Social Class Representation Flashcards
What do mass media representations of social classes often neglect?
Social tensions or class conflict that underpin society.
How does Nairn (1988) describe contemporary media coverage of the monarchy?
Focuses positively on trivial details, turning the Queen and her family into a soap opera with glamour.
What role does the media assign to the Queen in terms of national identity?
Portrayed as the ultimate symbol of the nation.
How are royal events treated by the media?
As national events.
What do Neo-Marxists argue about mass media representations of social class?
They celebrate hierarchy and wealth.
How are the upper classes typically portrayed in British mass media?
In a positive light, rarely critically.
Rarely draw attention to the inequalities in wealth and pay
What does Newman (2006) argue about media focus on the wealthy?
It is very positive and emphasizes consumer items exclusive to the wealthy.
Enormous amount of print and broadcast media dedicated to daily business news and stock market quotations
- few people in Britain own stocks and shares
What are the four broad sociological observations regarding middle class representations?
- 1 - Over represented
- 2 - Newspaper audience
- 3 - Anxious
- 4 - The expert
What is meant by ‘over-represented’ as one of the sociological observations?
middle class over represented on TV dramas and situation comedies
What is meant by ‘audience’ as one of the sociological observations?
Part of the british newspaper market specifically aimed at the middle classes: their consumption, tastes and interests
Newspapers like The Daily Mail
What is meant by ‘anxious’ as one of the sociological observations?
Content of newspapers believe middle classes are generally anxious about decline of moral standards in society
- assume their readership feel threatened by alien influences such as: aslyum seekers and terrorism
- often crusade on behalf of middle classes and initiate moral panics on issues such as: aslyum seekers and paedophilia
Newspapers like The Daily Mail
What is meant by ‘the expert’ as one of the sociological observations?
Most creative personnel in media are middle class
- in news and current affairs, middle classes dominate positions of authority
- ‘expert’ is invariably middle class
In what way are the middle classes over represented in media?
In TV dramas and situation comedies.
What assumption do newspapers like the Daily Mail make about middle class readers?
They are anxious about the decline of moral standards.
How do newspapers often portray working class individuals?
According Newman, labelled as a problem
EG: welfare cheats, drug addicts etc
How are working class groups represented in the media?
Subject to moral panics
Typically youth subcultures like mods or skinheads
How does the media report the causes of social problems?
Suggest that it’s a result of personal inadequacy
Social problems: poverty, unemployment and single parent families
What do the GUMG suggest in a study on industrial reporting?
Media portray workers as ‘unreasonable’ making trouble for ‘reasonable’ employers
What do newspapers aimed at working class assume?
According to Curran and Seaton, uninterested in serious analysis of either the policial or social organisation of british society
- political debate reduced to conflict between personalities
- assume they want to read about celebrity gossip and lifestyles etc.
What is the focus of media coverage when discussing poverty?
According to Newman, Negative or stereotypical portrayals.
Poor represented in statistics rather than human terms in news
EG: focus on numbers unemployed rather than personal indignities of poverty
What did McKendrick et al (2008) conclude about media coverage of poverty?
It is marginal and rarely explores causes or consequences.
Dramas like shameless present a sanitised image of poverty
Cohen notes that the media often fail to see the connection between deprivation and wealth
What is the portrayal of the underclass in media coverage?
Generally negative and scapegoated for society’s problems.
Coverge tends to focus on the poverty of individuals rather than the structural features of society
- such as government policy which created the underclass
What did Baumberg et al find regarding media focus on benefit fraud?
29% of news stories referenced fraud, despite only 0.7% being fraudulent.
What is the common language used to describe benefits?
- Fraud and dishonesty
- Dependency
- Non reciprocity/lack of effort
- Outsider status
