Mass Media Flashcards
What did Gauntlett (2002) write
The media provides advice abut how to be attractive to others through role models and stereotypes
What is mass media
Any form of communication that can be transmitted to many people at one time
What are the uses of the media
CEASE
To communicate To entertain To advertise To socialise To educate/inform
How does the media indirectly support society’s social control
Showing underlying values of what is good
Demonising the undesirable
Showing consequences for action i.e. the good guy always wins (rewards/punishment)
Showing desirable norms and value
Showing role models
What does the media help create
Culture. The media helped second generation Indian families create their own set of norms and values, their own identity - Gillespie (1995)
What did Gerbner and Gross (1976) write of American media
Its chief function is to spread and stabilise social patterns.
It does this by presenting messages of what society sees as important. Materialism is valued in Britain and this is reflected through successful TV characters being rich
What are the 4 main industries that make wealth of people’s body insecurities
Diet
Cosmetic
Pharmaceutical
Fitness
Who did Gillespie (1995) study
Punjabis in London and found that ethnic minorities often use the media to look outside their primary socialisation and discover new norms & values
Convergence
Coming together of media
Interactivity
Audience participation in the creation of media
Intertextuality
Media that is about other media
Globalisation
The opening up of the world economically through production and consumption
What did Blundell (2001) write
Important changes in the media can be subdivided into: Convergence Intertextuality Globalisation Interactivity
Advantages of audience participation
Anonymous - can get advice
Gives people a voice
Easy access to everything
Free global connection
Disadvantages of audience participation
Humiliation - can ruin self esteem Inappropriate material Media addicts Lack of parental guidance Info based on opinion Misleading info Hacking
Post modernism
The world is becoming more fragmented … more choices as we are bombarded with images in the media from other cultures and countries
Advantages of globalisation
Advanced technology allows us to communicate faster and more effectively
Freedom of information means countries shouldn’t be able to hide political crimes
Social networking makes it easier to stay in touch with friends and family and share experiences
International news and ads makes us aware of what’s happening around the world and increases our understanding of other cultures
Disadvantages of globalisation
Expensive and said to cause a divide between those who have and those who don’t
The spread of culture and religion across nations has led to extreme acts of terrorism
Spread of Americanised culture can lead to national culture being ignored
Freedom of information can be inhibited if governments decide to limit what people have access to
What is globalisation driven by
Those who have ownership of the media
What are the three ways Moore has categorised ownership
Concentration - Media owned by a small number of MNC’s e.g. News International owns Sky, 20th Century Fox, Sun, Times, Wall Street Journal
Globalisation - Companies are transnational e.g. Coca-Cola
Diversification - Large companies own all different types of media e.g. Virgin sell wide range of products and services
Marxist’s theory
Capitalist owners control cultural images that influence the public. The ruling class can promote their norms and values
Pluralist’s theory
Argues against Marxism and claims the audience are in control of media - due to increased interactivity and attention to ratings
Trowler (1996) debated the effects of ownership and the digital age. What are the positives
Race, gender and disability will not be important; only the creation of interesting information. So everyone will be equal in the virtual digital age
Daily tasks such as shopping and working will be done from home, reducing pollution and saving time
Getting info will be easy
Censorship will become a thing of the past as there is too much information and controlling it will not be possible
Trowler (1996) debated the effects of ownership and the digital age. What are the negatives
Copyright will no longer exist as in the digital age it will be impossible to enforce the law
The larger media companies will take over smaller internet providers, which will simply continue the patterns of concentration
The specialist services and efficient software will only be available at an extra cost, this dividing the rich and poor
Selection
The choice made in the creation of media
Bias
The deliberate or actual distortion or partial reporting of reality
Editor
Person who decides on the final content of a media product
Gatekeeper
A label for the editors and creators of media as they are the people who decide which ideas/stories make it through to publication
Censorship
Restrictions on the freedom of speech
What are the 8 ways Trowler believes we receive media
A window An interactive link A carrier of information A filter A mirror A barrier An interpreter A signpost
How is the media a window
Openly shows us other worlds
How is the media an interactive link
Links us to other people
How is the media a carrier of information
Gives us knowledge
How is the media a filter
We only receive partial info only representing certain views
How is the media a mirror
It reflects our lives
How is the media a barrier
Prevents real knowledge
How is the media an interpreter
Decided what’s important info
How is the media a signpost
Shows us what’s important
Problems of not having censorship and their solutions
Some info about the government could damage society if it were common knowledge -> Official Secrets Act
During wars info about the army needs to remain confidential -> D notice
Children watching sexual or violent material is inappropriate -> certification and watershed
Media can spread horrible lies and ruin people’s reputations -> Libel/slander laws
Media can incite hatred based on racism, sexism, disability or other factors -> discrimination laws to prevent hatred of groups
What is the Official Secrets act
This is a contract signed by government employees agreeing not to disclose confidential material
What is the D notice
All information on the armed forces had to be passed for release by the armed forces
What is certification
Putting an appropriate ages on material preventing those too young from watching
What is watershed
Ensuring media is child friendly up to a certain time (9pm)
Arguments against censorship
No one should prevent freedom of speech
No one should limit what information is available about the government
The media should report the truth
The public should decide what their children can and cannot watch
The public should decide what needs censoring
The media should remain impartial and provide argument for and against all situations so the public can decide on the rights and wrongs of what’s reported
