MEDIA AND POLITICS 2
Celebrity Politicians
Media Influence
Media Ownership
Media Moguls
Tech Giants
‘Collectively these companies ... make decisions for us, such as what news stories we see first in the morning ...’
Rupert Murdoch
may be able to determine the news content and the political values of their audience
The idea of a ‘free press’ is intimately linked to the notion of a privately owned press
‘He smashes unions. He squares politicians. He keeps in with national leaders.... Everywhere he lobbies. He attacks regulations that threaten him, or tries to sidestep them ...The world stands gaping ... His power is intense’ (Andrew Marr, Ruling Britannia, 1996: 20)
news corporation owns oner 800 companies
Political change in Murdoch’s papers: Sun moves to the right after Murdoch’s takeover (1969); as does The Times (1981); the transformation of Fox News in US; the effect on the Wall Street Journal; These changes parallel his own alleged (right-wing) political views
Use of paper to promote other business interests - Sky, Fox, or to attack rivals (BBC); or detract attention from other interests
David Cameron:‘we all did too much cosying up to Rupert Murdoch’ (quoted in Daily Telegraph, 25th April 2012)
instills fear in (and offers favours to) politicians, who respond to his wishes and refrain from curbing his power
uses papers to propagate his right-wing views and promote his interests
Rather than owners controlling content, it is sometimes suggested that advertisers are the real source of power
Lukes third dimension of power? (covert power)
‘The services these intermediaries [Google etc] offer can influence, shape and help determine people’s wants’ (Moore,Tech Giants and Civic Power p. 23)
Mark Zuckerberg
Constraints to tech power: Exposure of Cambridge Analytica and other scandals; EU competition regulation Political scrutiny; Market competition and technological innovation
Facebook: 2 billion global users
‘If Facebook were a country, it would have the largest population on earth’
The use of Facebook data by Cambridge Analytica to target voters in US & UK
‘By collecting vast quantities of information about its users, it allows advertisers to target people with precision - a business model that earns Facebook more ad revenue than all American papers combined’
power of Cambridge analytica
‘Finding “persuadable” voters is key for any campaign and with its treasure trove of data, Cambridge Analytica could target people high in neuroticism, for example, with images of immigrants “swamping” the country. The key is finding emotional triggers for each individual
voter.’ (observer)
All theories of media power make claims about media influence or effect
How to think about influence
uninterested bystanders
irrational mass
rational and selective users
Davis: argues that we need to combine the irrational and rational stories
Problems of researching media effects
The ‘chicken and egg’ problem
How do we explain voting behaviour - class, preferences, values, age, education, party preference shaping ... ?
‘minimalist influence thesis’ (MIT)
Citizens select news outlets according to pre-existing views
The idea that media ‘only’ reinforces existing opinions
But Reinforcement matters (to voting)
‘... the previous consensus that media messages are minor factors in shaping election outcomes may not just need to be revised, as it already has been, but reversed.’
People’s dependence on media for information may have changed this
from mass propaganda (1940's) to mass influence? (2000's)
Not just a new form of political communication .... a new form of politician
Types of celebrity politicians (Street)
celebrity politician (CP1)
celebrity politician (CP2)
the legitimately elected representative (or one who aspires to be so)—who engages with the world of popular culture
‘the entertainer who pronounces on politics ... without seeking to acquire elected office’
For example: Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn
For example: Russell Brand, Emma Watson
conditions of celebrity politics
effects of celebrity politics?
Media platform
Marketing technique
Performative role
Turning politics into a ‘spectacle’ - or reflecting the change?
Making unaccountable (stars) too powerful - or making politics more accessible?
Making politicians focus on appearance over policy - or making them ‘relatable’?
Distorting the political agenda - or transforming the political agenda?