Media

The Mass Media refers to those forms of communications that transmit information, news and entertainment to the mass media

The New Media refers to the emergence of new forms of communication that have appeared in the last 25 years. The New Media affects consumers as it gives them an increase in choice and competition.

The Old Media would be things like newspapers, radio, books and films however the New Media would be facebook, apps, internet and mobile phones

Digitalisation - All information regardless of content is converted into binary code changing the way that information is stored and transmitted

Technological convergence - Boyle said it is now possible to transmit multiple forms of information and communication from one device

Economic convergence - Digitalisation allowed economic alliance as previously distinct systems have been comptaible

Cultural covergence - It has changed the way members of society interact with media and each other. The OECD found 96% of online UK adults have Facebook

Interactivity - The internet allows you to select which stories you wish to read and you are able to mix and match information you want as well as people being able to access information from different countries

Choice - Jenkins argued media audience can interact with a variety of media using a single device in their search for things such as entertainment or a relationship. So todays media audience have a greater degree of choice Boyle notes that soceties use of television has evolved from supply - led to now demand - led

Partcipatory culture - New media now collabrates by uploading content to sharing sites and writing opinons on Twitter. Jenkins argued that convergence and interactivity have produced a 'participatory culture' so media producers and consumers no longer occupy seperate roles

Collective intelligence - challenges the traditional ways of viewing the world provided my media owners and politicans. Jenkins suggestes that the new media is an alternative user-led source of informatoin that is often critical traditional information

The Generation Divide

Boyle insists that new media is associated more with young people. OfCom survey suggests 12-15 year olds are likley to be involved in cross media multi-tasking. This may be because they are lazy, antisocial, phone are inexpensive and also because it is trendy. Boyle argued that those born in the past 25 years are likey to be tailored to their specific needs which increases exposure to grooming and ****. Postmodernists would argue we have a sense of choice society.

The Digital Class Divide

Helpster said a digital underclass characterised by unemployment, lower level of education cannot afford to keep yp with the middle class use of new media technology. This links to the Marxist theory where the middle class is above and are more educated so have the media skills 

The Global Digital Divide

This is a social issue referring to the differing amount of information between those who have access to the internet and those who don't. The richer countries benefit from more highly trained people who will inturn enable higher economic growth.

The Digital Gender Divide

This is where males and females use the media for different reasons. So, for example males may use the meidal to play games or gamble or even to do DIY however females may use th emedia to read blogs or do shopping

They see media as a postive force

They say the development of technology has lead to increased consumer choice. So, for example the increase of online shopping means you can shop around for the best deal. Companies use global websites like Facebook to advertise their products so cosnumers can buy products from multiple countries

You can share more informations which makes society more democratic because people are exposed to lots of different views

Inventions like satelite TV means that viewers can access TV content from many more countries. Some shows are becoming global phenomena such as Doctor Who which creates a sense of shared culture

Cultural Pessimists see the rise of new media in a negative way.

They point out that the new media are mainly controlled by powerful multinational corporations like Microsoft. This increases globalisation which means that they have far-reaching influence over consumers

New media is also controlled by the state which reduces everyone's privacy. An example of this would be where the American state security were secretly hacking thousands of people's emails

The consumers benefits of new media comes at a social cost. Some online retailers have been criticised for avoiding taxes and exploiting their workers so that they can offer these services without losing profit

Freedom of information on the internet means that offensive views can be spread as well as racist and terrorist material can be easily shared online

Bagdikian argues that if the USA's media was owned by seperate indivduals then there would be 25,000 owners but instead media ownership was concentrated within 6 coropration.

The UK industry is owned by 7 indivduals

Access to satelite, cable and digital TV is controlled by three companies:

SKY PLC

VIRGIN MEDIA

BT

Cross Media ownership - bigger media comapnies oftenuse a range of media

Vertical integration - comapnies attempt to control all aspect of the industry

Lateral expansion - companies branch out into new areas to spread the risk such as Virgin

Global conglomeration - transnational co-operations aided by globalisation

Synergy - media companies using different ways to package their products such as Frozen

Technological convergence - possible to transmit multiple information from one device such as the Iphone.

Doyle suggests that we need media ownership and study it so that it is impartial to have each point hear. She argued without diverse medial provision, there is a danger of abuse of power as well as influences which may go unnoticed.

They say modern capatalist soceties are deomactic and all interest groups are given a platform to express views. The  most successful will be voted in power. The mass media should be impartial. They speak about the economics of media ownership and argue that readers and listeners are the ones in real power as they have a freedom of choice - BLACKBERRY

The BBC is a public sector broadcaster and remains impartial as well as Journalists who should also be impartial. They accept that there are competing views who would also choose a party.

Milliband - the role of media is to transmit dominant idelogy to working class producing false class consciousness as poor fail to see real cause of poverty

Castles and Kosack - argues it suits the white capatalist class to see ethnic minority groups as a threat because it stops them seeing real cause of inequality 

Marcuse - 'bread and circuses' is used to describe superfical entertainment so they are distracted from real life issues. 

Curran conducted a examination of British peer showing aleel of ownerhip and manipulation. Murdoch hand-picked his editors as it showed profit focus management.

HOWEVER

• there is lack of evidence
• new media means consumer shoice and scrunity
• the leverson enquiry (phone hacking) and whether person is free to do what they want

This means economic, social and cultural domination of one group or another.

The GUMG suggests media content does support ruling class idelogy but this is the accidental by product of the social background of journalist. These journalists have middle of road non-extermist view that appeal to the masses. This is more profit-led than to transmit dominant idelogy.

