Politics of the Media
description
Transcript of Politics of the Media
2
Growing Up• Political Socialization; how we
acquire attitudes towards politics
• Family• Peers• Religion
3
Education• Like the family, education is
hierarchical in structure• As an obvious source of
social control, the state watches over the school system with vigilance
4
Advertising• Although most of our
advertisements promote a product, they generally subscribe to the ethos of free-market capitalism
• Political parties are now investing enormous funds to sell themselves to voters
5
The Press• 13 million newspapers a week• Broadsheets• Tabloids• Serious weeklies• Major newspapers are
national, providing uniformity of view and centre on London
• Provincial dailies are in decline
6
Partisanship• Freedom of the press is held
to be a major characteristic of the liberal state
• Newspaper industry is part of ‘big business’
• Only in times of crisis does the state overtly demand that the press become its instrument
7
Partisanship• Our newspapers have a
strong political bias• Traditionally they have
favoured the Conservative Party and the right of the Labour Party
8
Profit• Maximise profit• Appeal to mass readership
ensures stories featuring sensationalism, trivialisation
• Racism• Jingoism (chauvinistic militarism)• Celebrity stories• Tabloid coverage focuses on
immediate events rather than background analysis
9
Press Barons• The Press, a neo-liberal
Establishment• Press Barons regularly
recognised by elevation to the peerage
• Newspaper owners exercise editorial control
10
Journalists• Usually from middle and
upper-middle class backgrounds
• Good journalists will get to know leading figures in business and politics
• Few journalists would be willing to ‘bite the hands’ of those who can give them information
11
Television• We watch 21 hours of
television each week• Television has become the
organ of a truly mass culture and is the principal means of informing perceptions of the political world
• Power of television is recognised both by politicians and the advertising industry
12
Regulatory Bodies • British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC)• Independent Television
Commission (ITC)• Class bias in news
programmes• Points of view tend to fit
within a consensus acceptable to the Establishment
13
Political Interference• Both the BBC and ITC boards
of governors are appointed by the government
• Each board delegates day to day operations to a Director General
• Some journalists aim for a more robust style, but they can come under attack
14
Media/Internet Today we are looking at two
competing forces in the evolution of a new society; neo-liberal globalization, and an information technology revolution
15
On-line • In mid-February, 2003,
millions of people marched in cities across the world in protest of the war in Iraq
• A stunning example of what networked global civil society is capable of: online organizing leading to massive offline direct action
16
Seminar • Look up information about
Press Baron Rupert Murdoch• Discuss Murdoch’s upbringing
and his political values• How do you think Murdoch
has influenced the outcome of elections in Great Britain
17
Press Baron Profile• Rupert Murdoch, Born 1931• Known to have conservative
views, but strong supporter of Tony Blair – “Who Blairs Win”
• Pomotes a free enterprise culture
• Disapproves of Britain joining the euro