Cultural Effects Model
This model states that the media has an effect on its audience. Repeated messages from the media enter our consciousness and new norms are set
E.g. The negative effects of ‘scrounging immigrants’ lead the public to believe that immigrants are those who take from society rather than give
Two-step Flow model
This model accepts that an audience is affected by the media, but it’s an indirect effect. Some people are seen as opinion leaders & interpret the media for others
E.g. Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand were taken off air due to complaints, which weren’t based on hearing their show, but on the media opinion of the show
Uses and gratifications model
This model argues that the audience isn’t passive and chooses which media to watch
The effects of the media are the desired effects of the audience
Hypodermic syringe model
This model suggests that the audience passively accepts the message ‘injected’ into them by the mass media
This model believes that there is a direct correlation between the violent behaviour shown on TV, computer games et cetera and antisocial criminal behaviour and real life
How does the case of Jamie Bulger (1993) support the idea of the hypodermic syringe model
Jon Venables and Robert Thompson had performed several acts of violence on Jamie Bulger that they had previously seen in Child’s Play 3
How does Bandura’s research support the Hypodermic Syringe model
He conducted a Bobo doll experiment and found children copying what they saw
What did McCabe and Martin (2005) argue
That imitation was a likely outcome of media violence because, often media portrays such violence as being heroic
‘Disinhibition effect’
Such violent acts are then carried out by young people as they believe it is acceptable
How do editors make their stories interesting
Pictures Pace Silly season stories Folk Devils and moral panics Ethnocentrism Media hype Political bias
What does McQuail (1992) argue
That news is socially manufactured because ‘gatekeepers’ such as editors and journalists make choices and judgements about how much coverage they will give to certain events
Critics argue that the process of news selection is biased because it is dependent of what 3 influences
Organisational or bureaucratic constraint
The news values held by media organisation
Ownership, ideology and bias
What are organisational or bureaucratic routines
The processes in which news is collected may eventually lead to biases in what is being presented or reported
How are organisational or bureaucratic routines illustrated
Sources of news - biased
Financial costs - expensive to travel the world to foreign countries for news
Time or space available - not enough time to include all news stories
Deadlines - Journalists have to work to deadlines
Immediacy and actuality
News Values
The media’s decision that stories are worthy of being called news
What factors increase News-Worthiness
Extraordinariness Threshold Unambiguity Reference to elite Personalisation Negativity
Why does extraordinariness increase News-Worthiness
Unexpected or rare events have more news-worthiness than routine events
Why does threshold increase news-worthiness
The bigger the event, the more likely it will be nationally reported
Why does unambiguity increase news-worthiness
Events which are easy to grasp / understand are more likely to be reported
Why does reference to the elite increase news-worthiness
Showing coverage of the famous and powerful are often seen as more news-worthy
Why does personalisation increase news-worthiness
Events may be personalised by associating a particular celebrity or group with the specific event
Why does negativity increase news-worthiness
Bad news seems to be more exciting than good news to journalists
Traditional media
Newspapers Magazines Books Television Radio Cinema
New media
Internet Mobile phones Digital radio Satellite TV DVD's Video games
What are the three ways newspapers were traditionally grouped
Quality Broadsheets e.g. The Times, The Daily Telegraph
Middle-market tabloids e.g. Daily Mail and Daily Express
Mass Market tabloids or ‘red tops’ e.g. the Sun or the Mirror
What are newspapers main sources of profit
Sales of newspapers itself
Sale of space in the paper to advertise
Moral Panics
When the media causes a group, person or situation to become seen as a threat to society
Moral Entrepreneurs
A person, group or organisation with the power to create or enforce rules and impose their morals, views and attitudes onto others e.g. Teachers, Politicians, Parents and Religious Leaders
Folk Devils
Over-simplified, ill-informed generalisations of a particular people/social groups who Moral Entrepreneurs wish to demonise
What are examples of Folk Devils
Mods and Rockers Muslims Lone Parent families Immigrants Hoodies
How do Moral Entrepreneurs generate Moral Panics
Labelling groups and Folk Devils - as well as exaggerating the extent of these problems in society
How does the media cause moral panics (Stanley Cohen, 1972)
Focusing on a group, person or situation
Repeated coverage
Sensationalisation
Distortion
Exaggeration
Stereotyping and the creation of Fold Devils
Calling for action against the group, person or situation
How are ethnic minorities stereotyped through
Distortion Repetition Socialisation Invisibility Role models
How are ethnic minorities stereotyped through distortion
Information passes through a filter and roles are changed to give a certain view (Trowler)
How are ethnic minorities stereotyped through repetition
The constant bombardment of the audience with one type of image makes the image seem normal
How are ethnic minorities stereotyped through socialisation
Through the media we discover the desirable norms and values; otherwise known as ‘norm-setting’
How are ethnic minorities stereotyped through invisibility
Not seeing certain role models makes them seem abnormal e.g. house husbands
How are ethnic minorities stereotyped through Role models
Faced with famous examples of roles, we imitate them, hoping to gain their lifestyles
What did Provento (1991) study and conclude
Compute games and concluded that women are often not named, merely being someone’s girlfriend or a princess
Games were also additionally macho and that images of both genders were usually young and attractive
How do music lyrics show gender bias
Images of women are often sexist and sexual and images of men are often aggressive and predatory
What do Feminists argue that women’s magazines are
Apprentice manuals for motherhood and domesticity
What do men’s magazines offer
Socialisation of how to be a man. They include info on how to be a man and articles on typical men’s hobbies e.g. cars and gadgets
Pros of globalisation
Gets rid of censorship
Social networking - find long lost relatives
Increases understanding of other cultures - less racism
Cons of globalisation
We need censorship for children
Moore - media owned by elite and only their views shown
Trowler - ‘Digibabble’
