Cards (11)

  • Pluralists argue that media owners are responsible and manage information, media content is shaped by consumer demand in the marketplace
  • Consumer demand means the companies give the public what they want to see because they will therefore buy it
  • Editors and journalists have a strong sense of professional ethics which check and control potential owner abuse of the media
  • Pluralists suggests that mass media is an essential part of the democratic process as they are able to get their knowledge of the political process from newspaper and television.
  • Pluralists argue owners and editors are trustworthy managers and protectors of this process
  • Pluralists also argue that media audiences are the real power holders because they exercise their right to buy or not to buy something.
    This means that the audience can choose not to watch or respond to the media if they believed it was biased or do not like the choices owners make
  • The media supplies what the audience wants rather than what the owner wants, therefore it is not biased where as a greater range of what the audience wants to see
  • Pluralists argue that the concentration of ownership is a product of economic rationality rather than sinister motives. This is because we need to keep costs low and maximize profits.
  • Globalization results from the need to find new audiences rather than cultural imperialism.
    Cultural imperialism refers to the imposition of cultural values and ideas onto another culture
  • Pluralists argue it is impossible for owners to interfere with the content of newspapers because their businesses are economically far too complex for them to regularly interfere with day to day.
  • Pluralists note that the power of media owners is restricted by the state, government or controls.
    Britain is subjected to legal controls and rules imposed on them by Ofcom.