media Flashcards
(128 cards)
1
Q
What are the 7 features of media ownership?
A
1) concentration of ownership
2) vertical integration
3) horizontal integration
4) conglomeration and diversification
5) global conglomeration
6) synergy
7) technological convergence
2
Q
Define concentration of ownership
A
A few large companies that dominate the media
3
Q
Define vertical integration
A
A company that owns multiple stages of production within a single medium. (e.g a film studio owning a cinema)
4
Q
Define horizontal integration
A
Cross-media ownership (e.g a film company also owning newspapers and restaurants)
5
Q
Define conglomeration and diversification
A
Media companies that expand into different industries (e.g virgin media)
6
Q
Define global conglomeration
A
Media companies that operate worldwide
7
Q
Define synergy
A
Companies that promote and sell products in multiple forms. (e.g a film, sound track and a video game)
8
Q
Define technological convergence
A
Multiple forms of media accessed on one device (e.g smartphones)
9
Q
What are the three features of the manipulative/instrumental approach?
A
1) direct control
2) limited editorial freedom
3) passive audience
10
Q
Define direct control (manipulative approach)
A
Owners who manipulate content to protect profits and promote the dominant ideology
11
Q
Define limited editorial freedom (manipulative approach)
A
Editors and journalists must align with the owners interest
12
Q
Define a passive audience
A
Audiences are seen as easily influenced, uncritical and accepting of media messages
13
Q
What are some criticisms for media ownership?
A
- assumes a passive audience
- underestimates audience agency and critical thinking
14
Q
What is Evan’s view on media moguls
A
Media moguls such as Rupert Murdoch influence editorial decisions, pushing their own right wing, conservative views
15
Q
What are the key traditional marxist ideas on ownership and control?
A
- favourable representations of the working class
- myth of meritocracy
- radical views are dismissed
- ruling class views as ‘normal’
- negative portrayals of ethnic minorities
- entertainment as a distraction
- media ownership
16
Q
Define media mogul
A
A person who owns a significant share of the media
17
Q
Define media monopoly
A
When a few individuals control the media
18
Q
Define plurality
A
Shared media ownership
19
Q
What is Bagdikans view of media ownership
A
Media ownership is highly concentrated among a few global companies and moguls.
(Lords of the global village)
20
Q
What is Curran’s view on media ownership and what did his research find?
A
British newspapers have historically been controlled by a small number of powerful individuals. In 1937, four men owned nearly half of every national and local newspapers. Today just 7 individuals dominate British national and Sunday newspapers.
21
Q
What are some criticism of the traditional marxist views of media ownership?
A
- very outdated
- not all newspapers are right wing now
- audiences are not always passive
- Neo marxism: owners dont micromanage media so journalists and editors have some control
22
Q
What are the key neo-marxist ideas on ownership of the media?
A
- indirect media control
- gatekeeping and agenda setting
- no micro management
23
Q
Define agenda setting
A
Deciding how topics are framed (e.g choosing guests, shaping discussions)
24
Q
Define gatekeeping
A
Selecting what stories are covered and what ones are ignored
25
What did the Glasgow University Media Group find about journalists?
In the 1970s, most journalists were white, middle class males which influences media perspectives
26
What was Gramsci’s view on the ruling class?
The ruling class maintains hegemony by presenting the bourgeois ideology as ‘common sense’, making an alternative seem extreme.
27
What are the key pluralist views on ownership?
- media ownership is economic, not ideological
- Conglomerates maximise profits
- Capitalist is not a problem
28
Explain the pluralist view that ownership is economic, not ideological
Companies prioritise profit, not controlling public thought
29
Explain the pluralist view that conglomerates maximise profits
Horizontal/vertical integration and globalisation helps businesses grow
30
Explain the pluralist view that capitalism is not a problem
A free market benefits consumers
31
What is Curran and Seatons view on audiences
Audiences have a lot of media choice, reducing elite control
32
Explain the pluralist view on media and politics
Media is vital for democracy, allowing for diverse voices
33
Give a criticism for the pluralist view on ownership
Marxism - the media manipulates control and creates false needs to maintain capitalist control
34
Define high culture
Intellectual achievements such as art, music, literature, poetry, theatre. These are seen as culturally superior
35
Define folk culture
Traditions and rituals such as folk singing, dancing and traditional costumes
36
Define popular culture
Mass media products: TV, films, magazines, popular music and comics. Enjoyed by the majority in capitalist societies
37
Define Globalisation
Increasing interconnectedness through movement of people and products
38
What is Barnett and Seymers view of popular culture
“Superficial candyfloss culture”
- Popular culture dumbs down intelligence, creativity and critical thinking
39
What is McChesney’s view on global media
Global media controlled by fewer than 10 corporations
40
What does the globalisation of popular culture
- Technology spreads the same popular culture worldwide
- Leads to cultural homogenisation
- Folk culture rejected in favour of mass production
41
What is the postmodernist view on the media
- Society has shifted from industrial production to consumption of culture
- Media now shapes identity more than class, gender, family or nationality
42
What is Baudrillard’s view on hyperreality
- Media creates a saturated society distorts reality
- Media presents artificial simulations of real events
43
What is McLuhan’s argument about the Global Village
- Technology has collapsed space and time barriers in communication
- Instant global communication is now possible
44
What are some criticisms of globalisation
- Assumes people approach media with no prior experience
- Poorer populations lack access to new media and free choice in media consumption
45
Summarise Strinati’s view on postmodernism and culture
- there is now a blurred line between high and popular culture which leads to increased consumer choice
- High culture assimilates popular culture
- New media spreads global images, logos and brands
- global consumption shapes identity and self presentation
46
What are the 11 news values?
