Mass Media

Changing Patterns of Media

there have been major changes in the past 25 years, this includes a decline in the consumption of old media e.g newspapers. the use of new media has increased e.g most people have a smart phone, have digital TV service and internet access. today, mor people subscribe to digital services e.g Sky, Netflix, BT and Virgin.

Digital services have meant better quality sound and vision and the abilt to link media devices within the home. new technology also gives much greater access to the internet away from the home e.g wifi, mobile data etc.

NB: Some sociologists call it the digital divide, this refers to inequality in access to technology e.g the poor may not be able to afford it or know how to use it. Some areas, rural areas may have more access. Poorer countries may have inadequate services.

Public Service and Commercial Media

in the UK we have public service media which is BBC. This is funded through the TV license fee. The BBC have a duty of public service ie to report the news in a fair and unbiased way and include outputs that represent all social groups.

However we also have commercial media - this is usually privately owned and funded by subscriptions, advertising and other commercial activity.

The Media Impact On The Audience

in the exam, questions often appear on the impact of the media.

some sociologists claim that the audience is passive and that media has a direct affect on the audience. However other sociologists claim that the media does not have a direct effect and the audience is active and are able to reject the media message.

There are 5 main approaches ro explain media effectson the next card.

The Hypodermic Needle Theory is one of the earliest approahes of media impact. it claims the media has a direct impact on its audience for example, people who play violent video games become violent.

this approach views the audience as passive and unable to think about or reject the media message. it also assumes that everyone in the audience is the same and unable to think for themselves. therefore the media is seen as a drug  being injected directly into the audience. However this view has been critasized because not everyone is the same and are not always passive.

The Two Step Flow Theory 

this approach claims the audience play an active role in receiving the mdia message. Also the media does not have a direct effect on the audience. this approach claims that the message first reaches OPINION LEADERS (important people such as celebrities) these people have influence and pass on the message to other indiviudals in society. examples include Kony 2012 in which they used Georgre Clooney to be opinion leaders. this shows the audience is active but it is weak because it only includes two steps.

Uses And Gratification

This approach sees the audience as different from one another ie they are individuals who use the media actively for a variety of reasons which include: diversion, getting away from boredom. Education, forming relationships. communication and personal identity. they also see the audience as active because they are not forced to watch and listen to anything for example they can turn the device off or change the channel.

this theory also claims that different individuals interpret the media differently for example the persons class, gender, ethnicity and cultural backround will influence how they interpret the media.

Does The Media Cause Violence?

one way the media causes violence is through copycat behaviour - where the viewer copies what they see. this is an example of the media having a direct effect and so this is linked tot he hypodermic needle theory. However other sociologists claim that the emdia does not have a direct effect impact in causing violence. this is because the audience are active and can reject violence, knowing it is wrong. Other factors are more importantin cauding violence for example, primary socialisation from parents, peer pressure, status deprivation, male hormones etc.

Sociological evidence about media causing violence is inconclusive.

there is also debate about other negative consequences of the media which include: cyber bullying, stereotypes, descrimination, grooming and cybercrime. 

it is important to know that measures have been put in place to help prevent negative consequences e.g raising awareness at schools, anti virus and filter and blocks on computers. 

The Media Ownership and Power

some sociologists clsim that the media is fair and provides an unbiased, balanced view of the world. these are called pluralists - where a wide range of groups from all social groups are included, However, other sociologists e.g Marxists and Feminists disagree - they claim that the media is controlled by powerful groups that use it to benefit themselves by brainwashing or manipulating society. 

The following approaches are important. 

The Pluralist View. The media is fair and includes the views of all groups including minorities e.g EMs and LGBT. Therefore the political groups of all groups are represented. Also with new technology all people have greater oppertunity to create their own media content and express their own view. the audience are active and chose what they want to watch e.g they are not forced to watch anything. this approach claims the media is good for democracy because all views are representive and voters can make an informed decision based on fair media coverage.

Conflict Approaches - Marxism

the media is controlled by the wealthy e.g very wealthy people own the media companies. Richard Branson - Virgin. The wealthy use the media to manipulate and brainwash the poor. they do this through agenda setting - controlling the list of what is included in the media e.g the poor are demonised as criminals but white collar crime will not be included. Gate keeping is where powerful editors and journalists make decisions on what is to be included in the media. Spin - this is where politicians and powerful groups present a distorted and biased view e.g they insure pics of them are positve and that there is no negative coverage.

NB: According to Marxists, the media has a direct and powerful influence on the audience (hypodermic needle theory)

Feminism

Claim that the media is controlled my males in patriarchal society. Therefore the media serves to maintain male dominance and inferior female roles. This is part of gender role socialisation. Examples of this include: Stereotypes - women being portrayed as sex objects in films and magazines. Advertising - women in roles such as housewives e.g cleaning products. Cult of Femininity - this refers to how the media instruct women on how to dress, behave and look. Males are portrayed as leaders, strong and aggressive.

NB: We should note that attitudes have changed. Liberal feminists say there is greater equality and less patriarchy e.g we have more confident and strong female images.

Media Stereotypes

a stereotype is an image or label that can appear in the media, it is often negative and based on prejudice e.g sexism. Stereotypes portray a message that certain groups include people that are the same and should behave in a certain way. For example: women should be housewives and all Muslims are terrorists. Some Sociologists claim that stereotypes still exist in the media and can result in descriminationa and further prejudice. e.g young people in hoodies are troublemakers which results in unfair, selective policing. However, other sociologists argue that there are less stereotypes as society has become less sexist. racist and agist. Stereotypes can also appear in moral panics where a group is demonised as a problem e.g young black males are criminals.

