2. By the end of this week you will be able to:
Define the Media, including controlled, traditional and new
Explore the debate on influences of the Media on society
Consider ways in which the Media influences your individual
thinking and the culture of your society
Identify theoretical approaches to media’s role in society
Learning Objectives
3. Defining Media
Media can be defined as any means for
communicating (e.g. broadcast), particularly by
moving information from the private to the public
domain.
Any medium (means of communication) – from a
text message to a multi-platform promotional
event – is part of media.
Television, Radio, Newspapers, Books, Music,
Advertising and the Internet are often
distinguished as Mass Media because they are
aimed at maximizing their audience reach. News
Media are types of mass media that focus on
current events.
4. The Role of Media in Society
The media is fundamental to modern life:
It provides information
Is central to most people’s social life
Is the primary source for most people to find out about the world
around them
It shapes our views and opinions about our communities and
society in general
It may influence the way we think about certain ideas, issues and
events.
6. Why is TV still the Media King?
4.75 billion people around the world had internet connection in April 2021 but that
left 40% of the world’s population unconnected – the table below shows where:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1155552/countries-highest-number-lacking-internet/
7. Media
13% of the World’s population (9.9 million people) don’t even have access
to electricity. In countries like Chad, only 8.8% of the population have
electricity - which means no internet and no TV !
8. Free vs controlled in traditional
media
In some countries we media is State –
controlled. The media acts like a Public
Relations machine for the Government
– telling the population what the
Government is doing to help them and
instructing them about what they
should do.
In liberal countries, like the UK and the
US, the Media is not controlled by the
State, but has other pressures
influencing their news and
information, like advertising and
business interests.
9. Mediated and Unmediated
Media
Traditional media is mediated. Stories and images are selected by
journalists, editors, producers, filmmakers, etc., to represent what they
think is the public wants or needs to believe.
For example, the images of the police can be different in controlled and
free media:
Or
10. Un-mediated Media
New Media, which is often based on the Internet, is considered
unmediated. Social media, for example, is often seen as lacking the
kind of deliberation that goes into selection of Ideas and images which
traditional media employs.
But, is this true?
It may be more difficult to spot the motivation
and deliberation of social media creators because
we don’t always know:
• who has posted the information (unlike in traditional media);
• what is the real motivation behind the posts (e.g. who is sponsoring
‘influencers’ for promoting products)
• where the posts have really come from (e.g. cyber targeting and
tactics to influence individuals or whole communities)
Unmediated posts are also a concern because they can hurt, shock or
scandalise people, especially young children.
11. Media Influence
The Media’s importance is surely evident. Our daily use of it shows that
it plays a big part in our lives, but just how influential is it? Does it make
us think and do things differently? Are we being ‘brainwashed,’ and
controlled by the people behind the scenes, or do we decide what to
consume and what to believe?
The effect of the media on us, through what we see, hear and read in
the media (‘the media effect’) is a topic of continues scholarly debate,
and it is also changing over time, due to the emergence of new
technologies, behaviours and findings.
Some believe that the media propagates hegemonic ideologies and has
strong effects on its consumers, while others believe that it is more
limited, and that users have more freedom in choosing what media to
consume (e.g. uses and gratification theory).
12. Marxism and the Media
Marxist ☭ viewpoints examine both the media’s influence over people
and its ownership. Both exercise power over society.
These theories focus on the product and outcome, and not the process
of producing information. They look at the ‘News Agenda’ – e.g. why
are certain stories more prominent or more dominant than others.
13. Marxism and the Media
American linguist Noam Chomsky is famously
critical of the dominance of big business, and
how their interests, values and agenda are
propagated through ownership, pressure,
lobbying, advertising power, and various other
means.
Therefore, the media excludes voices that lack economic power,
and the voices are being heard are those least likely to criticise
the prevailing distribution of wealth and power.
For example, corporately-owned media have exacerbated people’s
fears of global terrorism while preventing a discussion of domestic
problems, particularly how big business can avert and avoid
wrongdoing, and the persistence or growing gaps in domestic and
global inequalities.
Image: Σ 2017, retouched by
Wugapodes, Wikimedia CCSA4
14. Is Chomsky right about the Media?
Media
YES
Here is an example from
The US media corporation
Fox News:
NO
Had it been true, would
media tycoons like
Berlusconi, Murdock and
Black have been convicted of
crimes?
15. Can Marxist Theorists be Right?
Many Marxists posit that ‘the culture
industry’ re-produces the hegemony’s
desired values to the masses. E.g. by
language of bias, like terrorists vs.
freedom fighters, in almost every
armed conflict.
Culture is essentially being dominated
by the desire for profit, just like other
areas of society.
Critics, however, highlight that people
can and do think for themselves. They
can resist media propaganda, or
alternate media sources that offer
different messages.
Image: Cottonbro studio, CC
16. • Functionalists also believe in the
influence of media, and see it as a social
institution with the role of enforcing of
social norms.
• The media highlights the benefit of ‘good
behaviour’ by reporting what happens to
people who don’t (e.g. Crime reporting),
and giving status to individuals,
associations who are model citizens.
• The media provides surveillance of the
social environment - it gathers and
broadcasts information of what is
happening in society / incidents of social
concern.
Functionalist theories of Media
17. Other Media Theories: Pluralism
• Many in the media and the public hold that media is simply
pluralistic and reflects society. As society is made up of many
sections, the media is seen as a benevolent and neutral party,
operating in the public’s best interest.
• According to pluralists, the media reflects the views of society.
• They argue against Marxism that the media are so busy reflecting
society that they are unlikely to have much ‘effect’ in changing
society.
Image: Redrecords, CC
18. Pluralism in the Media
• Pluralists also stress that the media has limited influence on people’s
views, because it acts in unpredictable ways.
• Various factors that can change these effects in different directions:
Personal, political, practical or technological factors
The specific medium matters
Content, form, presentation and language change effectivity
Existing beliefs and attitudes of the audience
Messages can be moderated by opinion-makers within
communities
• Critics of pluralism argue that this approach is lacking objectivity, and
is made by media bodies, for obvious, interested reasons. They also
highlight the vast differences in access to resources and to the media,
to have a voice and to be portrayed in a desirable and favourable way.
These gaps are reflected in the outcomes, too.
19. Seminar 1 will start with a discussion and presentation of your ideas.
To prepare for the discussion answer the following questions:
1. How do you use the media?
a. What media do you use most often? What is your motivation (e.g.
entertainment, information, news)?
b. Is it controlled media? Mediated/unmediated? Explain your answer.
2. Bring to class an example of news you learned via social media,
focusing on a social issue or an event.
3. Analyse the example you chose:
a. Is this a factual account? What’s the evidence?
b. Who is attributed (mentioned as contributing to the story)?
c. Is it objective? Balanced?
Be ready to present your homework in Seminar 1.
Homework