1) composition
2) continuity
3) elite nations/people
4) frequency
5) meaningfulness
6) negativity
7) personalisation
8) proximity
9) threshold
10) unambiguity
11) unexpectedness
47
Explain the news value composition
Events that fit a news outlets style, political style or journalists views
48
Explain the news value continuity
Running stories with ongoing impact, convenient for journalists already covering them
49
Explain the news value elite nationals/people
Stories about powerful nations, people or organisations are seen as more important
50
Explain the news value frequency
Short, quick events fit news schedules better than long, ongoing developments
51
Explain the news value meaningfulness
Events that resonate with the audiences and match their interests
52
Explain the news value negativity
Bad news is prioritised over positive stories
53
Explain the news value personalisation
stories that focus on individuals, human angles or celebrity involvement
54
Explain the news value threshold
only large, significant events with a big impact make the news
55
Explain the news value unambiguity
clear, simple stories that dont require extensive background explanation
56
Explain the news value unexpectedness
unusual, dramatic or shocking events get more coverage
57
What is Galtung and Ruge’s view on the social construction of news
- news is socially constructed and based on news values
- journalists and corporations decide what is newsworthy based on criteria
- different organisations have different values over time
58
What are some criticisms of Galtung and Ruge
- news values have changed
- visual appeal
- advertiser influence
59
What are some practical and economic factors in news production
- tight deadlines and budgets > prefer easily accessible stories
- limited contacts > journalists rely on the same sources
- advertising influence > news avoids criticising capitalism or economic growth to retain advertisers
60
Define agenda setting
When the media frames news by deciding who speaks and what questions are asked
61
Define gatekeeping
When editors decode what news is published and what is left out
62
Define norm setting
Media reinforcing social norms and isolating those who dont conform.
Encourages conformity
63
Define political socialisation
Media shapes political beliefs and voting behaviour through social influence
64
What are some political and cultural factors that affect the selection of the news
- UK newspapers follow a voluntary Press Complaints Commission code to avoid misrepresentation
- Leveson Report
- Censorship
65
Explain the Leveson Report (2012)
Exposed journalistic misconduct, misrepresentations and phone hacking
66
Explain David’s argument on the rise of churnalism
- journalists rely on press releases and news agencies rather than independent investigation
- only 12% of stories in major uk newspapers were independently reported
- leads to the blurring of news, advertising and entertainment > lowers accuracy and quality
67
Evaluate the selection and presentation of the news
- some news programs aim for neutrality
- the media targets the powerful
- social media provides alternative sources of information
68
69
What is the media stereotype for children
impressionable, social media obsessed
70
What are the media stereotypes of teenagers
deviants, social media obsessed, criminals
71
What is the media stereotype for the elderly
weak, defenceless, victims
72
Explain Chester’s argument on age representations
Advertising targets kids ‘peste power’ for games
73
What did Curran and Seaton argue about working class media representations?
The media portrays the working class as uninterested in public affairs, preferring exaggerated human interest stories
74
What are the main stereotypes associated with the working class
- dumb and stupid
- source of trouble and conflict
- idealised/romanticised communities
- demonised as chavs
75
How is the middle class presented in the media?
- over represented
- mature, sensible, educated. successful
- reinforces hegemonic ideology of middle class life
76
What is celebrity culture?
The media obsessively covers the rich, treating them as celebrities
77
Give an example to over-representation
The middle class is more over represented than the upper class
78
How are the upper class represented
well-bred, cultured, superior
79
What would the neo-marxists argue about the upper class representations
- The media celebrates hierarchy & wealth to legitimise inequality
80
How are black peoples stereotyped in the media?
