Mass Media Sociology GCSE

Explain what sociologist mean by… Mass media – the forms of communication

(media) that reaches a large audience Traditional media – newspapers, magazines,

books, TV, radio, cinema New media – internet, mobiles, digital radio,

cable and satellite TV, DVD, video games Press – newspapers and magazines

……..

Quality press – traditional broadsheets such as The Times, Telegraph and the Guardian

Tabloid press – Sun, Mirror Star Broadcasting – TV and Radio – BBC publicly

funded via the TV licence , all other channels are funded by advertising.

Electronic media – internet, you do not have to be a journalist to create content – anyone can publish on the Web and contribute – increases participation in creating and publishing information. People can also join pubic networking sites and create blogs.

Technological developments in the last 30 years….

TV – more channels, development of satellite TV which can be received by free view or by paying subscriptions

Digital broadcasting – offers interaction with the audience – red button, entering competitions, voting in a reality show

Cross media interaction – interact with the programme through other media – websites, texts from mobiles etc.

Technological developments over the past 30 years…

Convergence – images sounds etc. can be transmitted simultaneously through different types of media – for example some mobile phones can connect to the internet and receive e mails, you can watch TV via the internet etc.

Digital radio – better sound quality and we can listen to digital radio through digital TV services

Teletex – access to regularly updated news – we can access breaking news and follow stories as they unfold

Newspaper production now involves the use of technology – computerised layout and digital printing and newspapers can now be accessed on the internet

Internet access

Rapid growth 10% in 1998 – 61% by 2007 Internet access linked to household income –

high income households are more likely to have internet access

Uses of internet – info, e mail, shopping, banking, gaming, travel, social networking, downloading music, listen to radio, watch TV

Digital divide – gap between those who have access to the new technologies and those who do not – income, location etc.

Effects on the audience

Hypodermic syringe – media has a lot of power over the audience, audience received daily injections of messages from TV and newspapers – these messages work like a drug and have a powerful effect on the behaviour and attitudes of the audience

Experiments on children bandura 1963

Effect of the media on it’s audience Uses and Gratifications What the audience use the media for and how

our needs are met (gratified) by the media. Information – watch news, documentaries Personal identity – gain insight into ourselves Personal relationships – a substitute for real life

companionship Entertainment – escape from problems or to fill

time

Effects of the media on the audience. Decoding approach (Abercrombie 1996) The content of TV programmes has several

possible meanings and different sectors of the audience may decode the messages in very different ways it could depend on social background, class, culture, etc.

The hypodermic syringe sees the audience as passive but the decoding approach sees the audience as actively interpreting the messages for themselves.

Media and socialization

Socialization – how we learn the culture of the society that we are born into and our roles within that society.

Agent of socialization – institutions that contribute to the socialization process, families, schools, peer groups and the mass media

Media and socialization

“mums go to Iceland” – Gauntlett (2008) by presenting messages about the role of women the media contributes to gender socialization

The influences in the media may be subtle but they can build up over time and lead to stereotypes being formed for example – women and men being associated promoting different products may lead to decisions in these areas being taken by those genders – women and washing powder, men and cars!

Media and socialization

Political socialization – acquire political views and preferences and in turn these may influence how we participate in politics

Importance of media – can be our only source of information about the political parties – impotent during election campaigns!

Voting – newspapers can be biased towards one party

Curtice and Mair (2008) – readers of a newspaper may be exposed to a particular view on current affairs that could encourage them to vote for one party over another

Media and socialization

Curtice and Mair (2008) – 2 concerns about the press and voting behaviour

The press has too much influence on how we vote

The press has such negative coverage of politics that it discourages people from voting at all

The press readership has declined – they argue this is good for democracy

Press ownership and content

Do the owners of the mass media have the power to influence the content?

Pluralists – no single group dominates The range of opinions and views are represented in the

press Newspapers give the readers what they want to read – if we

don’t get what we want we stop buying the papers Public control the content of the press by their market

power Freedom to set up newspapers if the existing ones do not

meet demands We can put forward our view by writing to the editor Day to day control in the hands of the journalists

Press ownership and content

Conflict view – Marxists Newspaper owners – wealthy powerful group Protect the interests of this group by putting

their views across in the media Unlikely to publish content that will be critical of

the powerful Cross media ownership gives them more control Journalist dependent for their jobs – will write

what the owners want to see

Black people in the media

1950 to 1970s – black people absent or portrayed stereotypes – criminals or narrow roles – sports, dancers, entertainers

Negative associations – famine, crime, riots war 1990s changes – more black actors playing

ordinary characters, Cosby show But still negative reporting prevalent – Bradford

riots 2001 – more interested in the negative actions of Asian youths than the provocation from the white national front (Bagguley and Hussain 2008)

Gender and media

1970s – research indicated that mass media representations of women were stereotypical rather than realistic and the images of women did not reflect the roes they played in society

Cumberbatch (1990) – men and women 2/3 people in adverts were men Nearly all voice overs were male Women were usually young and blond Men shown in professional settings Women shown with a male partner

Gender in media

Women in sport Women invisible in sports coverage and when shown their

role is trivialised William 1997 – women’s football ignored compared to men Gauntlett (2008) – male magazines Key themes of masculinity Men like to look at women Men like gadgets, cars and sport Men need help with fashion and grooming Men are fascinated by bravery and danger Is this as big a stereotype as Mums gone to Iceland?

Deviance amplification

Stan Cohen (2002) – media are involved in the creation of moral panics – exaggerating the extent and significance of a social problem.

A group is cast as a “folk devil” which becomes a threat to the values of society

This group is shown in stereotypical terms in the media Mods and rockers – media reported in sensationalistic headlines and

distorted what happened – this created a false image of young people Amplification – exaggerating and distorting the events – this can lead to

other s behaving ion the same way as the group has been portrayed in the media – further disturbance lead to a public outcry – a moral panic

Police responded by harsh treatment and further arrests – the media can amplify the deviance and provoke more deviant behaviour

Contemporary issues

Potential harm to children – provoking violent behaviour

Bandura (1963) – hypodermic syringe 1990’s – Child’s Play 3 and Natural Born

Killers lead to copy cat crimes in the USA and the Jamie Bulger case in the UK

Sociologists research has shown that children can distinguish between real and fictional violence and they do not passively accept TV images

Contemporary issues

Gauntlett (2008) – research failed to show a strong connection between violent teenagers and the TV programming they watched

Peak and Fisher (1996) – TV violence has become a scapegoat for the violence seen in society and the true cause is poverty, unemployment, homelessness, abuse and personality traits

Exam questions

How far would sociologist agree that exposure to violence in the media can encourage violence in everyday life

How far would sociologists agree that the mass media is the most powerful agency of political socialization in Britain today

How far would sociologists agree that the press owners in Britain control the content of the media.