Media Topic 1 - Ownership & Control

Question 1

What does ‘the media’ refer to?

Answer 1

The technology, institutions, organizations, and products related to mass communication

Includes television, press, cinema, broadcasting, advertising, and various forms of content like news and films.

Question 2

What characterizes traditional media?

Answer 2

Communicated uniform messages that were non-interactive delivered to large mass audiences

Examples include terrestrial TV channels, radio stations, and newspapers.

Question 3

What is the ‘new media’?

Answer 3

Media that is interactive, screen-based, and offers a variety of content choices

Includes social media, streaming services, and digital television.

Question 4

List examples of new media.

Answer 4

• Social media sites (e.g., Facebook, TikTok)
• Streaming video/audio files
• Digital/satellite TV
• Online gaming
• Mobile apps

Question 5

What is the average time spent watching TV in the UK in 2022?

Answer 5

158 minutes per day

Question 6

What is a significant statistic regarding TikTok by the end of 2024?

Answer 6

Expected to reach 1.8 billion monthly active users

Question 7

What concern arises from media shaping public opinion?

Answer 7

The power of the media to influence our lives and identities

Question 8

True or False: The media is entirely free to report anything in the UK.

Answer 8

False

There are formal controls such as laws and regulations.

Question 9

What is Ofcom?

Answer 9

The Office of Communications, established to regulate media in the UK

Question 10

What is the role of the BBC?

Answer 10

A state-funded body that regulates itself through the BBC Trust, funded by license fees

Question 11

What does IPSO stand for?

Answer 11

Independent Press Standards Organization

Question 12

What was the Leveson Inquiry about?

Answer 12

Investigating phone hacking by journalists and proposing changes to media regulation

Question 13

What is government ‘spin’ in media?

Answer 13

Manipulating media narratives to present a favorable view of the government

Question 14

What is one method governments use to control media content?

Answer 14

Refusing broadcasting licenses to unsuitable entities

Question 15

Who are the five billionaires that reportedly own 80% of UK media?

Answer 15

• Rupert Murdoch
• Richard Desmond
• Viscount Rothermere
• The Barclay Brothers

Question 16

Define ‘media mogul’.

Answer 16

An individual who owns a significant share of a media company

Question 17

What is vertical integration in media ownership?

Answer 17

Concentration of ownership within a single medium

Question 18

What does horizontal integration refer to?

Answer 18

Media owners having interests in various types of media

Question 19

What is synergy in media companies?

Answer 19

Producing and promoting a product across multiple media formats

Question 20

What is the Marxist view of media?

Answer 20

Media can manufacture audience perceptions and promote dominant ideologies

Question 21

What does ‘preferred reading’ refer to?

Answer 21

The interpretation of media messages that producers want audiences to adopt

Question 22

What is ideological state apparatus according to Althusser?

Answer 22

Agencies like media that induce a false consciousness among the masses

Question 23

What did Miliband (1973) argue about media professionals?

Answer 23

They operate within boundaries set by media owners, leading to biased reporting

Question 24

What do Neo-Marxists emphasize in media studies?

Answer 24

The cultural aspects of class conflict rather than purely economic factors

Question 25

What is cultural hegemony?

Answer 25

The acceptance of ruling class norms and values as common sense

Question 26

True or False: Journalists always share the political views of media owners.

Answer 26

False ## Footnote This is debated among traditional and Neo-Marxist theorists.

Question 27

What percentage of top journalists in Britain are privately educated?

Answer 27

51% ## Footnote This contrasts sharply with only 7% of the general population being privately educated.

Question 28

What percentage of top journalists attended comprehensive schools?

Answer 28

19% ## Footnote This is compared to 90% of their readers who attended comprehensive schools.

Question 29

What is the definition of Pluralism in the context of media?

Answer 29

A theory of the distribution of political power that holds that power is widely and evenly dispersed in society.

Question 30

What do Pluralists argue about media moguls and press barons?

Answer 30

They argue that these figures do not control media content and that journalists maintain ethics and integrity.

Question 31

According to Pluralists, who controls media consumption?

Answer 31

The audience ## Footnote They believe audiences actively choose what to consume, influencing media companies.

Question 32

What do Postmodernists say about media choice?

Answer 32

There has been an increase in choice, greater than ever before.

Question 33

What is media saturation according to Postmodernism?

Answer 33

A condition where people are exposed to media messages all day, making it impossible for individual owners or editors to control content.

Question 34

What term describes the process of declining serious news reporting in media?

Answer 34

Tabloidization ## Footnote This refers to the replacement of serious news with more simplified content.

Question 35

What do Barnett and Weymour argue regarding media choice?

Answer 35

That despite many channels, there is not really greater choice; it's often the same content presented differently.

Question 36

What is the main critique of Marxists regarding audience choice?

Answer 36

They argue that audiences are manipulated and do not make free choices.

Question 37

Fill in the blank: Pluralists view mass media as crucial for a modern _______.

Answer 37

liberal democracy

Question 38

What do Levene's views on social media suggest?

Answer 38

People can use platforms to express their own narratives, controlling media instead of being controlled by it.

Question 39

What does the term 'counter-hegemony' refer to in the context of media?

Answer 39

Narratives that oppose or challenge the dominant media narratives.

Question 40

True or False: Pluralists believe that editors and journalists are manipulated by media owners.

Answer 40

False

Question 41

What did Curran et al. (2009) find in their content analysis of media?

Answer 41

Media were becoming more market-oriented and entertainment-centered, leading to less serious journalism.