- scapegoats
- deviants
- a threat
- lacking talent
81
Define cultural hybridisation
When culture blend together to create a new culture
82
Define monopoly of the media
Media ownership is concentrated in the hands of a few companies
83
Define plurality of the media
Media ownership is spread across many different companies
84
Explain the pluralist view on media ownership
Pluralists argue that media reflects a wide range of views and ownership diversity ensures representation
85
Explain globalisation within media companies
When companies aim to maximise profits and reduce costs by expanding globally
86
Define norm setting
Media enforces conformity by highlighting social norms and isolating those who deviate
87
Define gatekeeping
The process by which editors and journalists choose what to report and what to exclude
88
Define moral panic
Media overreaction to a group or event viewed as a threat to societal norms
89
Define scapegoat
an individual or group blamed for problems they did not cause
90
Define folk devil
a person or group portrayed by the media as a danger to societal values
91
Explain the ‘mods and rockers’ case study
1. the media labels youth subcultures as ‘folk devils’
2. stereotypical, exaggerated coverage
3. public figures condemn the group
4. police crack down
5. self fulfilling prophecy
92
Summarise Stuart Hall’s ‘Black Mugging’ Case Study
- media and police created ‘folk devil’ of young black men
- diverted attention from capitalist failings
- new police tactics such as stop and search
- media increased anxiety > harsher sentences
- resulted in riots in brixton, toxteth and bristol
93
What is the functionalist view on moral panics
- reinforces social boundaries
- reminds people of shared norms and values
94
What is the marxist view on moral panics
- created for profit: increased media sales
- serves ruling class interests
95
What is Cohen’s view on moral panic
- he coined the term moral panic
- media uses sensational, exaggerated language
- creates stereotypical narratives about deviant groups
96
What is Hall’s view on moral panics
- afro caribbean’s labelled as criminals
- media exaggerated and racialised crime
- mugging = black crime
- panic served to protect capitalist system
97
What is Fawbert’s view on moral panics
- media panic declined due to lack of new headlines
- media began praising previously demonised groups
98
What are Goode & Ben-Yehuda’s 5 elements to moral panics
1. Concern - public worry about threat to social disorder
2. Hostility - group seen as ‘folk devils’
3. Consensus - moral entrepreneurs push public agreement
4. Disproportionality - reaction exceeds actual harm
5. Volatility - panic rises and falls quickly
99
What is Critcher’s view on moral panics
- moral panics now often focus on threats to children
- examples: child abuse, pedophillia, violent media
- Reflects societies anxieties about childhood and innocence
100
What is Jewels view on moral panics (interactionist perspective)
- moral panics lead to increased social reaction
- ‘deviants’ become marginalised
- marginalisation > further criminal behaviour
- cycle of labelling and deviance amplification
101
Summarise the marxist view on false class consciousness
- media used by bourgeoisie to create false class consciousness
- working class distracted from real inequality
- accept capitalist ideology
102
Explain Althusser’s Hypodermic Syringe Model
- media messages are injected into a passive audience
- audiences accepts messages without question
- originated in 1930s
103
Explain the neo-marxist theory of the Cultural Effects Model
- media transmits dominant ideology
- media owned by bourgeoisie
- audience slowly adopts ruling class values
104
Explain the Reception Analysis Model (McQuail and Blumler)
- audiences interpret media content differently
1. entertainment
2. understanding of the world
3. identity
4. social solidarity
105
Explain the two-step flow model - Katz and Lazarsfeld
- media influences opinion leaders
- opinion leaders interpret media and pass it to others
- audiences are influenced directly
106
Summarise the Selective Filter Model - Klapper
Media goes through 3 filters before influencing
1. selective exposure - we choose which media to consume
2. selective perception - we may reject messages we don’t agree with
3. selective retention - we remember what we already agree with
107
Explain the uses and gratification model
- media serves to meet the individuals needs of the audience
- audiences actively choose media based on their interests and desires
- The media serves 4 main functions
1. diversion
2. personal relationships
3. personal identity
4. surveillance
108
109
What is new media?
Screen based digital technology that integrates images, texts and sound. Includes social media, streaming and user generated content
110
When did new media emerge?
late 20th and early 21st century
111
What is media convergence?
one device accessing many types of media: films, music, books, news, web etc
112
How is new media more interactive than old media?
users can engage via tools like the red button, tweets during live shows, comments etc
113
How does new media give users more power?
they control what and when they watch, can also create and influence content
114
Why is new media considered accessible?
instant access to content with a device and internet connection
115
What financial challenge does accessibility create for producers
difficult to monetise, leads to reliance on subscriptions and ads
116
What is the neophiliac view of new media?
its a positive view, believing new media increases choice and enhances democracy and democratic engagement
117
What is the cultural pessimist view of new media?
it criticises new media for increasing surveillance; companies collect user data for targeted advertising
118
What is one key benefit of new media
early and easy access to free information and advice via platforms like wikipedia, youtube and blogs
119
How has new media changed news access?
it offers 24 hour coverage and instant notifications, making it easier to stay updated
120
How has new media impacted news selection and presentation?
rise n citizen journalism reduces traditional gatekeeping; news is now more open and diverse in sources
121
How has new media affected old/traditional media?
real time commentary and love streaming has replaced slower print reporting
122
How does new media promote individual freedom?
social media enables identity exploration and self expression, especially for marginalised groups like LGBT and disabled communities
123
How can online identity and community encourage activism?
seeing others like you can empower and motivate individuals to become active within their own communities
124
What are the downsides of increased anonymity online?
it allows the spread of hate without accountability; people can hide behind digital identities
125
How does new media help challenge those in power?
It gives access to diverse political views, allows fact checking, and exposes misinformation from powerful figures
126
How does new media support alternative political voices?
blogs and social media allow radical or non mainstream opinions to be heard beyond traditional media control
127
How has new media helped social movements?
it expands their reach and impact, allowing wider visibility and participation in activism.
128
