Perspectives on Ownership and Control Flashcards
(12 cards)
How do postmodernists view media ownership in a media-saturated society?
Baudrillard argues we live in a hyperreal world where reality is replaced by simulacra — media representations that simulate, rather than reflect, reality (e.g., war, Disney as the American Dream).
In this media-saturated society, the audience actively creates meaning rather than passively receiving it, making the distinction between audience and producer blurry.
Media owners have less control because individuals interpret messages in fragmented, personalised ways (e.g., fake news).
Key concepts: Hyperreality, simulacra, active interpretation
Evaluation: Lacks empirical evidence; underestimates media owners’ role in constructing hyperreality.
How does globalisation influence postmodern views of media ownership?
Strinati (1995) argues that postmodern society is culturally fragmented and media-saturated, with globalisation blurring boundaries between high and popular culture.
Postmodernists claim global communications technology has increased consumer choice and weakened the ability of media owners to impose a single worldview.
Glocalisation allows local cultures to adapt global media (e.g., Bollywood in India), while social media enables resistance to elite narratives.
Example: The Arab Spring (2011) — Twitter and Facebook were used to coordinate protests, showing users—not media owners—controlled content use.
Key concepts: Strinati, globalisation, glocalisation, audience empowerment
Evaluation: Marxists argue postmodernists ignore structural inequalities in ownership and power that still shape access to media and influence.
Why do postmodernists claim media ownership is less powerful in a society without absolute truths?
Postmodernists argue truth is polysemic — media content has multiple interpretations.
Baudrillard’s hyperreality and Trowler’s theory of polysemy suggest no single dominant meaning exists.
Jenkins adds that participatory culture (e.g., blogging, vlogging) empowers audiences and fragments ownership, reducing the media’s ideological control.
Key concepts: Polysemy, participatory culture, rejection of meta-narratives
Evaluation: Critics say postmodernists exaggerate the audience’s ability to resist control and ignore economic ownership structures.
What is the pluralist view that the media functions as a free market?
Pluralists argue media operates in a free market where outlets pursue profit, not ideology.
Jean Blondel (1969) claims mass media is competitive and diverse, with no single group in control. Consumers are empowered to accept or reject media — e.g., Apple overtaking Blackberry reflects audience choice.
Processes like vertical integration are driven by competition, not conspiracy.
Key concept: Free market media, audience sovereignty
Evaluation: Feminists (e.g., Mills) argue the media remains male-dominated (e.g., ‘old boys network’), limiting diversity. Media ownership has become more concentrated since Blondel’s time, making the view outdated.
What is the pluralist idea that the media is a democratic mirror?
Pluralists argue media content reflects the diverse views held by society — a democratic mirror.
Whale (1977) studied the Sun’s shift from socialism to entertainment, claiming Murdoch simply gave audiences “what they wanted.”
Media caters to a range of views (e.g., Daily Mail reflects public anti-immigration sentiment).
Key concept: Media reflects public opinion, not elite control
Evaluation: Neo-Marxists argue this is misleading — media is owned by a few wealthy elites (e.g., Murdoch) who use media to support political and economic interests.
How do pluralists argue that the media is impartial?
Pluralists claim media professionalism and public service broadcasting (PSB) ensure neutrality.
Nick Jones (1986) found that BBC reporting on the 1980 strikes was balanced, offering both sides.
The BBC’s Royal Charter requires it to serve the full audience spectrum and maintain independence.
Key concept: Impartiality through regulation and professionalism
Evaluation: Berry (2013) found BBC News featured Conservative politicians 50% more than Labour across two time slots, suggesting bias remains. Critics argue the BBC is losing its PSB role due to commercial pressure.
How do instrumental Marxists argue that media acts as an ideological instrument?
Milliband (1973) claims media is used by the ruling class to reproduce class inequality by transmitting conformist, conservative ideologies.
Owners directly intervene in content to align it with elite views.
Example: Rupert Murdoch supported the Iraq War in 2003, and all 175 of his newspapers reflected that stance.
This concentrated ownership shapes how the public interprets class, power, and inequality — e.g., the media rarely explains structural causes of poverty.
Concept: Ideological control, elite interference, Milliband (1973)
Evaluation: Critics argue this view is economically reductionist and oversimplifies how power operates in media.
What is the instrumental Marxist view on audience manipulation?
Audiences are viewed as passive and easily manipulated by capitalist ideology.
Newman (2006) found that media heavily promotes wealth and luxury (e.g., coverage of elite lifestyles), creating consumer envy and “pester power.”
This fuels a culture of consumption (“keeping up with the Joneses”), distracting people from structural inequality.
Also linked to the dumbing down of content aimed at working-class audiences.
Concept: Passive audience, consumer manipulation, media as a tool of capitalism
Evaluation: Reception theorists argue audiences actively interpret media content and may resist dominant messages.
How does instrumental Marxism explain media’s role in preventing critical thinking?
Marcuse (Frankfurt School) argued media provides entertainment to distract the working class — known as the “bread and circuses” effect.
Shows like X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent pacify audiences, keeping them docile and disengaged from real issues like poverty or inequality.
This creates false needs, where audiences believe they must consume the products and lifestyles they see in the media.
Concept: Bread and circuses, false consciousness, entertainment as ideological distraction
Evaluation: Critics argue that citizen journalism and digital platforms increasingly challenge elite control and stimulate critical awareness.
How do hegemonic Marxists explain media control as a by-product of profit pursuit?
Hegemonic Marxists argue that media content supports ruling class ideology not through a coordinated conspiracy, but as a by-product of media owners competing for profit.
Curran (2003) claims these profit-driven decisions still uphold capitalist interests.
The GUMG (Glasgow University Media Group) found that media professionals — typically white, male, middle-class, and often privately educated — unconsciously promote hegemonic views that appeal to mainstream audiences.
Alternative views are marginalised or ridiculed, reinforcing the status quo.
Concept: Unintentional ideological bias, GUMG, Curran
Evaluation: Critics say the concept of “hegemony” is vague and hard to measure. New media may decentralise this influence.
How does agenda setting support hegemonic Marxist views of media control?
Hegemonic Marxists argue media professionals act as gatekeepers, deciding which issues the public should discuss — often avoiding topics that challenge capitalism.
GUMG found that during the 1980s miners’ strike, coverage framed miners as violent, rather than exploring their grievances.
Entertainment and tabloid shows (e.g., Jeremy Kyle) distract from class inequality and frame poverty as personal failure.
This maintains cultural hegemony, where capitalist norms like property ownership and profit are treated as “natural.”
Concept: Agenda setting, gatekeeping, media framing (GUMG)
Evaluation: Feminists argue this is not just about class — media also marginalises women (e.g., Page 3). Some citizen journalism bypasses gatekeeping altogether.
How are media professionals seen as part of the establishment in hegemonic Marxist theory?
Owen Jones (2015) argues journalists, editors, and media owners form part of a powerful establishment elite, bound by shared economic and ideological interests.
The Milburn Report (2012) shows journalism has become more socially exclusive than any other profession.
This leads to sympathetic portrayals of the wealthy and vilification of the unemployed, reinforcing elite values and protecting dominant interests.
Concept: Establishment bias, elite solidarity, Owen Jones
Evaluation: Critics argue it’s hard to distinguish this view from Instrumental Marxism. Bagdikian and others point to examples where journalism challenges the establishment. New media offers more pluralistic voices.
