Sociology Media A Level A2

Sociology Media A Level A2

1. Different Features of Globalisation of Ownership

   • Concentration of Ownership
   • Vertical Integration
   • Horizontal Integration
   • Global Ownership
   • Conglomeration and Diversification
   • Global Conglomeration
   • Synergy
   • Technological Convergence

2. Traditional Marxist

   • Owners directly control media content and media audience to protect their profits and spread the dominant ideology

3. Neo Marxists

   • Owners are not to blame for inequalities of classes. Values and ideas of the ruiling class have one common sense view to have and journalist choose this view

4. Pluralist

   • Media is driven by the fight fr profits. Therefore reflects consumer choice and the competition for audience prevents domination of media from owners

5. Features and the use of New Media

   • 5 key features of New Media differ from traditional media
     • Digitality (Using computers)
     • Interactivity (We can engage with a variety of media)
     • Hypertextuality (Refers to links which form a 'web' of connection to other bits of info- e.g. the wiki game of noodles
     • Dispersal (Media is not only editable by media professionals
     • Virtuality (refers to the various ways we can immerse ourselfs in unreal interactive experiences and create imaginary identities on online communication sites e.g. Twittwr, Youtuber and Facebook)

6. Stratification (Splits society into layers with a hierachy. There is Stratification in the usage of new media.

   • Location (Poor countries lack access of media due to poverty)
   • Gender Differences (Men play video games, Women more social network. Boys over estimate skill, girls underestimate however there equally as good)
   • Age Differences (This refers to the generation gap in terms of access to and use of new media. Boyle pointed out younger people have grown up with the latest developments in the new media. Those aged 16-24 are 10 times more likely to go online via a mobile than 55+)
   • Social Inequalities (Those in poorer classes have less access to the internet and are less likely to use new media, meaning there is a digital divide between the richer and poorer social classes. Helsper said that there was a digital underclass forming which those of lower social class lagged in new media. Even when they didnt have the confidence or skill to use it, this leads to a form of social exclusion)

7. Growth and Diversity of New Media

   • Many traditional media companies such as New corp are involved in new media. This means there is synergy between both new media and traditional media. E.g. Online newspapers which are replications of those produced on print.
   • Boyle and Hayhes (2004) looked at media coverage of sport after the development of mobile phones and 3G internet. Phone manufactures claimed that there would be dramatic revolutionary changes in football, broadcasting and marketing. They found that integration of mobile technology and football media was an evolutionary process. Mobile technology offered extra options for viewing football instead of replacing traditional options
   • Cornford and Robins (1999) also agree that new media are evolutionary because they evolve from technology that already existed
   • McNair suggests the new media meant that elite groups have less power to influence new agendas. Control is shifting as citizen journalist are influencing the news that is reported by the traditional media. This undermines the power of media owners and gives more power to ordinary people.
   • Growth of new media has made traditional media more accountable and responsible to their audiences. They have also had to diversify and offer their traditional media in a range of new media formats e.g. Citizen journalists

8. Views on the Significance of New Media

   • Curran and Seaton (2010) suggest that there are 2 general views on the media's significance in contemporary society:- The Cultural Optimist view and The Cultural Pessimist view
     • The Cultural Optimist/ Neophillac Viwe :)
       • Argue that new media can give more power to ordinary people and help build more democratic societies
       • McNair anyone can set up and maintain a blog/ website. Social media articles= diversity. More power for people in society and breaks down cultural hegemony (where one set of values dominate s others
       • Promotes cultural diversity as cultures are brought together
     • The Cultural Pessimist View ;(
       • State Controlled - Privacy - Snowden
       • New media - concerned with profits via advertisement
       • New media comes with a social cost- online retailers avoid taxes and exploit there workers ao the can offer these services with out loosing profit
       • Keen- Wikipedia - anyone can write false information but often replace professional information because it is seen as free and easily accessible

9. Selecting and Presenting the News

   • Practical Constraints
     • Time Constraints (Most available stories used again and again for convenience= bias view)
     • Technical Constraints (Harder to access a place- less likely it will make the news)
     • Budget (Cant afford to have many news reporters so they buy stories from agencies. These agancies decide what becomes news)
     • Competition (Newspaper editors likely to publish popular news and its important that there paper sells more than rivals)

10. New Media and the Selection and Presentation of News

    • News is instantly available from practically anywhere in the world 24/7
    • In the global market news providers need to compete to survive as people are now tweeting and texting and 'surfing' the interenet for what interests them
      • Its crucial for media companies to be right up to date and to tailor their media offering and the way it is presented; simple, snppy and gossipy
    • New media mean ordinary folk are more involved in collecting and spreading news with minimal costs compared to professional journalists and media companies
      • Bivens (2008) citizen journalism is transforming traditional journalism. It has also lead to the exposure of offensive illegal or corrupt activites by politicans, celebrities and private industries which may have been otherwise covered by traditional media. Citizen journalism has therefore made police activities more accountable
    • Davies (2008) suggests that journalists are under such pressure that the quality of their works suffers as they don't have much time to check it properly. This leads to inaccuries and error. Davies calls this Churnalism (were journalists use facts and figures from a range of sources without making sure theyre reliable)

11. Organisational and Ideological Factors

    • Journalist learn to follow certain rules and ideas on which they believe the general public want to hear about
      • Composition (balancing stories)
      • Continuity (convientant - not big per say)
      • Elite Nations or People (Newsworthy stories about big countries/ celebrities)
      • Frequency (events that fit routine- recent disasters and murders)
      • Meaningfulness (events which is assumed to be big interest)
      • Negativity (Bad news is nearly always rated above positive stories)
      • Personalisation (Events that we can link to important individuals i.e. latest political scandal
      • Proximity (Items closer to home more likely to make news)
      • Threshold (Events that considered just large and significant enough to make the news. E.g a serial rapist)
      • Unambiguity/ Clarity (Simple stories)
      • Unexpectedness (Unpredictable news stories more likely to be featured in news e.g. terriost attacks
    • Gating and Ruge (1965) media is organised in a way that leads journalists to believe certain events are more newsworthy than others

