Media ownership Flashcards
What are some examples of old media ?
-radio
-TV
-Films
What are some examples of new media ?
-Websites
-Emails
-Podcasts
What are some examples of how the media influences us ?
-Influenced by celebrities to buy products
-Fashion
-Attention span
-It can influence the beliefs we hold
What is community based media ?
Local radios and parish newspaper
What is public/state owned media ?
Funded by TV license fees, e.g. BBC
What is meant by privately owned media ?
Funded by subscription fees, e.g. Netflix, Sky and ITV
What are the current trends in media ownership ?
Media is becoming more privatized, local radios are declining and private and publicly owned companies are increasing
What is meant by media concentration ?
The number of different companies that own the main media
What is conglomeration ?
The difference in media ownership and control, this includes companies being owned by TNCs
What is meant by horizontal integration ?
This is where companies grow by expanding into different areas of the media e.g. Disney makes films and also has a range of products that are sold and the parks
What is meant by vertical integration ?
Where companies focus on owning all the industries that are needed to produce and distribute their media. E.g. making films, owning cinemas and owning a distribution company
What is meant by synergy ?
Where a company uses their first product and makes it integrated into a range of different products such as games, toys and soundtracks can all stem from one film
What is meant by lateral expansion ?
Where companies do not stay in one sector this can be found in areas such as virgin media who expanded into travel and experiences
What is meant by technological convergence ?
This involves putting several technologies into one product
What are the main characteristics of public broadcasting ?
-Free to air
-no adverts
-they have a public service aim (entertain, educate and inform)
What are the main characteristics of independent broadcasting ?
-Aim to make a profit
-owned by one major owner or shareholders
-Accused of dumbing down the media
What is meant by plurality ?
The BBC can show a wide range of shows for niche audiences such as the shipping broadcast
What is meant by public broadcasting being universal ?
It is free to all however other companies have a problem with this such as the ITV who argue that the license fee is unfair
What is meant by public broadcasting having to have decency ?
It is expected to show high quality programes however it has been recently criticized for not doing this
What is meant by public broadcasting being both local and national ?
The BBC has to show both local and public broadcasting this however makes it hard for other companies such as ITV who have to show some local news hard to make profit
What does it mean by public broadcasting having to be impartial ?
The public expect the BBC to be unbiased some argue that the license fee makes the BBC biased toward the conservatives and government as they have to argue to keep the license fee often
Why might public broadcasting be controversial ?
They are less able to show challenging programes due to strict guidelines however they have started to show more controversial programes shown more recently
What is OFCOM ?
The office of communication, it protects the public from media that could be considered as offensive
How does the law control what media can be broadcast ?
There are many laws in place that limit the content that can be shown such as the watershed which meant that a lot of media cannot be shown before 9 o’clock at night to try and prevent younger viewers from watching potentially harmful content
What is IPSO ?
The independent press standards organisation
What do pluralists argue about the media reflecting public demand ?
Companies have to satisfy public demand to be able to stay in business, the mass media know what the public want and this is what they have to provide
What do pluralists argue about diversity in the media ?
The media present a range of views to mirror society, the media would only be seen as biased if this is the majority view, power is shared between groups
What do pluralists argue about digital technology ?
Through there being easier access to media as there are a wider range of devices the power is being passed from the large company to the consumer
What do pluralists argue about media concentration ?
media concentration is needed as these people have the means of production
What is Curran and Seatons study on media concentration ?
That media concentration is needs as the large companies have the connection and means of production
What do pluralists argue about media deregulation ?
The laws now are not as controlling as in the past this means that the media can do more than in the past
What is Bagdikigan’s study which evaluates the pluralist view of the media ?
The amount of national news is increasing and the amount of local news is decreasing
What is the marxist view on profits of the media ?
Because the BBC is funded by the TV license and ITV is not they have to compete for viewers and use adverts to gain profit. The media they present might be different as they rely on viewers
What is the marxist view of digital technology
The digital media allows consumers access to a wider range of media however it may exclude those who cannot afford to buy the newest devices
What is the marxist view of the influence of the owners ?
The power of the media is limited due to their need for profit, they can manipulate the media to benefit themselves e.g. promoting their own products
What is Doyles study ?
Too much concentration in the media is dangerous as not all viewpoints will be heard and the elite could use the media to abuse their power
What is Althusers view of the media ?
Althuser argues that the media is a form of the ideological state apparatus, this means that the owners can use this to push the bourgeoises ideals onto the lower classes and create a false class consciousness
What is Milibands view of the media ?
The media is used to keep the status quo, it shapes our views and reinforces capitalism as the capitalist system is rarely criticized
What is Tunstall and Palmers view of the media ?
the government is not concerned about the actions of the media owners because they need their support to hold on to their power
What is Leven’s study on the media ?
The media is now created by both the owners and the consumers as technology has advanced
What is bruillards view of the media ?
The media means that we experience a hyper-reality, real life and how the media presents life is blurred
What is Currans study of the media ?
Analysed Rupert Murdocks empire and found that the old boys network was needed in order to maintain power and control
Who is Rupert Murdock ?
He is one of the main media giants and owned most of the news sources world-wide, he often changed the polititians he supported through his news papers to “back a winning horse”
Who is the main audience for the daily mail and the daily express ?
White middle-class conservatives
Who is the main audience for the star and the sun ?
Younger more working class audiences who are more interested in celebrity news
Who is the main focus of the financial times ?
Business-people, the focus is on business news
How is the internet and social networking changing how news reaches the audience ?
-More accessible
-Aimed at a younger audience
-Created by a more diverse group of people
-May lack validity
-AI generated media
What is meant by an institutional factor that influences the news ?
A practical constraint
What are the 5 institutional factors ?
-The news diary
-Competition and profit
-Time and space
-Financial costs
-Audience
What is meant by the news diary ?
The news producers have a timeline of future front pages and headlines such as election results, only extreme events can change what will be shown in the news such as the death of a monarch
Why is competition and profit an institutional factor ?
The owners have to sell and have viewers this means that they will show programs that are popular such as exclusive interviews
Why is time and space seen as an institutional factor ?
There is a set number of spaces and a set amount of time for the news this means that some things may not get shown because of other stories taking priority
Why are financial costs seen as an institutional factor ?
There is a cost to the offices and the journalists, companies will choose which cities to place their journalists based on the guarantee of interesting news.
Why is the audience seen as an institutional factor ?
Pluralists argue that the audience can find stories that they want to through the different media providers who each will target a different audience
What are some examples of news providers and their audience ?
The sun-celebrity stories
The daily mail-pro-brexit
The Guardian-left-wing
What are some examples of news values ?
-Proximity
-Violent crime
-Sex
-Scope
-Celebrity
How is the news seen as a social construct ?
News only becomes news when someone decides it is important, if a story has news value then it might be reported
What was Galtung and Ruge’s study ?
-Composition
-Elite nations
- Frequency
-Meaningfulness
-Negativity
-Human interest
-Proximity
-Threshold
-Simplicity, easy to understand
-Unexpectedness/shock factor
