Media: News Values / Media Representations / Media Audiences Flashcards
What does the GMG suggest about the selection and presentation of news stories?
They’re influenced by the dominant ideology of society; they have to present stuff that’s newsworthy
Give examples of news values (stuff that makes news “newsworthy”)
-Negativity (e.g scandals - unfortunately bad news is what makes sales)
-External shocks (e.g Wars)
-If it’s eye-catching (if it’s out of the ordinary / if it’s exaggerative)
-If it’s about celebrities/ royal family members
-Clarity (if it’s easy to understand)
-Proximity (how close the events are to the audience)
According to Bagdikian, how is advertisement important?
News reports will be presented in such a way that avoids offending advertisers
How does Curran et al agree with Bagdikian’s conception of advertising?
He talks about how there’s conservatism within the media (the avoidance of criticising the way society is organised) - this avoids turning off advertisers and offending media audiences
Who criticises Curran et al?
Pluralists, as they believe that through new technology (which has paved the way for citizen journalism) there’s a vast range of opinions being exposed and voiced, regardless of it’s offensive.
-Therefore new technology provides evidence for proof in order to go against RC opinions and conservatism within the media.
What is the only critique of new technology and citizen journalism?
There may be rumours spread if there’s no contextual info provided, leading to false info being spread.
What is agenda setting and how do Marxists think this is apart of dominant ideology?
It’s where the media manage what issues are up for discussion and the narrative they want to push forward.
-Marxists that believe in the manipulative approach of dominant ideology may suggest that media companies can manipulate what’s up to discussion in order to spread their RC interests.
Why do pluralists oppose the idea of agenda setting and the manipulative approach?
They argue there’s a wide range of opinions/ narratives (because of citizen journalism)
They also believe media companies focus on making profits, so therefore they’d want to appeal to as large of an audience as possible, so therefore they wouldn’t want to agenda set.
What is norm setting and how does the media do this?
-This describes the way the media reinforce conformity to social norms, and isolate those who don’t conform (by presenting them in an unfavourable manner)
This is achieved in 2 ways:
1.) Encouraging conformist behaviour: not going on strike; obeying the law
2.) Discouraging non-conformist behaviour: emphasising the serious consequences for those who break the social norms (by murdering, rioting, football hooliganism, violent fights, etc.)
-Althusser believes norm setting is a form of social control for the bourgeoisie in the form of an ISA
What is an example of inaccurate reporting from the media
The situation with mods & rockers (where the media exaggerated and gaslighted/instigated circumstances through their titles and by offering money to people who may have been mods or rockers to go to specific places like Brighton to then cause fights, just so they can journal them and gain money)
What does Stonewall say about the LGBTQ community?
They’re going through symbolic annihilation within the media:
-in a total of 126 hours of tv programmes, only 5 hours was focused on LGBTQ, but only 46 mins of this was showing them realistically and positively
What is the “beauty myth” that has been created by the media?
The concept that the bodies of real women have been made invisible and symbolically annihilated, and have been replaced by unrealistic and unattainable beauty
How are women represented in the media?
-The WAG: wives and girlfriends of men, concerned with being sexually attractive
-Sex objects
-Optimistic homemakers
-The angel (“good”, “pure” character with sensitivity and a little sexuality towards her husband)
-The victim in crime dramas or horror films
How are male representations within the media seen as dominant?
-They’re seen as violent
-They’re generally seen as leaders and problem solvers
-They rarely cry or show vulnerability
-Male characters are mostly shown in the workplace and rarely at home
How does the media represent social class?
-The underclass are represented as abnormal
-Class is represented as a choice instead of an economic category (with the focus being on the individual and their spending habits instead of the their social class and the inequality in the distribution of income & wealth)
What is the functionalist perspective on the media representation of social class?
Functionalists justify class inequality, as they depict the WC as fulfilling the lower status but necessary roles, that are therefore allowing society to function
They however underplay the systemic inequalities within society.
What is the marxist perspective on the media representation of social class?
They believe that capitalist ideology is reinforced, as they portray success and wealth as an attainable thing for anyone, thus distracting the WC from the realities of exploitation
How are ethnic minorities portrayed within the media
They’re seen as a threat and abnormal:
-Poole claims that Islam has always been demonised and ostracised as terrorists
-Van dijk says African caribbeans are seen as criminals in the tabloid press
They’re negatively portrayed, which links to negativity being one of the News values, meaning people are more likely to read stories about negative stereotypes
What are the media’s stereotypes of different age groups?
