Ownership and Control Of The Media

Question 1

List the different trends in ownership and control of the mass media

Answer 1

Christmas has lost some very good toys

Concentration of ownership
Horizontal integration
Lateral expansion
Synergy
Vertical integration
Technological convergence

Question 2

Explain concentration of ownership as a trend in ownership and control of the mass media.

Answer 2

Recent trends in media ownership and control suggest that the number of companies controlling global mass media has significantly shrunk in recent years. Bagdikian notes that in 1983, 50 corporations controlled most of the American media whereas by 1992 the number had dropped by half and today five corporations dominate the industry. Curran notes that the ownership of British newspapers had always been concentrated in the hands of a few powerful press barons and today 7 powerful individuals dominate the ownership of the British national daily and Sunday newspapers.

Question 3

Name a few of the powerful press barons in the UK.

Answer 3

Lord Rothermere
Rupert Murdoch
Richard Desmond

Question 4

Explain integration as a trend in ownership and control of the mass media.

Answer 4

There are 2 types of integration- horizontal and vertical.

Horizontal integration refers to cross media ownership and the fact that big media companies often have a diverse range of media. Eg. News corp owns newspapers, a big chunk of sky, 20th century fox, and star TV

Vertical integration refers to the way in which some media companies are increasingly trying to control all aspects of their industry in order to maximise profits. For example, Netflix started as a DVD rental business and then moved to online streaming. They found that they could improve their profit margins by producing their own original content as this cuts out the middle man and they only need to pay as much as it costs to produce a film. This gives media companies greater control over their operating environment.

Question 5

List the different trends in ownership and control of the mass media

Answer 5

Christmas has lost some very good toys

Concentration of ownership
Horizontal integration
Lateral expansion
Synergy
Vertical integration
Technological convergence

Question 6

Explain concentration of ownership as a trend in ownership and control of the mass media.

Answer 6

Recent trends in media ownership and control suggest that the number of companies controlling global mass media has significantly shrunk in recent years. Bagdikian notes that in 1983, 50 corporations controlled most of the American media whereas by 1992 the number had dropped by half and today five corporations dominate the industry. Curran notes that the ownership of British newspapers had always been concentrated in the hands of a few powerful press barons and today 7 powerful individuals dominate the ownership of the British national daily and Sunday newspapers.

Question 7

Name a few of the powerful press barons in the UK.

Answer 7

Lord Rothermere
Rupert Murdoch
Richard Desmond

Question 8

Explain integration as a trend in ownership and control of the mass media.

Answer 8

There are 2 types of integration- horizontal and vertical.

Horizontal integration refers to cross media ownership and the fact that big media companies often have a diverse range of media. Eg. News corp owns newspapers, a big chunk of sky, 20th century fox, and star TV

Vertical integration refers to the way in which some media companies are increasingly trying to control all aspects of their industry in order to maximise profits. For example, Netflix started as a DVD rental business and then moved to online streaming. They found that they could improve their profit margins by producing their own original content as this cuts out the middle man and they only need to pay as much as it costs to produce a film. This gives media companies greater control over their operating environment.

Question 9

Explain lateral expansion as a trend in ownership and control of the mass media.

Answer 9

When media companies branch out into non media areas. eg Virgin owns media but also trains and gyms etc.

Question 10

Explain global conglomeration as a trend in ownership and control of the mass media.

Answer 10

Media companies have taken advantage of the erosion of traditional boundaries surrounding media markets and expanded throughout the globe. This globalisation has opened up national markets and created international competitions between media companies. Concentration of ownership has become global now with a small number of media companies having transformed themselves into transnational conglomerates that monopolise ownership of a diversity of media across dozens of countries.

Question 11

Explain synergy as a trend in ownership and control of the mass media.

Answer 11

Synergy is when media companies use their diversity to package the same product in several different ways to increase their profits. E.g. turning a movie into a game and soundtrack which can be sold separately.

Question 12

Explain technological convergence as a trend in ownership and control of the mass media.

Answer 12

Technological convergence refers to the trend of putting several media technologies into one delivery system such as the smartphone. This reinforces the concentration of media ownership.

Question 13

List the different theories of media ownership and control.

Answer 13

The pluralist
The Marxist instrumentalist theory
The Hegemonic Marxist theory
Postmodernist theories

Question 14

List the different arguments made by pluralists regarding media ownership and control.

Answer 14

The economics of media ownership
The media as a democratic mirror
Public service broadcasting 
State controls -
Media professionalism

Question 15

Explain the economics of media ownership according to the pluralists.

