4.1 - Ownership and Control of the Media

• What does mass media mean?

  • a form of communication that transmits info, news and entertainment to mass audiences
• What is a media saturated society?

  A society where media plays a pervasive and influential role in people's lives.
• What does Bagdikian say about the concentration of ownership?

  • Bagdikian points out that in 1983, 50 corporations controlled the majority of all news media in the USA
  • 1922 - 22 companies controlled 90% of media
  • Bagdikian argues if USA's media was controlled individually there would be 25,000 owners
  • 2014 - 6 corporations owned media - Comcat, Disney, 21st century fox, CBS, Timewarner and Viacorn
• What does Curran say about the british newspaper industry?

  • similar concentration of ownership in the british newspaper industry
  • 1937 - owned by the 'press barons' (four lords)
• What are the features of media ownership?

  1. Concentration of ownership - most of all media are concentrated in the hands of very few, large companies
  2. Vertical Integration - a concentration of ownership within a single medium, such as owning several newspaper companies
  3. Horizontal Integration - cross media ownership such as newspapers and magazines
  4. Global Ownership - media ownership is international as the owners have global media empires
• What are the features of media ownership?

  1. Conglomeration + diversification - media companies are often part of huge conglomerate (have a diversity of products)
  2. Global Conglomeration - media ownership is international with global companies producing many media products
  3. Synergy - what happens when media companies produce, promote and sell a product in a variety of forms
  4. Technological Convergence - media companies try to maximise their products and make them accesible in technological forms
• What is the manipulative/instrumentalist approach to media?

  • traditional marxists approach which suggests the owners directly control media content and media audiences to protect their profits and spread the dominant ideology
  • Media editors, managers and journalists have little choice other than to run the media within the boundaries of the owners
  • Journalists consequently self censor their work and produce biased reports which side with the dominant ideologies
• What did Curran and Seaton do?

  • found evidence which suggested media owners did interfere and manipulate with the media content
  • Murdoch of News Corporation was arguing about wars in Iraq and all 175 of his newspapers agreed. He admitted he was hands on editorially
• What is the role of the audience in the manipulative/instrumentalist approach?

  • This approach assumes media audience is passive - they are easily manipulated robots who unquestiongly consume the biased media.
  • This stops them from focusing on serious issues and focus on dominant ideologies
• Evaluation of the instrumentalist/manipulative approach?

  1. Pluralists argue attracting large audiences to gain advertisers is to provide for the audiences not owners
  2. State regulates media ownership so no company has too much influence
  3. Audiences are not as gullible and passive as the media portrays
  4. Neophilliacs - argue that new media and social media means audience can share their opinions
• What is the dominant ideology/hegemonic approach?

  • neo marxist approach which suggests the media spread dominant ideology which justifies the power of the ruling class. It suggests the owners have influence but not a day to day control of the media.
  • Emphasises the concept of hegemony - dominance in society of the ruling class ser of ideas and acceptance of them by the rest of society
  • Suggests the media managers and journalists generally support the dominant ideology but by choice as the GMG suggests they are white, middle class men who support ruling ideology.
• Role of audiences in dominant ideology/hegemonic approach?

  • the audience is exposed to a limited range of opinions
  • Journalists 'new values' means they do not report the dominant ideology, but whatever attracts the audiences (making money for audience)
  • EVIDENCE - some items are deliberately excluded from the media such as the damage of the london riots but not the reason behind
  • This is known as 'agenda setting' and 'gatekeeping' which means audiences have little choice over media content. Audiences are unconsciously persuaded to see ruling class ideology and eventually internalise it
• Evaluation of dominant/hegemonic approach -

  1. This approach undermines the power and influence of owners as owners appoint and dismiss managers and journalists
  2. Agenda setting and gate keeping means audiences have no choice in the content of the media
  3. Pluralists suggest the rise of the new media means audiences have more control in the media
• What is the pluralist approach to the control of the media?

  • Pluralism - see power in society as spread among various groups with no single person having a monopoly of power. This approach argues that media content is not driven by dominant ideology, but a fight for profits
  • There is a wide range of media products which reflect audiences' interests and challenge the ideology
  • They have to listen to audiences or else no profit. Journalists have some proffesional and editorial honesty so can select stories most relevant to the audience
• Audience's role in pluralist approach -

  • Audiences are free to choose a 'pick n mix' approach and can select or reject
  • Example - can blog on facebook, twitter and instagram
• Evaluation of pluralist approach -

  1. Media owners can still appoint and sack editors so have some influence
  2. Managers and journalists work within the constraints of their owners
  3. The pressure to attract audiences leads to 'infotainment'
  4. Hegemonic theorists argue that people have been socialised by ideology to think the media is giving them what they want