MEDIA: MARXIST views on OWNERSHIP

Traditional Marxists believe that owners have a direct control of media content, that they use the media to spread ideas which justify the position of the ruling class, and that the audience is assumed to be passive and brainwashed. 

Karl Marx states that the rulings ideas are the ideas of the bourgeoisie. Marxists believe that the media are the main means by which the ideas of the ruling class maintain their dominance as the ruling class.

Marcuse points out that the mass media promotes consumerism and gives the working class 'false needs' and in turn, the minimal money which is given to them is spent and returned to the ruling class.

Miliband argued that the role of the media is to shape how we think about the world and suggested that audiences are rarely informed about important issues such as inequalities in wealth or why poverty persists. Just as Karl Marx said, 'religion is the opium for the masses', Miliband viewed mass media in the same way, describing it as the new opium of the people - the media is like a drug, it keeps people passive. 

Curran suggests that even when engaged in investigative reporting, the majority of newspapers in Britain have supported the Conservative party, providing strong evidence for owner interference in/manipulation of British newspaper content. Lord Beaverbrook and Lord Rothermere used their newspapers merely for the purpose of making propaganda. David Cameron, Blair and Thatcher had meetings with Rupert Murdoch, almost as though he was royalty, and all have enjoyed his support…