SECTION 1 REVISION – MASS MEDIAMILLIE PRICE – SOCIOLOGY REVISION

PLURALISM & THE MEDIA Pluralists see power as widely dispersed in democratic

societies. they believe that no one group is dominant and that all

groups have a say In the running of society and that adults have FREEDOM to choose who governs (power)

e.g. we have the power to vote someone off of parliament Pluralists view on the media would be that we all have

CHOICE Even if the Bougisie own the media, it doesn't’t matter as

they still have to portray proletariat views Pluralists welcome media DEREGULATION because private

ownership is the most effective way of proving a wide range of choices to the audiences.

PLURALIST ARGUMENTSPluralists have 4 main arguments about the media:

Reflecting public demands:The content of the mass media mirrors what the public wants.They cater to the public as a whole by responding to the demands of the market

Diverse society:The media represent a range of views which allows audience freedom to choose between them e.g. through different newspapers

Digital technology:All forms of communication can be coded, sorted and relayed in digital form (films, music) The transfer of power is from owners to audience who choose what they want to watch, listen or read

Media concentration: Concentration of ownership is essential for survival in an increasingly global market

MARXISM AND THE MEDIA• MARXISTS AND NEO-MARXISTS would disagree with the pluralist view of

the ownership and control of the mass media.• They would say that the bourgeois use the media as a means for them to

maintain their HEGEMONY AND DOMINANCE. • The media ensures that the proletariat absorbs and accepts capitalist

ideology; that life is about working hard for a wage and consuming capitalist products.

• The ruling classes that own and control the media have a vested interest to portray capitalism in a positive light.

• Marxists would also argue that the mass media solely reflects the economic base and presents capitalism as normal and acceptable so that the proletariat don’t rebel and the bourgeois stay rich and powerful

• Therefore because of this workers will never become aware of the exploitation they are facing and fall into false class-consciousness.

MARXISM AND THE MEDIA• Traditional Marxists argue that the owners of the media control its content by

employing managers and editors who share the same views. For example as shown in the documentary ‘outfoxed’, news companies like Fox news that share capitalist views wouldn’t employ a democrat.

• What is presented in Fox news mainly reflects the views of anchors and as seen in this documentary they will bring on weak, vulnerable guests that are unable to fight their corner or view. These owners of the media have benefited from the capitalist system and therefore would not be critical of the system.

• Neo-Marxists such as MILLIBAND 1973 argue that the role of the media is to shape how people think about the world. The content of the media reflects the viewpoint of the dominant group in society (white, male, ruling class).

• The media also creates illusions and produces a feeling of well being, which keeps the working class quite and encourages them to accept a system when the reality is they are all being exploited

• GRAMSCI also a neo-Marxist argues that workings will see through the dominant ideology and develop views in oppositions to it. He believes that there are always competing viewpoints and people to challenge the beliefs which can change society.