Media Flashcards
What is ‘Media’?
Technology involved in communicating with large mass audiences without any personal contact;
Radio, internet, books, films, smartphones, etc.
What is ‘Traditional Media’?
Name an example.
Mass media that communicated in a one-way, non-interactive manner
Radio, Sunday newspapers
What is ‘New Media’?
Interactive screen-based technology involving the distribution and consumption of digitized media content
What is ‘Globalization’?
The interconnectedness of societies and the spread of culture across the world
What is a ‘Global Village’?
the world viewed as a community/village in which distance and isolation have been dramatically reduced by electronic media
What is ‘Concentration of ownership’?
Most kinds of media concentrated in the hands of a few people
What is ‘Vertical Integration’?
give an example
Owning all stages in the media production
A film company that owns cinema chains
Social media company own phone companies
What is ‘Horizontal integration’?
give an example
Ownership of different media types
(Not Real) Meta owning social media companies, newspaper companies, owning radio companies, etc
Name the 6 legal limits on media
- The law of libel
- The Official Secrets Act
- DSMA
- The Racial and Religious Hatred Act
- The Obscene Publications Act
- Contempt of Court provision
What is ‘‘The Law of Libel’?
Forbids publication of an untrue statement about someone, which may make them publicly distasted
What is ‘The Official Secrets Act’?
The law makes it a criminal offense to report on any official government activity (official secrets)
What is ‘The Racial and Religious Act’?
Forbids the expression of opinions which may encourage hatred against certain people because of beliefs, race, ethnicity, etc
What is ‘DSMA’?
This requests journalists not to report on defence or counter terrorist information
What is ‘The Obscene Publications Act’?
Forbids the publication of anything the court considers obscene or indecent
What is ‘Contempt of Court provision’?
Forbids the reporting of cases which are still being dealt with by the court, and is likely to jeopardize the chance of a fair trial
What is ‘Ofcom’ and what roles does it play in media?
Ofcom is a powerful media regulator, regulating TV, radio, and wireless communication services.
for e.g.
- Makes sure media has a broad appeal
- Protects public from harmful media
- Furthering interests of the public
What is the ‘ISPO’ and what role does it play?
The ISPO is an independent regulator for the newspaper industry in the UK.
- ISPO investigates complaints about content of newspaper
- Monitors and maintains standards of journalism
What is ‘BBC’ and why is it different to other broadcasting
The BBC are largely state-owned therefore have no advertisements in their content. These state funds come from the TV License every household in the UK pays for.
What are ‘independent Broadcasters’?
All non-BBC television and radio stations
Fund themselves by using advertsiments
Name 3 ways governments influence and control media output (apart from media laws).
- Official government press conferences; allowing their position to be presented in the media
- Leaks and off the record briefings; leaking stuff to journalists so journalists give favourable coverage tot eh government in the media
- Spin Doctors; releasing government news along side other news to make sure they get perceived the best way possible, releasing bad government news when there’s already something worse happening in the news, these people will be distracted by the already bad news and won’t look to harshly on the bad government news.
- Refusal to issue broadcasting licenses to those they see as ‘unsuitable’
- Refusal to allow some form of computer software and the use of filtering
- Electronic surveillance of emails and websites
What is ‘Global Ownership’?
give an example
Media ownership is international
e.g. SKY owns media in Italy, Australia, UK
What is ‘Conglomeration’?
Ownership in unrelated industries;
Sony owning McDonalds, done to make sure not all eggs are in one basket
What is ‘Global Conglomerate’?
Media owned by global conglomerates
What is ‘Synergy’?
When a company promotes and sales products in different ways;
A movie being promoted in newspapers or social media or promoted by other companies
What is ‘Technological Convergence’?
Media companies maximising sales by making products available in a variety of forms
What’s an ‘Ideological State Apparatuses’?
The things (social institutions) the dominant class use to push out their ideology and justify the power they hold, these things are; media, school, religion, etc
What is ‘False Class Consciousness’?
A concept which states individuals in a society are not aware of what their true interests are or have an incorrect idea of what their interests are, due to the dominant ideology in society successfully deciding their true interests.
Summarize the Traditional Marxist view on media
Suggests media owners have direct control of media content and manipulate that content and media audiences to protect profits and spread the dominant ideology. Classic Marxists assume media audiences are passive and uncritical
Name 3 criticisms of the Traditional Marxist view
- If media owners are focused on profits, they will try their best to gather a large audience and advertise to this large audiences, however to gather these people, you must give the people what they’re actually interested in, therefore not being able to push out your own (the owner) ideology.
- The Classic Marxist view is outdated as there are a variety of media forms where the owners aren’t directly in control. Like in social media, content is put out by the common person rather than owners.
- There are various regulations which stop media owners from have too much power.
- People aren’t as gullible and stupid as the classic Marxist makes it seem
What’s a ‘Neophiliac’?