Gender Stereotypes

Feminists explore sexist stereotypes in the media. They claim these have an influence on how males ans females are socialised into being masculine, tough, strong, leaders and pretty, caring, sex objects. in this way the media is a form of social control - putting social pressure on people to behave in a certain way. 50 years ago sexist stereotypes could be seen in films and adverts e.g sun p3 and bond girls. However, since this social attitudes have changed and society is less sexista and patriarchal. As a result there is more positive stereotypes of women as leaders and emotionally strong. e.g Emma Watson

NB: We shoudl consider male stereotypes. - if males do not conform to this they may be teased and mocked as gay, this can result in descrimination and mental health problems. Negative consequences of female stereotypes can include low self esteem and eating disorders.

Some sociologists claim that EMs have been portrayed in a negative stereotyped way. Examples include: younf black males being gang members and criminals. Gypsys steal, Muslims are terrorists.

Such stereotypes can exists in news reports, films, video games and soap operas. These stereotypes are racist and suggest that all EMs are the same descrimination and further racism could be caused. Racist stereotypes can often appear within moral panics e.g black men are good at running.

in recent decades. some sociologists argue that there has been a change. e.g there is less racism within the media. As a result the audience see more positive images of EMs which include news readers e.g Trevor Mcdonald. There is less racism because of anti- racist laws e.g hate crimes and posting racist comments. Also there are many mor media outlets created and used by EMs e.g Muslim channels. As the EM population increases media companiesmust also ensure that they do not cause offence. 

Stereotypes of Age

Common stereotypes in the media include: young people being anti-social and criminal - descrimination through SLE. The old are bad at driving, the aging are a drain on the economy their pensions and healthcare cost us a lot. 

The Media and Social Control

SC means making people conform to rules and norms. The media is a major agency of secondary socialisation so has a big influence in relation to social control. the media controls in the following way: by demonisnig criminals and showing that their behaviour is wrong. By highlighting the punishments that criminals face - this acts as a deterant for commiting crime.

Gender - by controlling women to dress, behave in a certain way to benefit men. Media technology is used in surveilance e.g CCTV. E -Reputation with records being kept of our use on the internet and social networking people are more careful about how they use the media.

The Media and Globalisation

Globalisation is a process explored by post-modernists. Globalisation refers to the growing interconnectedness of societys around the world, this has been made possible by technology e.g social networking, fibre optics, satalites etc. Improved transport - planes. this means that communication is now much faster and more accessable. Today media technology means we can experience many different countries and cultures. There has been debate about whether globalisation and new technology is a good or bad thing. 

Positives of Globalisation.

it helps businesses and industry as it is quicker and easie to communicate and trade using the internet. It provides more people around the world with more information. it allows communication with isolated areas and is good for democracy as it gives all countries to express their view.

Negatives of Globalisation

provides new oppertunities for crime e.g fraud, cybercrime and identity theft. Media imperialism - this is where the media is dominated by wealthy western countries e.g USA. this is not good for democracy as poorer countries are ignored. Digital divide and info overload

Media and Secondary Socialisation

Media is a major agency of secondary socialisation (others include education, peer group, work, religion) The media influences a persons identity – ie how a person sees themselves. Aspects of identity include

Fashion, Gender, Age, Ethnicity, Class, Sexuality

The media influences there aspects of identity through stereotypes (see earlier notes) Today with improved technology people can consume the media much more easily e.g smart phone. For example people may listen to a certain type of music or subscribe to different youtubers/vloggers/bloggers.

NB it’s important to note that the media is not the only influence on identity. Other factors are important too eg family – performs primary socialisation, education performs secondary socialisation. 

The Media and Political Socialisation

This refers to how people learn that political views/values – this in turn may influence how people participate in politics and their voting behaviour in elections. The media is a major source of information about politics ie the news. Sociologists have explored media influence in relation to

1.       Political Parties use of media

Parties may rely on the media to get their message across and to gain support from voters. They can gain support in the following ways: TV Broadcast during elections, online campaigns, poster campaigns e.g billboards, using newspapers to portray them in a particular way ie spin.

2.       Media Ownership

Media owners are very powerful. They often support a certain political party which is often the case with newspapers e.g the daily mails and the telegraphy support the conservative party. Newspapers and editors influence voters through gate keeping and agenda setting. In this way the news is biased and is linked to spin. There are different views on media ownership which include (next page)

Marxism – claim the media is controlled by the ruling class – therefore agenda setting will benefit the wealthy e.g demonising the poor as criminal and ignoring WCC. Media bias is often linked to moral panics and sensational news items.

Pluralism – claims that the media is not biased nnd that all opinion and voices are included. This is good for democracy as the media report fairly. Today, all groups can create their own media content e.g blogs and youtube and social media.  often called e-democracy

The content of the news

The news is socially constructed – it is made by people who make decisions about what should be included in the news – thre are often editors – gatekeepers – in this way the news is manufactured. Editors tend to include topics and issues that are news worthy e.g scandals, celebrity stories and sexual crime and shocking events e.g terrorist attacks or natural disasters.

Different sociologists have different views about what will be included

Marxism – the ruling class control media content. They use gatekeeping and agenda setting to benefit themselves e.g they demonise working class crime and ignore the crime of the wealthy.

Pluralism – the audience – ie everyone influences the news content, the views of all are included even the minority groups. The BBC has a public service duty to provide unbiased coverage of ews stories. Improved technology e.g the internet means the audience are more active in creating their own media content. The audience also influences media content through its voice eg press complaints commission.

Feminism – benefits males in a patriarchal society through gatekeeping and agenda setting includes negative and sexist stereotypes e.g housewives and sex objects. This serves to control women e.g cult of femininity.