topic 1: ownership and control of mass media

Question 1

Miliband

Answer 1

“the media is the ‘new opium of the people’”

Question 2

Marcuse

Answer 2

Media is thrown to the workers/lower class to distract them from their low position in society

Question 3

how do marxists view media concentration?

Answer 3

media concentration is bad, increasing power to control the output of the media is being placed into fewer hands

Question 4

how do marxists view the ownership of the media?

Answer 4

Owners use the media to spread an ideology that benefits them and also churns out content that leave the working classes oblivious to their exploitation

Question 5

How does the marxist view differ from pluralism?

Answer 5

Marxists reject the pluralist view as they believe that the choice is very limited. The content of the media purely reflects the view of those dominant in society

Question 6

How would neophilacs criticise the marxist view?

Answer 6

the rise in new digital media, the internet and citizen journalism undermines the influence and control of media owners, giving more power to the masses

Question 7

How does Ofcom disprove the marxist theory?

Answer 7

Independent bodies (e.g ofcom) regulate the media, which shows changes are occuring

Question 8

Glasgow University Media Group

Answer 8

• suggest that media content does support the interests of those who run the capitalist system but this is an unintended by-product of the social backgrounds of journalists

Question 9

Althusser

Answer 9

argues ideological state apparatuses seek to induce the masses into false consciousness

Question 10

Gramsci

Answer 10

argues hegemony uses the ideas and values the bourgeoisie are able to control the proletariat

Question 11

Glasgow Univeristy Media Group

Answer 11

• suggest that media content does support the interests of those who run the capitalist system but this is an unintended by-product of the social backgrounds of journalists

Question 12

What view do the GUMG suggest journalists have and why?

Answer 12

they claim journalists and broadcasters tend to believe in middle-of-the-road views because these are generally unthreatening and appeal to majority of their viewers.

Question 13

Findings of the sutton trust

Answer 13

of top 100 journalists in 2006, 54% were independently educated

Question 14

agenda setting

Answer 14

the showcasing of limited items within the media so that the audience has a fairly narrow ageda for discussion

Question 15

gatekeeping

Answer 15

the refusal to showcase items

Question 16

Philo

Answer 16

• the media only broadcast solutions to the crisis as presented by the 3 main political parties and the bankers themsleves whilst completely ignoring solutions for other avenues

Question 17

yelland

Answer 17

“All Murdoch’s editors go on a journey where they end agreeing with everything Murdoch says and often have the mantra: ‘what would Rupert think about this’ in their head”

Question 18

Stuart Hall

Answer 18

although dominat class will control the ideas with the media, they will never have total dominace and because of this, there is possibility that society could change

Question 19

News Value

Answer 19

present material which may seem critical to the dominant ideology, this will strike a cord with the audience attracting them to the media outlets and subsequently bosts profits for media owners

Question 20

Strinatti

Answer 20

• countries such as the UK are now unrecognisable from 30 years ago
• we have seen such a shift from modern industrial society with manufacturing economies t postmodern and post industrial societies with service economies

Question 21

Baurdrillard - hyper reality

Answer 21

• consumers are immersed in so much media that it becomes difficult to distinguish between real life and the media version of reality

Question 22

‘media is polysemic’

Answer 22

each media message is interpreted in a different way

Question 23

what is Baurdrillard’s view on ownership of the media?

Answer 23

if there are multiple interpretations of media content then the power to disseminate knowledge is not concerned in the hands of a few owners.

Question 24

What is his view on meta narratives?

Answer 24

There is greater diversity of media which makes it easier for audiences to accept or reject meta narratives proposed by the powerful.