People who dislike the same mundane routine life and embrace new change and technology.
Name a Classic Marxist sociologist
- Louis Althusser
- Herbert Marcuse
Summarize the Neo Marxist view on media
Although media owners have powerful influence, they rarely have day-to-day control of the media content, which is left in the hands of editors and journalists. Instead, they believe mass media spread a dominant ideology justifying the power of the ruling class.
-
Name a criticism of the Neo Marxist view
- Underrates the power of owners; owners can pressure employees to push out what they want as the employee literally depend on the owner for work.
- There are a variety of media forms where the owners can’t brainwash. Like in social media, content is put out by the common person rather than owners.
Summarize the Pluralist view on media
Based on the distribution of power, Pluralists believe no group has a monopoly on power. Instead, media owners are only concerned with making a profit, and if media owners are focused on profits, they will try their best to gather a large audience and advertise to this large audiences, however to gather these people, you must give the people what they’re actually interested in. Therefore the market mechanism and the forces of supply and demand work out the market (media).
Name a criticism of the Pluralist view
- The pressure to attract large audiences doesn’t increase media choice but limits it; this is because less quality content is pumped out and the only objective of this low quality content is to get the attention of the audience.
- Media has created its own interests, meaning what the people want is what the media wants
What is ‘Mass culture’?
give 3 examples
Culture associated will working class (the masses).
- Football
- Rap
- Gaming
What is ‘High Culture’?
Culture associated with the bourgeoisie
- Opera
- Horse riding
- Plays
Summarise the post modernist view of the globalisation of media
They regard the diversity of globalised media as means to offer consumers more choice and believe the distinction between high and mass culture as blurred
Summarise the Marxist view on the globalisation of media
They see mass culture as simply mass produced, manufactured products imposed by global media businesses for profit; they see popular culture as a form of social control, an illusion of free choice.
What does Marcuse (2002) suggest about the consumption of globalised media
He believes it has an emphasis on relaxation and fun, undermining peoples ability to critically think and promoting social acceptance
What does Garrod (2004) suggest about the globalisation of media
He suggests reality TV shows and social media are blurring the distinction between reality, leaving audiences confused about what’s real; this is referred to as hyperreality
What does Baudrillard (1988) suggest about the globalisation of media
He argues we now live in a media saturated society and media distorts the way we see the world, this distortion is referred to as hyperreality
What does Srinati (1995) suggest about the globalisation of media
Believes media plays an important role in shaping consumer choices and it dominates how we view ourselves
What does Livingstone (1988) suggest about the globalisation of media
They found that TV shows inform the public about important issues, discussing topics about child abuse, misogyny, racism and homophobia
What is ‘Global Culture’?
The way in which different cultures in different countries have become more alike, kind of having a unified culture.
What does Kellner (1995) suggest about the power of globalized media
Kellner argues that media has the power to globally produce images of lifestyles that form people identities and views on the world
What is ‘cultural homogenization’?
refers to the reduction in cultural diversity through the popularization of mixing cultures
What does Sklair (2012) suggest about the power of globalized media
Suggests media blurs the differences between information, entertainment and promotion of products, promoting a consumerist lifestyle.
What is ‘Media and cultural imperialism’?
Media and cultural values are being forced on non western culture, undermining cultural independence
What is the Pluralist view on high/mass culture?
They believe there is no such thing as high/mass culture, new media’s global reach offer a wide range of media products
What is ‘Technological Convergence’?
Refers to the way in which a single device combines various media technologies (e.g. smartphones allow you to make calls, read books, read the news, take photos etc.).
What does Livingstone and Bovill say about technological convergence
Converging of screen technologies contributes to the blurring of the boundaries between traditionally distinct activities
What does Jenkins (2008) say about cultural convergence
technological convergence brings about the process of cultural convergence, whereby consumers are encouraged to seek out and share new information, promoting a participatory culture.
What is ‘Participatory Culture’?
Refers to the way public don’t just act as consumers only, but as contributors or producers of media content
Name the 5 features of new media
- Digitality
- Interactivity
- Hypertextually
- Dispersal
- Virtuality
What is ‘digitality’?
being digital rather than analogue; all analogue data is converted into binary code
What is ‘Interactivity’?
Participatory culture; Referring to Web 2 in which users are able to collaborate and interact with one another, compared to in Web 1 where users limited to only passive viewing.
What is ‘Hypertextually’?
links between different media texts that form a web of connections
What is ‘Dispersal’?
the new media has become less centralized and has adapted to individual choices; everyone now uses media and electronics, rather than just media professionals
What is ‘Virtuality’?
People can immerse themselves in unreal (imaginary) experiences such as gaming and virtual reality.
