‘terrorist’ are displayed in the same context numerous times - readers make an association between the two.
Bias
Prejudice for or against a group or person in a way considered unfair.
Desensitised
Causing people to be less likely to feel shock or distress when viewing images of cruelty or suffering due to overexposure.
Freedom of Speech
Power to voice opinions without censorship or political constraints.
Semiology
Semiotics is the study of signs and their hidden meanings in the media. Colours, shapes and symbols are used to convey certain ideas to audiences, for example black is associated with fear whilst white shows purity.
Factors shaping public opinion
- Media (Hypodermic Syringe Theory)
- Family (Main Agency of Socialisation)
- Education (Citizenship + ‘loco parentis’)
- Community (e.g. working class values)
- Religion (“Religion is the opium of the masses” - Karl Marx / Syria Girls)
