Pluralist View Flashcards
Democracy
The media facilitates the democracy in a capitalist society as it allows all interest groups to have a platform to express their views
Dominant ideology
Media content isn’t driven by a dominant ideology all the political interests of owners but the fight for profit through audience figures.
Media’s owners behaviour is constrained…
Because it’s a free market and media owners compete against each other in order to attract people to their product. The audience are the real power holders because they exercises the right to buy or not to buy. Due to freedom of choice.
The economic rationale behind concentration…
is economic rather than political or ideological .Aimed at maximisation of audience size in order to reduce costs and attract advertising revenue.
Whale(1977): argues that media owners have global problems of trade and investment to occupy their mind and so do not have the time to think about the day-to-day detailed running of the media businesses.
Media diversity
The range of media products available is extremely diverse and that, as a result, all points of views in a democratic society are catered for it. Mirrors what the audience want to see
Public Service Broadcasting
The PSB as the epitome of impartial and objective media and a counterweight to any potential bias in the private sector.
State controls
This to exist to reduce the possibility that one person or a group of peoples views or products can become too dominant
Media Professionalism
Pluralism stress the professionalism of journalists and editors, arguing that editors would never allow owners to compromise their independence. They argue that journalists have too much integrity to be biased regularly in favour of one particular protective for example to reporters on the Washington Post forced the President Richard Nixon to resign after they opposed him, authorising his opponents offices to be bugged.
Active audiences
Audiences do not passively accept what is being fed to them as they are selective and often critical of media content. Audiences are diverse and interpret the media in different ways.
Blondell (1969) argues that new single group in society has a monopoly of power and control.
Weakness
Marxist criticising the belief that the media is diverse as they believe that the idea of choice is an illusion and that people are brainwashed to believing that we have a democracy where is in fact the dominant ideology the media broadcasts control us.
Weakness
Not all groups in society have an equal influence on editors and journalist to get their view across. Only very rich groups will have the resources required to launch major media companies to get their views across independently.