- Children up to the age of 14 are represented as innocent consumers of toys & games; Any older and they’re portrayed as delinquents
- According to Lee et al, old men are seen as wise, healthy people in their “golden age” ; however in the UK (according to Biggs) they’re seen as unpleasant and forgetful
- Older women are symbolically destroyed and made invisible
How was there moral panic of homosexuality?
In the 1980s, there was more reporting on HIV being focused on the gay community
How has the portrayal of homosexuality shifted in the media over the years?
Early in the media, the LGBTQ community was typically placed in a negative framing (e.g in the 80s with HIV contractions)
However in modern media, they’re much more represented in a rather positive light
What are the problems with researching the effects of media on the audience?
1.) It’s hard to establish whether it’s the media or social factors (e.g socialisation, environment, etc.) that cause any alleged effects
2.) It’s hard to establish which media has caused any alleged effects: It could be the TV/newspapers or the new media with social apps
3.) It’s hard to know what people’s values & behaviours would’ve been without the media (I.e they could still be racist/sexist without any media influence)
Why do Marxists support the hypodermic “syringe” model of the media?
They believe the media is an agent of ideological control, as it “injects” ideas, attitudes & beliefs of the dominant ideology into the audience.
What does the hypodermic syringe model suggest about the audience?
They’re seen as unthinking, passive receivers of dominant ideology (according to Marxists), sexist, racist & violent images.
This’ll cause them to mimic/imitate whatever they see (as they can’t think for themselves)
What do McCabe & Martin believe about the media?
The violence the media portrays has a disinhibition effect:
where children are convinced that in certain social situations, violence is necessary instead of negotiation/discussion (or peace)
What is Newson’s criticism about violence being shown in the media? (and what did this critic lead to?)
Violent images have been made too easily available to children (as the media is easily accessible), meaning children have been desensitised.
Therefore his conclusion led to the censorship of the film industry, with the BBFC applying age certificates, and also TV companies adopting the 9 O’clock watershed
What is the 9 O’clock watershed?
Where TV shows that feature bad language or sexual/violent nature shouldn’t be shown before 9pm
Criticisms of the Syringe model
-Fesbach & Sanger looked at the concept of “Catharsis” : where screen violence & video game range provide a safe outlet for people’s violent tendencies, therefore reducing aggressive behaviour outside this realm
-Ramos et al argued that seeing violence actually makes viewers more sensitive, and therefore less inclined to commit violent acts.
-The media is scapegoated (it’s blamed for violence amongst young people, when it can be other social factors)
-It assumes the audience is passive & homogenous (react in the same way to media content);
however people may have a range of responses depending on their social situations/characteristics (e.g their age, gender, ethnicity & class)
-It assumes the media and its owners have enormous power & influence over what their audience believe
What does the Two step flow model suggest?
First there are opinion leaders who interpret media content in order to form their opinion
Then they pass on their opinions to others in their social groups, thus influencing others’ interpretations & perceptions of that media content
Criticisms of the Two-step flow model
-People aren’t always as easily influenced by other people’s opinions (people who aren’t opinion leaders aren’t as passive as this model may assume)
-The opinion leader isn’t always the same : they may have different opinions depending on who the opinion leader is
What is the cultural effects model about?
-How the audience actually interpret what they’re consuming, and may react in different ways (depending on their social characteristics)
-However they’re susceptible to dominant ideology through the drip-drip effect
What is the drip-drip effect?
How the media gradually influences the audience.
E.g if ethnic minorities are always portrayed in the context of crime, then over time negative stereotypes may form of ethnic minorities
Therefore over time dominant ideology is viewed as common sense
Why are the GMG critical of media texts?
Because of the encoding and agenda setting which makes most people unknowingly accept the dominant media’s ideas & beliefs
What is the Uses & Gratifications model about?
This model assumes that media audiences are thinking active humans who use the media for their own interests:
McQuail suggests a variety of uses & gratifications of the media:
-For leisure/relaxation
-Entertainment
-To access info about issues or for personal queries
-To keep up with friends & family