12. Key Practices of Journalists

    • Agenda Setting
    • Gatekeeping
    • Jones (1986) new media allows individuals to manipulate events and make tense situations worse

13. Moral Panics

    • Stan Cohen (1972) studied 'Folk Devil's' and 'Moral Panics'. Moral Panics= media reactions to particular social groups/activities that are threating societies values and create anxiety amongst the general public e.g Refugees
    • Cohen identified how small scale scuffles amd vandalism are blown way out proportion
    • However publicity and social reaction can lead to future crime and deviance e.g. Thorton (1995) found that the 'Just Say No to Drugs' campaign of the 90's attracted more young people to drug use as they realised adult society disapproved
    • For Example; alleged links between asylm seekers and terriost and claims that they only wanted benefits
    • Caused by reactions to rapid social changes, means of profit, serving ruiling class ideology and reflection of peoples real fears
    • McRobbie (1999) moral panics less frequent- groups labelled folk devils can fight back through pressure groups and new social movements

14. The Audience, Advertisers and New Media

    • Pluralist- Consumers are able to select what they want to see and have a wide variety of choice
      • Jewkes (2004) news content is influenced by the way the news constructs stories. Journalist assumptions of what we want - adopt a certain tone, use strong images and focus on parts on stories e.g. Public worried about immigration and an immigrant was stealing- they would put it in a bad light and highlight the thief was an immigrant
    • News linked to advertising many media outlets are profit making. Outlets rely on government and big corporations
      • Edwards and Cromwell (2006) some advertisers didn't want to appear next to images of Iraq war. Images were suppressed and replaced with other content to continue to make money
    • Media outlets may piggy back on these stories and often an alternative perspective

15. Media Professionals and the Government

    • GUMG= Glasgow University Media Group
    • GUMG emphasised a number of features of media professionals which influenced the content of news
    • 4 Features that Affect the Content of News
      • Hierarchy of Credibility (attaching info about powerful and influential individuals/groups at top of the hierarchy)
      • Extremist/ Radical Views (journalist can ignore what they regard as extremist or radical views)
      • The GMG ("Journalsust mainly white, male, middle class and share interests of the dominant")
      • Individual and Unchecked Claims (News agencies, spin doctors and public rlation consultants used as they are cheaper and more time efficient- decribed as churnalism- therefore news based on claims rather than factual info
    • Greer and Jewkes (2005) journalists influenced by employers to shape the news.

16. Media Representations of Gender

    • The Under Representation of Women in the Media Industry (women undeepresented in position of bower- 40% hold a senior role)
      • 78% of front paged articles were written by men
      • Glass Celing ( invisible barrier to progress in carrer - that was fixed at the junior professional level)
    • The Male Gaze (Women = sexual objects +provide erotic pleasure for men )
    • The Under Representation and Sterotyping of Women in Media Content
      • Women are seen as ordinary, Men are refer as experts, Popular TV shows men appear more and women are 4 times more likely to be referes to by their family status
    • Patriachal Ideology and the Symbolic Annihilation of Women
      • Media=Patriachal
        • Tuchman et (1978) media = males POV and is the symbolic annihaliation of women,involving the 3 aspects of trivialisation, omission and the condemnation of women in the media
    • Connell (2005) Gender identities constructed by the media- reproducing hegemonic stereotypes of the roles of men and women
    • Wolf (1991) media reinforces stereotypes through the 'beauty myth'(idea women are assessed in terms of appearance and expected to conform to male conceptions of female beauty

17. Media and Gender Differences

    • Videogames; 16% are female
    • Sterotypes of Females in Media
      • 1) The WAG (popular female)
      • 2) The Sex Object (sexually attractive, scantily clad)
      • 3) The Supermum (homewife)
      • 4) The Angel ('good', sensitive and domesticated)
      • 5) Ball Breaker (Sexually attractive, selfish and dependent on men but otherwise independent)
      • 6) The Victim (Either saved or hurt by men in Horror/ Crime)

18. Male Representations and Sterotypes

    • Media portrayals of male characters fall within a range of sterotypes of male characters which reinforce 'masks of masculinity'
    • Sterotypes of Men
      • 1) The Joker
      • 2) The Jock
      • 3) The Strong Silent Type
      • 4) The Big Shot
      • 5) The Action Hero
      • 6) The Buffon

19. Theoretical Explanations of Gendering Stereotyping

    • Pluralist- sterotyping occurs because that is what media audiences want. Advertising attracts audiences to make audiences and satisfies both wishes of audience and editors
    • Liberal Feminist - media is a product of under representation of women in power in a male dominated world. This will change as women gain more power and equal opportunities in media organisations, enabling to break through the glass ceiling
    • Marxist/ Marxist Feminist= media imagery of gender as rooted in the need to make profits. Audiences - made to feel insecure with makeup and diet- for advertising. Tebbel was 1997 editor of New Women Magazine. Featured size 16 model on cover and it was well received. But a major advertiser withdrew its advertsing from Tebbel who ere forced to discontinue promoting what the advertsiers saw as 'unhealthy' (for sales of their product) imagery. Gender representations are driven by patriarchal ideology. It reasserts hegemony of the normality of male dominated middle class and upper class lifestyles

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