The Social Construction of the News Flashcards
What is the News and its purpose?
It is an ideological term and news would not exist without the media. It suggests that we should deem some events as more important than others.
We rely on the news to make sense of a confusing world.
What is the influence of the owners and the pursuit of profit on the news?
To make a profit owners must attract a large audience, leading to dumbing down or tabloidization of media content, as well as conservatism as companies will not print anything that may be offensive. Neo-Marxists = helps to maintain hegemony.
What are the Practical Factors in constructing the news?
Pluralists = if the media is biased it is due to 4 practical reasons, beyond a journalist’s control:
The news diary (events journalists need to report on), financial costs (costly to report on foreign issues), advertising time and space (what pages are made up of advertisements), and political influences (bias).
What are the Technological Factors in constructing the news?
Competition between media companies has increased, 24 hour media access. Websites updated regularly, so companies compete for faster/more interesting stories.
Pluralists = technology has increased choice, but others = decreased quality / lack of accuracy.
Zakir = churnalism (to ‘churn’ out news quickly). Davies = 80% of newspaper content was bought.
McNair = everyone can access information, citizen journalism.
Advertorials (ad giving information like article) = used to provide news content, blending distinction between news and entertainment.
What is the effect of inaccurate and false reporting on the news and the creation of moral panics?
The media/moral entrepreneurs use emotive language to stir up public feeling, grabbing reader’s attentions etc encouraging people to have a negative view of groups e.g folk devils.
Stan Cohen = mods and rockers, media exaggerated the story of fighting therefore created a stereotype = groups as dangerous = so they began to conform to this stereotype to acquire recognition from peers. The police’s attitude drove them further into deviance.
What is Stuart Hall (NEO-MARXIST)’s view on moral panics?
70s = statistics suggested mugging had increased, and media reported that young black men were doing this. Defined as a new crime by the USA, but it was not a new crime - used to develop racism and stereotypes against black people, arguing that this occurs when capitalism reaches a ‘crisis point’ e.g high unemployment levels.
Deflects attention from problems of a capitalist society, so the masses don’t revolt/overthrow capitalism. Also, racism divides the working-classes and makes them less powerful. Also gives an excuse to tighten / pass new laws that control masses.
What are the criticisms of Stuart Hall’s view of moral panics?
- Known as a ‘conspiracy theory’, no evidence.
- Neo-Marxists = moral panics are created by journalists, presenting their view of the world, so not biased.
What do Functionalists say about moral panics?
Folk Devils and Moral Panics exist to both show what can happen to people if they refuse to live by the social rules of society, as well as to bring society together (social solidarity) in a time of crisis.
What do Pluralists say about moral panics?
The audience use media for their own purpose and pleasure, e.g only watching violent films if you have an interest in violence. So, moral panics are just about making a profit off of a minor issue rather than influencing audiences - but the social problems do not disappear, instead remaining dormant until journalists decide to report on them.
What do Feminists say about moral panics?
Folk devils are usually male, creating the notion of ‘female fear’ within society, reinforcing patriarchy and the view of women as weak.
What do Left Realists say about moral panics?
Moral panics should not be dismissed as products of the dominant ideology, and that they have a very real basis in reality.
What does McRobbie suggest about moral panics?
Moral panics are not as relevant as they used to be due to wider diversity of opinion with the rise of technology, therefore people are becoming less trusting of the news.
What are News Values?
Assumptions that guide journalists/reporters when selecting stories to report on, demonstrating how news is not created in a totally neutral way.
Galtung and Ruge = identify 5 news values:
- Immediacy = happening now.
- Dramatization Risk and Violence = flashy headlines, crises, shock, etc.
- Personalisation = events that can be associated with a certain person/celebrity.
- High status people = celebrities, royalty, etc
- Novelty = unusual / ‘weird’ news.
What do Neo-Marxists (Glasgow Media Group) argue about the social construction of the news?
Media act as a form of social control, therefore content is not just reported but also singled out / left out to bring to the public’s attention:
agenda setting, norm-setting, gatekeeping and the hierarchy of credibility and primary definers.
4 ways the media manipulate audiences / report on stories according to Neo-Marxists / GMG:
1) Agenda Setting = Cohen; the news tells us what to think about, selects certain stories, choose what angle to take, work within dominant ideology, offer no solutions to crises, and no alternative to the RC.
2) Norm-Setting = the media emphasises and reinforces conformity to social norms by encouraging conformist behaviour, and discouraging non-conformist behaviour.
3) Gatekeeping = Gans; the editor decides which stories are featured and how much space is given to each, like a gate: opened for some stories, not for others.
4) Hierarchy of Credibility and Primary Definers = Hall; journalists approach those in power first when writing a story, seen as more trustworthy, so a hierarchy of credibility e.g using experts, giving more validity (primary definers)
What do Marxists argue about the social construction of the news?
All news selection is deliberate bias, conscious manipulation by media owners. Miliband = owners directly control the new and manipulate the media, having interests they wish to defend/promote.
Interest in ensuring the survival of capitalism, biased towards the most powerful. Althusser = owner controls the messages in media, false class consciousness.
Government also manipulates media, strengthens to own position e.g selective leaking on covid statistics.
What do Pluralists argue about the social construction of the news?
Whale/Harrison argue that the public are in control of the news output as they have ultimate control, and certain views will naturally dominate but no consistent bias. If bias occurs = the fault of practical factors.
Also, media produce stories that confirm the attitudes of audiences e.g if media are racist, society is too. So the audience are given a wide range of views that cater to different needs and tastes.
