2. Explain what sociologist mean
by…
Mass media – the forms of communication
(media) that reaches a large audience
Traditional media – newspapers, magazines,
books, TV, radio, cinema
New media – internet, mobiles, digital radio,
cable and satellite TV, DVD, video games
Press – newspapers and magazines
3. ……..
Quality press – traditional broadsheets such as
The Times, Telegraph and the Guardian
Tabloid press – Sun, Mirror Star
Broadcasting – TV and Radio – BBC publicly
funded via the TV licence , all other channels are
funded by advertising.
Electronic media – internet, you do not have to
be a journalist to create content – anyone can
publish on the Web and contribute – increases
participation in creating and publishing
information. People can also join pubic
networking sites and create blogs.
4. Technological developments in the
last 30 years….
TV – more channels, development of satellite
TV which can be received by free view or by
paying subscriptions
Digital broadcasting – offers interaction with
the audience – red button, entering
competitions, voting in a reality show
Cross media interaction – interact with the
programme through other media – websites,
texts from mobiles etc.
5. Technological developments over the
past 30 years…
Convergence – images sounds etc. can be transmitted
simultaneously through different types of media – for
example some mobile phones can connect to the
internet and receive e mails, you can watch TV via the
internet etc.
Digital radio – better sound quality and we can listen to
digital radio through digital TV services
Teletex – access to regularly updated news – we can
access breaking news and follow stories as they unfold
Newspaper production now involves the use of
technology – computerised layout and digital printing
and newspapers can now be accessed on the internet
6. Internet access
Rapid growth 10% in 1998 – 61% by 2007
Internet access linked to household income –
high income households are more likely to have
internet access
Uses of internet – info, e mail, shopping,
banking, gaming, travel, social networking,
downloading music, listen to radio, watch TV
Digital divide – gap between those who have
access to the new technologies and those who
do not – income, location etc.
7. Effects on the audience
Hypodermic syringe – media has a lot of
power over the audience, audience received
daily injections of messages from TV and
newspapers – these messages work like a
drug and have a powerful effect on the
behaviour and attitudes of the audience
Experiments on children bandura 1963
8. Effect of the media on it’s
audience
Uses and Gratifications
What the audience use the media for and how
our needs are met (gratified) by the media.
Information – watch news, documentaries
Personal identity – gain insight into ourselves
Personal relationships – a substitute for real life
companionship
Entertainment – escape from problems or to fill
time
9. Effects of the media on the
audience.
Decoding approach (Abercrombie 1996)
The content of TV programmes has several
possible meanings and different sectors of the
audience may decode the messages in very
different ways it could depend on social
background, class, culture, etc.
The hypodermic syringe sees the audience as
passive but the decoding approach sees the
audience as actively interpreting the messages
for themselves.
10. Media and socialization
Socialization – how we learn the culture of
the society that we are born into and our
roles within that society.
Agent of socialization – institutions that
contribute to the socialization process,
families, schools, peer groups and the mass
media
11. Media and socialization
“mums go to Iceland” – Gauntlett (2008) by
presenting messages about the role of women
the media contributes to gender socialization
The influences in the media may be subtle but
they can build up over time and lead to
stereotypes being formed for example – women
and men being associated promoting different
products may lead to decisions in these areas
being taken by those genders – women and
washing powder, men and cars!
12. Media and socialization
Political socialization – acquire political views
and preferences and in turn these may influence
how we participate in politics
Importance of media – can be our only source of
information about the political parties –
impotent during election campaigns!
Voting – newspapers can be biased towards one
party
Curtice and Mair (2008) – readers of a newspaper
may be exposed to a particular view on current
affairs that could encourage them to vote for one
party over another
13. Media and socialization
Curtice and Mair (2008) – 2 concerns about
the press and voting behaviour
The press has too much influence on how we
vote
The press has such negative coverage of
politics that it discourages people from voting
at all
The press readership has declined – they
argue this is good for democracy
14. Press ownership and content
Do the owners of the mass media have the power to
influence the content?
Pluralists – no single group dominates
The range of opinions and views are represented in the
press
Newspapers give the readers what they want to read – if we
don’t get what we want we stop buying the papers
Public control the content of the press by their market
power
Freedom to set up newspapers if the existing ones do not
meet demands
We can put forward our view by writing to the editor
Day to day control in the hands of the journalists
15. Press ownership and content
Conflict view – Marxists
Newspaper owners – wealthy powerful group
Protect the interests of this group by putting
their views across in the media
Unlikely to publish content that will be critical of
the powerful
Cross media ownership gives them more control
Journalist dependent for their jobs – will write
what the owners want to see
16. Black people in the media
1950 to 1970s – black people absent or portrayed
stereotypes – criminals or narrow roles – sports,
dancers, entertainers
Negative associations – famine, crime, riots war
1990s changes – more black actors playing
ordinary characters, Cosby show
But still negative reporting prevalent – Bradford
riots 2001 – more interested in the negative
actions of Asian youths than the provocation
from the white national front (Bagguley and
Hussain 2008)
17. Gender and media
1970s – research indicated that mass media
representations of women were stereotypical
rather than realistic and the images of women
did not reflect the roes they played in society
Cumberbatch (1990) – men and women
2/3 people in adverts were men
Nearly all voice overs were male
Women were usually young and blond
Men shown in professional settings
Women shown with a male partner
18. Gender in media
Women in sport
Women invisible in sports coverage and when shown their
role is trivialised
William 1997 – women’s football ignored compared to men
Gauntlett (2008) – male magazines
Key themes of masculinity
Men like to look at women
Men like gadgets, cars and sport
Men need help with fashion and grooming
Men are fascinated by bravery and danger
Is this as big a stereotype as Mums gone to Iceland?
19. Deviance amplification
Stan Cohen (2002) – media are involved in the creation of moral panics –
exaggerating the extent and significance of a social problem.
A group is cast as a “folk devil” which becomes a threat to the values of
society
This group is shown in stereotypical terms in the media
Mods and rockers – media reported in sensationalistic headlines and
distorted what happened – this created a false image of young people
Amplification – exaggerating and distorting the events – this can lead to
other s behaving ion the same way as the group has been portrayed in
the media – further disturbance lead to a public outcry – a moral panic
Police responded by harsh treatment and further arrests – the media
can amplify the deviance and provoke more deviant behaviour
20. Contemporary issues
Potential harm to children – provoking
violent behaviour
Bandura (1963) – hypodermic syringe
1990’s – Child’s Play 3 and Natural Born
Killers lead to copy cat crimes in the USA and
the Jamie Bulger case in the UK
Sociologists research has shown that children
can distinguish between real and fictional
violence and they do not passively accept TV
images
21. Contemporary issues
Gauntlett (2008) – research failed to show a
strong connection between violent teenagers
and the TV programming they watched
Peak and Fisher (1996) – TV violence has
become a scapegoat for the violence seen in
society and the true cause is poverty,
unemployment, homelessness, abuse and
personality traits
22. Exam questions
How far would sociologist agree that
exposure to violence in the media can
encourage violence in everyday life
How far would sociologists agree that the
mass media is the most powerful agency of
political socialization in Britain today
How far would sociologists agree that the
press owners in Britain control the content of
the media.