Media Flashcards
What is media?
The media is a form of communication society uses to give information to the public
It can be used to educate inform and entertain the public
Why do sociologists disagree on what counts as media?
Some would say all mobile technology but others only include it when it’s used to communicate to a large audience
What does new media allow?
Audiences are able to interact with media providers the media has become a multi way network
What does Marshall McLuhan count as media?
Any kind of technology that helped people to communicate eve cars and clocks
What is content analysis?
Measures how often a word, phrase or theme is used in a piece of media to get quantitive data
How can context analysis be used?
To investigate the relationships between two phrases or themes
However it can take a long time and it doesn’t take the context into account
How can you use an experiment to study media?
Look at how an audience responds for example their behaviour after watching a violent film
What are the disadvantages of using experimental methods to study media?
They are often short so don’t look at long term effects
People behave differently if they know they are in a study
Questionnaire or interview needs to be able to get meaningful results avoiding and bias
Who is the media owned by?a few powerful companies and individuals
One company will often own more then one form of media which can be in several different countries
Who is Rupert murdoch?
News corp who owns tv stations newspapers books magazines publishers and websites
Where does new corps own news newspapers
It’s owns newspapers in Australia Britain and USA
Owns tv networks in Australia Asia Europe north and South America
What has happened to media ownership in the past 30 years?
Fewer people own it America media is mainly owned by 6 huge corporations TimeWarner Disney News Corp CBS Viacom
How do the individuals who own the big six have power?
They can influence society by controlling the information we receive
What did Silvio Berlusconi do?
He was voted for prime minister three times. He owns a lot of media and some said he used them to control reporting of his political party and the opposition
What is censorship?
The process used to control the content of the media that’s considered harmful or offensive to society
Why can censorship be done!
Moral political and security reasons
What do traditional Marxists say about ownership and control?
Owners of the media exploit their power to manipulate the media. Capitalist owners tell news editor what stories to cover and views to put across
These views encourage proletariat to be passive and happy to serve the bourgeoisie
That do neo Marxist think about ownership and control?
The control over the media is indirect.
The world view of the elite is reinforced by the media by presenting the values and ideas as common sense.
This is known as cultural hegemony
What do neo Marxists think about people who work in media?
People who work in the media are trained to present a certain view of the world which becomes natural
What did the Frankfurt school say?
Advertising in the media makes people feel they need the goods produced in a capitalist economy which is known as false needs
What do pluralists think about the media?
It reflects the values and beliefs of society which is made up of different parts
What do postmodernist think?
Consumption is important. The cultural products and media that you can but and consume form your identity
What do postmodernist pluralist think 💭
People can chose to consume and of the opinions that they think people want to read and buy
What do pluralists think about the audience
Their are always alternative views so people can chose a different media source if they don’t like what they are reading
Owners want to stay in business so stick to stories that won’t offend readers
What do postmodernist pluralists think about journalist?
Journalists and editors decide what media content they are going to publish which limits he power of the owners creating more diversity
How does the state restrict power of media owners ?
Their are groups and organisations who regulate the media making sure the owners don’t have too much power
Public service broadcasters are also regulated its publicly funded and produces as many views as possible
Why does Curran disagree with pluralists?
Owners still interfere in the produce of media and it’s been controlled by a small amount of individuals for a long time
What are the advantages of new media?
It’s accessible for most people it can be shared easily and is often free it also gives audience more control as they can access most things on demand
What does convergence mean?
You can use one digital device to access lots of different new media content such as playing music visiting news sites and reading an e book
How is their more interactivity?
The audience can contact live radio shows using twitter and Facebook
Why do sociologists disagree about whether new media is revolutionary
Some say cultures economies and individuals have been transformed by new media such as attitudes towards privacy
However many people thinks it’s just evolved from technology that already existed
Who uses new media?
Mainly young people however he amount of old people using it is increasing
What happens to people who can’t access new media?
They are called the digital underclass
Many things relays on the internet such as getting a passport or to register to vote
Who is most likely to be the digital underclass?
People who are often in poverty are excluded from new media as they can’t afford to pay for broadband or media devises
People in rural areas have limited internet access
What are cultural pessimists?
They see new media as a negative thing
Why do cultural pessimists see new media as a negative thing?
1) mainly controlled by powerful multinational corporations
2) there controlled by the state reducing everyone’s privacy
3) freedom of information offensive views on women racism or terrorism can be easily shared
What’s an example of the state invading people’s privacy?
The American state security secretly hacked thousands of people’s emails
How do Neophiliacs see new media?
New media is a positive force
Why do neophiliacs see new media as a positive force?
Development of technology has increased consumer choice
Makes society democratic as you can share more information and views
Tv content can be shared across countries. Some shows such as doctor who becomes global phenomena creating shared culture
Why do some sociologists think new media can break cultural hegemony?
Communication such as YouTube is less regulated and gives you an opportunity to create your own media representing society as a whole
How is news influenced by practical constraints?
1) time - easy available stories are more likely to get in the news. They often use the same contacts for convenience getting limited view points
2) technical constraints - some places are too difficult to get cameras, microphones and journalists so won’t be made into a story
3) budget - places they already have contacts or reporters are cheaper to produce
4) competition - publish stories that will become popular to sell more
What is a Bureaucratic news values
News should be current simple and brief
What are Cultural news values
News should be unexpected fouceused on important people relevant to the audience and preferably bad news
What is agenda setting?
Journalists have to choose a bit of news and they way to report it which could effect the way the story is perceived. It’s usually what attracts audience
Gate keeping
Editor filters stories by choosing which stories to print