Answer 15

Pluralists argue that in Elmo article, free market economics different medias have to compete for customers which means they need to provide content that consumers want in order to make a profit and survive. If they do not do this consumers will stop buying their media and they will be forced out of business. This would mean that media control lies with consumers rather than the owners of the media. Media owners primarily want to make money and so would rather adapt their media content to be more diverse than use their media channels to publish their own views and opinions as this keeps money coming in. This makes the media less one-sided and biased.

Question 16

Explain the media as a democratic mirror as one of the arguments of pluralists.

Answer 16

Pluralists claim that the media reflectors back the views of the consumers meaning all views are catered for. While some viewpoints have a greater range of media representing them, this does not necessarily mean that the media is biased but that this is what people want to see.

Question 17

Explain public service broadcasting as an argument made by pluralists.

Answer 17

Pluralists point out that a significant share of the media market is taken up by public service broadcasters. For example, the BBC is controlled by a voluntary trust and created by a royal charter. It has a legal obligation to inform, educate and ensure that all programming is diverse. Pluralists argue that the PSB is impartial and objective which balances out any potential bias in the private sector.

Question 18

Explain state controls as an argument made by pluralists.

Answer 18

Pluralists note that the power of media owners is also restrictive by the state or government controls. Newspapers, television and radio in Britain are subject to legal controls and rules imposed upon them by The Press Council and Ofcom.

The job of Ofcom is to monitor content and quality of television and radio output on both the BBC and commercial channels and investigate viewer and listener complaints. Pluralists argue that this combination of audience and regulator prevents corrupt media owners imposing biased content upon the general public.

Question 19

Explain media professionalism as an argument made by pluralists.

Answer 19

Pluralists stress that the professionalism of journalists and editors also constrains the power of owners as journalists are fierce in their pursuit of the truth and consequently have too much integrity to be biased in favour of one particular perspective.

Investigative journalism also has a good reputation for uncovering abuses of power and corruption among the ruling elite.

Question 20

Outline the criticisms of the the pluralist theory the media.

Answer 20

Curran found evidence of owners directly manipulating media content. In the mid 20th century press barons were open about their propagandist role and there were far more conservative-supporting newspapers than those critical of the party and that today media owners are even more interventionist.

Pluralists have been criticised for overstating the impartiality of journalists as many are reliant on official sources which are likely to be biased which undermines journalistic objectivity.

Trowler observed that 500 journalists were embedded with the British and American troops during the invasion of Iraq which led to them to being biased against the Iraqi forces.

Feminists are critical of pluralism because they argue that the range of female voices available in the marketplace is narrow. They argue that the media representations of women elucidates the male domination.

It is difficult for ordinary people to decide what they want to see or hear if the media provides their only source of information. Powerless or small groups do not have the resources to set up media companies to communicate their own perspectives which results in consumers not having access to a diversity of media reflecting a full range of views.

Question 21

Outline the Marxist instrumentalist theory.

Answer 21

Marxist instrumentalists argue that media owners are part of the ruling class elite and consciously manipulate media content to transmit a conservative ideology to control the wider population while maintaining their own wealth and privilege.

The content of the media is narrow and biased and reflects the opinions of the ruling class and media owners in particular.

The government does not effectively regulate media content because the political elite are also part of the ruling class like media owners.

According to instrumentalist Marxists, the primary role of the media is to spread ruling class ideology, maintain the status quo and keep the current unequal capitalist system in place.

Question 22

What ideological functions do Marxist instrumentalists argue the media performs?

Answer 22

• Spread favourable representations of the wealthy
• spread the myth of meritocracy e.g. Dragon’s Den

The news often dismisses radical viewpoints as extremist, dangerous or silly and a conservative view of the world as normal.

Negative portrayals of ethnic minorities and immigrants serve to divide the working class and discourages criticisms of the ruling class

Entertainment distracts the public from thinking critically about important political issues. The phrase ‘bread and circuses’ is used to describe superficial entertainment used to satisfy populations so they are distracted from real issues, keeping them happy, docile and ignorant.

Question 23

Outline the criticisms of the Marxist instrumentalist theory.

Answer 23

• Does not explain how owner’s media manipulation works in practise, with the evidence tending to be anecdotal rather than based on empirical research.
• Economic reductionism: Feminists would criticise them for ignoring patriarchal ideology within the media.
• Assume ruling-class ideology results in false-class consciousness although there is little evidence for this
• Fails to acknowledge that many journalists regard themselves as guardians of public interest and work to hold the powerful to account
• The growth of the new media means owners are now subject to more surveillance and criticism from ordinary people and journalists

Question 24

Outline the support for the Marxist instrumentalist theory offered by Curran and Seaton.

