Mass Media - The Marxist Approach

Marxists like Miliband argue that the media play an important role in spreading the dominant ideology. Media control access to the knowledge which people have about what is happening in society, and encouraging them to accept the unequal society in which they live. Media creates a climate of conformity among the mass of the population which justifies the rude of the rich and powerful and leads to a state of false clas consciousness.

Manipulative or Instrumentalist approach

the media as an instrument through which the ruling class is able to manipulate media content and media audiences in its own interests. According to this approach:

• owners of the media like newspaper owners have direct control over the content of the media and they can and do interfere in media content
• the owners use the media to spread ideas which justify the power of the dominant class
• media managers have little chouce other than to run the media within the boundaries set down by owners
• journalists depend for their jobs on supporting the interests of owners therefore the reports of journalists are biased. Ideas or groups that threaten the status quo are attacked, ridiculed or ignored.
• the audience is assumed to be passive, a mass of unthinking and uncritical robots, thi saudience is exposed to only…