the media Flashcards
(38 cards)
Ownership of the media
- Concentrated in the hands of a few large companies.
Bagdikian ‘Lords of the global village’
The lords control ever step of the information, creation and distribuition.
Main features of media ownership:
Concentration of ownership, being in the hands of a small wealthy group
Having a wide variety of products besides media
Made in different forms for people to consume
Manipulative/Instrumental approach
Believe that…
Owners directly control and manipulate the audience and the media to protect their profits and spread the dominant ideology.
Media editors and managers don’t have influence, boundaries set by the owner.
Sees that audiences are passive, easily manipulated, unthinking robots.
Hegemonic approach
They believe that…
- Media owners = powerful but don’t have day to day control of the media, this is left to the editors + journalists. Still support the dominant ideology by choice and aren’t manipulated.
The GMG say that most journalists tend to be white, middle class men who follow the dominant ideology anyway.
Agenda setting + Gatekeeping GMG
Agenda setting - People can only discuss and form opinions about things they know about, media provides this info. Media influences the subjects of discussion
Gatekeeping - Choosing certain media stories to show and not show to keep the media owners and dominant ideology happy.
Pluralist approach
Media content is not driven by the dominant ideology or political interests of the owners but instead for profits.
Media is free from the government, they can produce any news they want.
Audiences are free to ‘pick’n’mix’ whatever suits them.
They have the freedom to ACCEPT, REJECT or REINTERPRET media content due to their beliefs.
Globalisation in the media
Increasing connectiveness of societies from across the world who are exposed to the same cultural and media produts.
McLuhan argues that the world is becoming a global vilage in which ‘rapid technological change has caused space + time barriers in human communication to collapse’
High culture in media
Of lasting and artisitic value, worth preserving. Often art in art galleries, opera, museums and theatres. Often consumed by the upper class audiences.
Popular culture in the media
Passive and sold to the masses. Dumbed down, not providing anything against the dominant ideology. (TV shows like Love Island etc)
Ritzer + Sklair Globalisation
Ritzer = Companies and brands operate on a global scale, promoting a global culture along with consumerism with them. This weakens local cultures, starting to make a global culture.
Sklair = Media blurs differences between entertainment and information (infotainment) to sell products all across the world, promoting idealised western lifestyles.
Cultural + Media Imperialism (Fenton) Cocacolozation
Fenton - Most media conglomerates are based in the US and dominant the media. This is referred to as ‘cocacolozation’ This is where non-western cultures are getting western cultures pushed on them
Pluralists view on the media and globalisation + popular culture
No such thing as a popular culture, the intro of new media has led to more choices.
Postmodernist view of the media
Diversity of media means that the audiences can make more choices in terms of their consumption and lifestyles.
Baudrillard - We live in a MEDIA SATURATED society. They distort the way we see the world this is hyperreality.
Strinati - Power of the media shaping consumer choices. Popular culture form our sense of reality and increasingly dominate how we define ourselves.
Globalisation and New tech (24 hour)
Mass of news providers across the world to choose from. New tech like social media and phones means you can access news instantly, 24 hours a day.
Citizen journalism + Bivens
New tech means that people can upload videos of events to social media. This is normal people who are involved in collecting and reporting news stroies.
Bivens argued that citizen journalism is changing normal journalism, people are there at the scene of the news which means they are immediate and usually unbiased, no media moghuls controlling them
Churnalism
Journalists uncritically churning out articles based on secound-hand news, not what they researched
Two step flow model (active audience)
Katz + Lazarsfield - media audiences are not directly affected by the media. audiences adopt opinions after discussions with a group leader. the group leader looks at the content and then people listen to their interpretation of the content.
Uses and gratification model (active audiences)
Blumer + McQuail suggest people use the media actively fufill thier own personal needs which is dependent on who they are (class, age etc) They use media for a distraction, personal identity, relationships and surveillance
Selective filter model (active audiences)
Klapper, three filters people apply when interpreting the media:
- Selective exposure - people choose what to expose themselves too
- Selective perception - people may choose to accept or reject a media message depending if it fits their views
- Selective retention - people will forget material that is not in line with their views
Hypodermic syringe model (passive audiences)
Media acts like a syringe in which it injects messages, attitudes and beliefs into its audience. Audience is passive and powerless, therefore accept these messages
Cultural effects model (passive audiences) Drip drip
Marxist model (GMG) media transmits capitalist norms and values through a slow drip drip effect over a long time. Media contains ideological messages, reflecting the dominant ideology.
Violence in the media
Effects of violence in the media:
- Imitation = Media violence causes children to copy what they see and be violent in real life
- Catharsis = Media violence doesn’t make viewers violent but instead reduces violence as it allows individuals to live out their violent tendencies in a fantasy
- Desensitsation = Repeated exposure to media violence has a gradual ‘drip drip’ effect, accepting a culture of violence
- Sensitisation = Exposure to media violence can make people more sensitive to consequences of it in real life
New media definition
Digital, screen-based technology used for consuming media. These are phones, tablets etc
Features of the new media (5)
Digitality = Digital over analogue
Interactivity = Consumers of media can contribute to a collective culture and intelligence
Hypertexuality = Links between different media texts form connections
Dispersal = The new media has become less centralised and has adapted to individual choices
Vitruality = People can immerse themselves in a wholly unreal interactive experiences and exist in a virtual world
Users of the new media (Helsper)
Helsper = healthy, young educated people are more likely to be users of the new media
Social class differences = Helsper - digital underclass, those who have lower education levels falling behind other groups in their access to the internet
Age differences = Boyle, younger people grow up with the internet and new media, predisposed to it
Gender differences = Both females + males are avid users of new media, but differ for what they use it for. Men are more likely to play games and own tablets, wheras women are more likely to have a kindle. Men have more of a positive attitude to the internet and know how to use it more than women.