Name 2 statistics on who uses new media
- 84% of UK households had internet access
- 48% of all adults had social media profiles
- UK spends around 27 hours a week watching TV
- On average, over half of adults’ waking hours are spent using media
- Advertisers spend more money on new media than old media
What is the ‘Digital Divide’?
The gap between those people with effective access to the digital information compared to those who lack access
What is ‘Digital Underclass’?
A digital underclass is made up of people who don’t have access to computers and the internet.
What did Helsper (2011) say about digital underclass
A digital underclass is forming in the UK and those without lower education levels and no employment are lagging behind others in terms of access to the internet
Name 2 things Ofcom found about young people’s use of new media compared to older people.
- Young people spend more time online
- Young people are more likely to own and use a smart phone
- Young people are more confident in using new media
- Young people are likely to get news from their phones, rather than
anywhere else
Name 2 things Ofcom found about the differences between men and women use new media
- Game consoles are more more popular among males than females
- Men spend 3 times as much time watching videos than women
- Young women receive more texts and calls than young men
- More females report high addiction to their phones than men
Summarise how children are represented 0-14
Kids are generally represented in a positive way, often a figure for consuming toys and games
Summarisation of representation of youth 15-23
- subject to negative stereotyping, portrayed as rebels
- which are then driven by media news values which output sensational headlines and exaggerate deviant behaviour of youths
- youth are used as scapegoat as they are powerless
Summarisation of representation of older people
- invisible and presented in negative ways in the media
Older men are seen as wise
Older women are symbolically annihilated; past their best best
Summarisation of representation of social class
- Working class are stereotyped in negative ways; dumb, troublesome and chavs
- Middle class are represented in a positive light; mature educated, successful
- Upperclass are represented as powerful people; well bred, cultured and superior.
Summarisation of representation of ethnicity
- Black and Asian are used as scapegoats, represented as; deviants, threat, talentless, having international problems
- However, there are now more Asians and blacks in tv shows
- Islam has become a stigmatised identity seen as abnormal and undesirable due to terrorism
- Ho
Summarization of representation of gender
Men are shown as;
- dominant
- aggressive
- independent
- risk taking
Women are shown as
- Gentle
- Emotional
- Weak
- concern for appearance
“‘Lords of the Global Village’
These ‘Lords’ control every step in the information, creation and distribution process.
Bagdikian
“Media moguls such as Murdoch undermine editorial independence and press editorial staff to adopt the same right-wing, conservative views as the moguls”
Evans
“Most journalists tend to be white, middle-class and male, therefore share the same views as the dominant class”
Glasgow Media Group
“Companies and brands now operate on a global scale, promoting a global culture along with the consumerist lifestyle associated with them”
Ritzer
“cocacolonzation resulting in cultural and media imperialism”
Fenton
“globalisation does not involve a direct cultural imposition from the Western world, but instead there is a hybridisation of cultures whereby individuals can ‘pick and mix’”
Tomlinson
“citizen journalism through mobile phone picture and videos at the scene of news events is transforming traditional journalism.”
Bivens
“The importance of news values is also underpinned by the economic pressure of needing a profit”
Galtung and Ruge
“journalists attach the greatest importance to the views of the powerful and influential individuals and groups”
Becker
“Young people are an easily identifiable group to blame for society’s problems”
Cohen
“audiences accuse the media of being ‘insulting’ and ‘out of step’ with the ageing society”
White et al
“content of newspapers aimed at working-class audiences”
Curran and Seaton
“Media exaggerate the extent of black crime, and suggest that black people are more prone to criminality than white people”
Hall et al
“there is a male gaze in media content”
Mulvey
“Magazines traditionally prepare girls for feminized adult roles, and generated a ‘cult of femininity’”
Ferguson
“To avoid the risk of offending heterosexual audiences, mainstream media represent gay sexuality in a ‘sanitised’ way”
Gill
“lesbians are highly sexualised, which links to the heterosexual male fantasy”
Gill
“audiences adopt a certain opinion after discussion with a group leader (two-step flow model)”
Katz and Lazarsfeld
“people use the media actively to fulfil their own personal needs, which is dependent on class, age, gender, etc”
Blumer & McQuail
“3 filters people apply when interpreting the media:
- Selective exposure
- Selective perception
- Selective retention”
Klapper
“media transmits capitalist norms and values through a slow drip drip effect over a long period of time”
Glasgow Media Group
“information, like knowledge, is power. The internet is accessible to anyone, therefore there are greater opportunities to report, criticise and publish”
McNair
Name 3 reasons why neophiliacs believe new media is good for society
- More informed consumers
- Greater democracy
- More access to all kinds of information
- The world as a global village
- Social life and social interaction is enhanced
Name 3 reasons why cultural pessimists believe new media is bad for society
- Threat to democracy
- Cultural and media imperialism
- Lack of valid information
- Lack of regulation
- Commercialisation and lack of consumer choice
- Increasing surveillance
- The undermining of human relationships and communications