Answer 24

• Curran and Seaton (2010) studied how media owners influenced media output throughout the 20th century.
• They found distinct phases of influence, from press barons of the 1920s openly stating their ideological intentions to the period from 1997 onwards which they identify as media owner influence based on an ideology of global conservatism.
• This means that although a newspaper’s party loyalties might change, the underlying conservatism does not.
• This supports the Marxist instrumentalist theory because it agrees that although their are different phases of media owner influence, their papers effectively always broadcast the dominant ideology.

Question 25

Outline the hegemonic Marxist theory.

Answer 25

Hegemony is where the norms and value of the ruling class are taken as common sense. According to neo-Marxists, such as the Glasgow University Media Group (GUMG), the reason why we have a limited media agenda is because of cultural hegemony rather than because of direct control by wealthy media owners.

Journalists have accepted the conservative worldview of the ruling class as common sense and they share this worldview with the ruling class- they unconsciously spread the dominant ideology without the need of direct control by media owners. This is partly because journalists are mostly white and middle class with more than 50 percent of them having gone to private schools. The GUMG claims that journalists tend to believe in middle of the road views and ideas and see anyone who believes in alternatives as extremists.

Question 26

Explain economic pressures the hegemonic Marxist theory.

Answer 26

The GUMG suggest that the journalistic desire to present consensus views is mainly motivated by profit rather than the intention to transmit the dominant ideology.

Most media companies make profits through advertising and advertisers are attracted to media by the number of readers and viewers.

Those who decide media content consequently play it safe by excluding anything that might offend or upset viewers or advertisers.

Question 27

Explain agenda setting as part of the hegemonic Marxist theory.

Answer 27

According to the GUMG, the result of journalistic consensus (adopting middle of the road views and not upsetting advertisers) is that the media determine which issues should be discussed by society and which should be avoided; this is known as agenda setting.

Agenda setting results in cultural hegemony, with the basic principles of capitalism being presented by the media as normal and natural.

Examples of agenda setting include only having certain political parties discussing a news item, focusing on the violence of protests rather than the cause and taking the side of the police and government rather than hearing from activists.

Question 28

What is the relationship between the media and the establishment according to hegemonic Marxists.

Answer 28

Jones sees media owners, editors and journalists as part of the ‘establishment’ which he defines as an alliance of unaccountable powerful groups bound together by common economic interests and a shared set of mentalities.

The groups in the establishment aim to protect their dominant position in society by managing democracy to make sure it does not threaten their interests.

Jones argues that it should be the job of the media to scrutinise activities of the establishment but instead they are an integral part of it, attacking the behaviour of the poor, benefit daimants, immigrants and public sector workers.

Question 29

Outline the criticisms of the hegemonic Marxist theory.

Answer 29

Hegemonic Marxists are vague about what constitutes ideology and the effects it allegedly has upon powerless groups.

The GUMG’s exclusive focus of media professionals implies that owners have little or no input in media production which is probably unrealistic

Some critics see the new media and ‘citizen journalism’- the ability of people to self-publish- as having the potential to counter the influence of the establishment oriented media identified by the GUMG and Owen Jones

Question 30

Why do postmodernists claim that owners and editors can no longer spread a particular world view?

Answer 30

Postmodernists argue that countries such as the UK have been transformed in the past 30 years from industrial modern societies with manufacturing economies to postmodern and post-industrial societies with service economies. They argue that postmodern society has 3 characteristics which have an impact on the ownership and control debate:

1. postmodern society is media saturated
2. Postmodern societies are underpinned by globalisation with media transnationals having used communication technology to remove the distinction between the global and local to increase consumer choice in the range of media available consumption.
3. In the postmodern world, it is claimed that people no longer have any faith in great absolute truths and become more cynical- postmodernist stresses the relativity of knowledge and ideas.

Question 31

Outline Baudrillard’s postmodernist theory.

Answer 31

Baudrillard argues that the postmodern revolution in communications media means that audiences are immersed in so much information that they find it difficult to distinguish between real life and the media’s version of reality known as hyper reality. In the media saturated postmodern world there are multiple versions of hyper reality which has undermined the power of truth and objectivity. This has resulted in individuals subjecting media content to multiple interpretations (it is polysemic) which means it is difficult for one message to be more powerful than another. Simulacrum is the term used to describe a cleverly packaged, artificial copy that bears little relation to reality.

Question 32

Outline the criticisms of postmodernism.

Answer 32

It is vague, impressionistic, and frequently based on anecdotes rather than research based evidence.

The evidence actually suggests that media saturation has produced passive participation in mass culture in which choice just means more of the same.

Postmodernists fail to acknowledge the overwhelming evidence for the existence of structural inequalities in wealth and power relations which makes it difficult for powerless groups to bring about meaningful change to their everyday lives