pluralist theory on ownership

• overview of pluralist perspective

  modern capitalist societies are democratic with all interest groups being given a media platform to express views

  mass media seen as essential and impartial facilitators
• pluralism - economics of media ownership


  the free market and pursuit of profit trumps idea media corporations are ways to impose views

  media owners compete with each other to attract people to their product

  readers, viewers and listeners have real power as they exercise consumer sovereignty which is right to buy or not buy = freedom of choice

  if consumers didnt like product they would respond by not buying it and business would go out of business
• pluralism - economics of media ownership

  global media marketplace is segmented - mass media corporations produce variety of media products aimed at different markets

  argue that such variety and diversity counters any attempt to influence a mass audience

  media corps often tailor products to appeal to particular social groups, empowering the customer as they have access to more diverse media products and choices can make / break products

  e.g., blackbury vs apple / samsung
• pluralism - economic of media ownership

  power lies with consumer / audience rather than media owners

  market determines media content and product, not the owner

  rationale for concentration of media ownership is only economic with media products being expensive to produce and concentration of ownership is aimed at maximising audience size to reduce costs and attract advertising
• pluralism - economics of media ownership


  processes such as vertical / horizontal integration, synergy, lateral expansion and convergence are aimed at reducing costs involved in contacting services out to other media companies that may be competing with them

  profits enhanced as they are no longer subjected to fluctuating prices charged by other companies
• pluralism - economics of media ownership


  diversity of media products worldwide mean it is practically impossible for owners to influence content

  doubtful whether owners like rupert murdoch have the time / capability to control the content of dozens of newspapers he owns or interfere with programmes on TV channels his conglomerates own
• pluralism - economics of media ownership - WHALE


  media owners have global problems of trade and investment to occupy their minds and dont have the time to think about the day-to-day detailed running of their media business
• pluralism - media as a democratic media


  range of media products available is extremely diverse and so all points of view are catered for

  if some points of view have a greater range of media representing them, this isnt biased and merely mirrors what the audience wants / sees as important
• pluralism - public service broadcasting

  significant share of UK media market made of by PSB - media outlets controlled by state that have reputation of impartiality and which cater for all taste and opinion

  BBC legal obligation to inform, education and entertain full audience spectrum ( cater for all social groups )

  pluralists see PSB as epitome of impartial and objective media and a counterweight to any potential bias that might occur in private sector
• pluralism - public service broadcasting eval

  number of commentators suggesting bbc is abandoning its PSB aims as it is losing audience to commercial and satellite television = bbc become more commercialised and populist in its programming to keep up with audiences
• pluralism - state controls of media


  power of media owners restricted by state of government controls

  in some societies - governments dont allow owners to own too many media or different types of media, to reduce possibility one persons / groups views or products might become too dominant

  many countries have cross ownership rules preventing companies from owning more than one media form in the same area
• pluralism - state controls of media

  BBC and ITV have formal legal requirements imposed on them by OFCOM which monitors content and quality of TV and radio output

  combination and audience and regulators prevents media owners imposing biased content upon audiences
• pluralism - media professionalism

  editors would never allow owners to compromise their independence

  argue journalists have too much integrity to be regularly biased in favour of one perspective

  media have strong tradition of investigative journalism, often targeting those in power

  • uk newspapers have uncovered corruption in high places and forced politicians to resign
• evaluation of pluralist theory - CURRAN

  plenty of evidence that media owners have undermined newspaper independence and balance in subtle ways by cherry picking editors and getting rid of editors / journalists

  journalists deliberately self-censor work to remove controversial items that may draw owners attention to them

  conforming to owners brings rewards in terms of interesting assignments / promotions
• evaluation of pluralist theory - BLUMLER AND GUREVITCH

  overstates impartiality of journalists

  many journalists are over-reliant on official sources for information and stories, undermining journalistic objectivity

  significant numbers of public dont trust journalists
• evaluation of pluralist theory - TROWLER

  500 journalists embedded in british and american troops during iraq invasion

  resulted in one sided reporting of conflict as journalists developed personal attachments with troops they were living with
• evaluation of pluralist theory - feminists

  argue range of female voices made available in media market is very low

  media content is clearly male orientated and this can be clearly seen in representations of females

  THORNHAM - all feminist perspectives are dismissed by journalists as extreme and threatening
• evaluation of pluralist theory

  difficult for people to decide what they want to see when media is only source of information

  powerless groups lack resources to set up media companies to communicate their points of view

  consumers dont truly have a diversity of media reflecting every conceivable opinion as particular views are deemed unacceptable or too extreme

  constructed a highly censored media marketplace