Jones sees media owners as 'establishment' bound together by common economic interest and shared set of mentalities. These groups aim to protect dominant position by managing and making sure it doesn't threaten their interest. Media should critcise their establishement and not be a part of it.

HOWEVER

• very little difference from Marxism
• lack of discussion about gender

In post-modernity, people have more choice and there are no longer strict norms to guide our behaviour. People can do what they want so choice is important for them however can create unstable grounds.

Postermodernist have 3 charactersitics that have impact on ownership and control of media

• Media Saturated - technology everywhere within society
• Globalisation - interconnected
• Lack of truth - freedom and lack of boundarie

Control and ownership of media

Bouildard - Hyper reality so people cannot distinguish between what is truth and what is constructed. Media messages are polysemic - can be interpreted in many ways. So, power of knowledge is given to use as consumers rather than controlled by media owners. Levene said members of soceity have greater choice meaning they can challenge meta-narrative - organising riots

Evaluation of Hegemonic Marxism

Postives:

• We have control
• Similar to pluarist theory of freedom of choice

Negatives:

• Creates unstable grounds due to consumers so society creates a sense of community
• Constructed choices - BBC News

Steger - 'Globality' is a social condition characterised by existence of global economic, poltical, cultural and enviromental interconnections making boundaries irrelevant.

Crothers-

• Soceties can now go beyond traditions when exposed to modern technologies and modern ideas of democracy - it applies to Western societies - African Tribes
• We consume goods 24 hours a day around the world and people in the west and developing world may be employed by some transnational company - McDonalds
• Global events and issues becaue local due to the speed of communication

Bell - supports Crothers using Twiiter as an example

Scott and Marshal - Culture refers to all is learned from others in soceity.

Children learn soceties norms and values and learn what is culturally important

High Culture - refers to what the elite regard as highest intellectual achievement. Countries are judged globally on standard of creativity and philosphy (Broadsheets or Newspapers)

Popular Culture - products of mass media in capatalist soceties manufacturing mass media (Tabloid news)

Globalisation of popular culture

This refers to reduction of cultural diversity which occurs when peole abandon their folk culture in mass produced popular culture such as African Tribes in suits and ties

They argue that mass media have played a big role in the way that soceties have changed from being a modern perspective based on industrial manufacturing to postmodern society being based on consumption.

Postermodernists argue rapid expansaion between 2005 and 2015 led to postermodernist socetiests becoming more media saturated so as a result they generate popular culture which are more influential.

Globalisation of media means we now have globalised cultural infleunce available in terms of lifestyle choices and consumption. Globalisation can take place in many forms:

• ownership of new media is no longer restricted by national boundaries
• satellite Tv opened up world to Tv viewers
• advertising occuring on global scale and particular brands become globalised as a result

The consquences of globalisation increases choice and helps develop society and promote different cultural sytles around world.

There are many examples of globalisation of media

• Ownership of mass media - large organisations own media across the world in different formats
• Satellite TV- opened up worlds of TV so now view your favorite programmes all over the world
• Internet - allows access to world from wherever you are
• Advertising - certain brands recongised internationally such as McDonalds
• Entertainment - we watch same films and Tv as well as supporting same sports events such as the Olympics

Disneyfication

This is the influence of American entertainment culture on the rest of the world. We all watch American TV shows and create consumerism

Marxist View

They argue that it is restricted choice and that local media and culture is replaced by global culture which is dominated by a powerful few.

Postmodernist View

They disagree with the Marxists. They say it offers more choice and the local culture isn't swallowed up but they take elements to make it their own culture.

Presentation of News

Chandler suggests that the law says that the news is produced is used to make people think it is impartial and objective.

BBC News is impartial and objective. Impartial is that it is not bis and objective means it is open for interpretation.

Construction of News

McQuail argues that news is not impartial and objective. Those chosen are the end result of a selective process by gatekeepers (Editors and Journalists) or the people in power. These decisions are made by:

• The news values held by media organsation
• Organsational or bureaucratic constraints
• Ownerhsip of media news organsations

Spencer-Thomas suggests that news values are guidelines and criteria which determine the worth of a story deciding how much promience it is given by newspapers. What this means is that what editors and journalists consider as newsworthy.

Gaitling and Ruge produced the most commonly used list of news values.

Extaordinartiness - rare, unpredictable and suprising events are more newsworthy than routine events than routine events such as Micheal Jackson's unexpected death

Threshold - the 'bigger' the size of the event, the more likely it is to be reported nationally such as more likely to report murder than robbery

Unambiguity - events that are easy to grasp and more likely to be reported than those open to make more than one interpretation

Reference to elite person - famous and most powerful are seen as newsworthy such as celebs

Continuity - once a story becomes news and running, it may continue for some time

Reference to elite nations - relates to cultural proximity so stories about people speaking same language. USA events are likely to be covered in UK than in Asia

Personalisation - If events can be personalised then it is referring to prominent indivdiual so more likley to be reported - such as politics between two leaders

Frequency - refers to Dutton calls, the time span take by events so murders and motorways which happen suddenly are established quickly

Negativity - bad news regarded by journalists as exciting and dramatic. Stories about death are so much more rated than positive stories

Composition - must news outlets will attempt to balance reporting so an example would be that there has been a great deal of bad and gloomy news.

Harcup and O'neil studied British newspapers conducting there were 10 criterias to judge whether news is neworthy: power elite, celebrity, entertainment, suprise, bad news, good news, magnitude, relevance, follow-up, media agenda