Ownership and Control Flashcards
What are the different forms of ownership?
Private ownership - media organization; run for profit by people/families
State ownership - media owned and controlled by governments e.g. China
Public Service Broadcasting ownership - controlled by state but are impartial and cater for all audiences
What is vertical and horizontal integration?
Vertical integration - attempts by media organisations to own all areas of their business
Horizontal integration - an organisation begins in one area and branches to a different area of media ownership
What is lateral expansion?
=> Media owners expand into other business areas to spread economic risk
=> Losses made in one area can be compensated for profits in another
What is lateral expansion?
Media owners expand into other business areas to spread economic risk; losses made in one area can be compensated for profits in another
What is technological convergence?
=> Trend of putting several technologies into one media delivery system e.g. smartphones, tablets or laptops
=> An example would be the Apple iPhone and how it has music, films, TV, apps and games
What does pluralism argue audiences should be?
=> Free to choose content
=> Active and not easily manipulated
=> Free to select, reject and re-interpret
=> Increasingly producing their own content
=> Determine media content, rather than content being determined by owners
Who do pluralists say control the media?
Media is controlled by audiences since media owners only care about turning a profit and if they don’t provide what the audiences want, business will fail.
What is a pluralist take on media?
=> Media products are extremely diverse so all points of view in society are catered for.
=> If some viewpoints have a greater range of media representing them, it’s not biased, and instead simply mirrors what the audience wants.
What are criticisms of pluralism?
=> Media owners have power to sack journalists
=> Ownership of news agencies is very concentrated and there isn’t much independent journalism
=> Pressure to increase audiences has led to a narrowing of media content
What are criticisms of pluralism?
=> Media owners have power to sack journalists
=> Ownership of news agencies is very concentrated and there isn’t much independent journalism
=> Pressure to increase audiences has led to a narrowing of media content
How does media perform ideological functions according to Marxists?
=> They rarely inform why people continue to live in poverty and blames them, rather than capitalism
=> Presents inequality as natural
=> Negative portrayals of ethnic minorities
=> Ensures people get a narrow range of ‘approved’ views and ‘alternative’ views are rarely heard or extremist
What do Marxists say the process of media concentration has allowed?
=> Allowed media to be controlled by a small portion of media owners who directly control media content/output
=> Marxist theories strongly challenge pluralists theories
What does Miliband say about ownership and control of media?
=> Argues that mass media represents an ideological instrument that plays a role in justification of class inequality
=> Media convinces people that ruling class ideology is truth and fact
What are Marxist’s views on media owners?
Due to them having economic power to own organisations that make media content, they influence its ideological output. Media contributes to transmission of the ‘Dominant Ruling Class Ideology’.
Why do Marxists see the audience as passive?
=> They see the audience as a mass of thinking robots
=> Views are shaped by media making the audience conform
