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Pluralists- Media Ownership and Control - Coggle Diagram
Pluralists- Media Ownership and Control
Pluralism Theory
We live in representative democracies: societies where the concerns and interests of the population are represented. No one group is dominant as all groups have a say in the running of society- all adults have freedom to choose who governs.
The Electorate elect politicians to represent the nation
Pressure groups represent sections of the population to pressure the government to further the interests of members e.g. National Union of Teachers
Thus, members of society are in control of the media due to their demands, not corporations. Transfer of power is from the owners to the audience, who choose what they want to watch, read, listen to.
Media content is driven not by a dominant ideology or the political interests of owners, but by the fight for profits through high circulation and audience figures
Reflection of Public Demand
Those who own and control the media must satisfy public demand in order to stay in business, thus the audience is in control- they work in response to the audiences' wants
E.g. Netflix is losing profit as customers lose interest due to not being satisfied with choices and content available. BBC is becoming more commercialised and populist to fit in the viewers' demands
Content of the mass media mirrors what the public wants. The media caters to the public as a whole by responding to the demands of the market, otherwise they don't make profits.
Bias occurs because media broadcasts what people sympathise with and want to hear. So if refugees are represented as a problem, this is because it reflects the majority view.
Diversity of Media
Choice is catered for through different platforms: newspapers, films, TV, radio, magazines- diverse forms to suit the audience
Diversity responds to the demands of the audience e.g. the fail of the blackberry as people demanded a better product, and the creation of the iPhone
UK is culturally diverse- no one group dominates, thus the mass media mirrors the diversity of societal opinions. It represents a range of views, allowing audience freedom of choice.
The news has commentators from different political parties= the people are well represented. Social media is used by many politicians from different political parties to voice their opinions e.g. Trump and Bernie Sanders use of Twitter, Labour Party "winning social media election"
Evaluation
Blumer and Gurevitch (1994):
Pluralists exaggerate the impartiality of journalists, most are not impartial and are overly-reliant on official sources which undermines their objectivity.
Curran
: media owners have undermined newspaper independence by choosing editors/ journalists that share their views (and get rewarded for conforming), and getting rid of those that fail to conform.
Trowler (2004)
: Journalists are not always subjective. 500 journalists were embedded with British and American troops during the invasion of Iraq. This resulted in one-sided reporting of the conflict as they built relationships with the soldiers they were living with.
Feminists
: the range of female voices heard on the media is very narrow. Media content is male orientated- evident in media representations of women as sexual objects
Thornham
: feminist perspectives are often dismissed by journalists as extreme and threatening
Not everyone's views are represented as powerless groups do not have the resources to set up their own media companies to communicate their points of views.
Radical voices are often silenced and censored by social media platforms e.g. Tommy Robinson
Not all consumers even have access to the "diversity of media" (social class divide, global divide)
Media concentration is not a positive thing- it leads to narrowing choice as those few in power produce content that reflects their views= little diversity of opinion and space for liberal or radical voices= democracy is under threat
Media Concentration
Only global companies have the resources to provide audiences with a wider choice and greater range of media products at affordable prices. If ownership was not concentrated, the thousands of smaller companies would be unable to provide media products of adequate quality, variety and price.
Concentration of ownership is essential for survival in an increasingly competitive, global market. Increasing media concentration should be welcomed.
Private Ownership
Private ownership is the most effective way to provide a range of choice and to allow companies to compete with each other to give audiences what they want= media deregulation should be welcomed
Publicly owned media and state regulation is dangerous as they concentrate too much power and offer limited choice
Media Deregulation
Most countries limit concentration of media ownership to prevent domination, but in recent years, laws have relaxed. Thus, the
media is generally free of any government or direct owner control and can present whatever point of view they want.
Introduction of commercial TV in 1954 brought a reduction in regulation, resulting in rapid expansion of channels and competition between satellite and cable companies
Journalists are no longer controlled by their employers, pumping out the dominant ideology and biased stories to manipulate audiences.
They have more independence, as well as professional honesty and integrity that prevents them from being regularly biased.
They must produce stories that offer a wide selection of views, using news values which reflect the wishes/ interests of the audience in order to maintain and satisfy customers.
Newspapers have often uncovered corruption in high places, targeting those in power.