Who Controls the Media?

1
Who Controls the Media?

• A Level Media Studies

2

• Who constructs the representations we see in the
  media?
• Is it the institutions who produce the media?
• Or the audience who consume the media?
• Market-liberalism v political-economy

3
Market-liberalism

• Stresses the power of the audience over media
  producers.
• Audience preference decides what media texts are
  produced.
• This is achieved through...
• Purchase of media texts (CDs, magazines, computer
  games)
• Paying to access media texts (films)
• Taking out subscriptions that provide access to
  media texts (Sky)
• Recording hits on internet sites
• Audience research

4
Market-liberalism

• The power lies with the audience.
• Producers have to be sensitive to audiences.

Hillsborough tragedy The Sun loses readers from
Liverpool
5
Political-economic perspective

• Stresses the power of the media producers over
  media texts and their influence on an audience.
• The market APPEARS to offer freedom...
• However, there is inequality in whose interests
  the media operates
• Those with more money or those seen as more
  appealing to advertisers will have a range of
  media products orientated to their needs.
• There are limits on the production of media texts
  for other groups.

6
Political-economic perspective

• Producers tend to avoid risk, shunning innovation
  and originality.
• Hollywood cinema has a tendency to use tried and
  tested genres/styles/actors/directors.
• They also may avoid any representations that may
  be seen as challenging the values and ideologies
  of the audience.

7
Advertising and sponsorship

• Advertising has had a major influence on the
  structure and output of the British print media.
• Advertising and sponsorship contributes a
  significant proportion of the revenue for many
  media products.
• Magazines advertising revenue is 50 to 80
  percent.
• Media producers focus on providing the media for
  the sectors of the population that the
  advertising industry wants to address.
• As media is often produced to appeal to
  advertisers, it will always promote consumerism.

8
Political-economy perspective

• Rather than media producers responding to
  audience needs and wants, they are packaging
  audiences to sell them to advertisers.
• Sees the power of media organisations as open to
  abuse.
• Some media producers are seen as promoting
  particular political positions in their texts.
• Fox news in USA supports Republican party/Bush
  administration.
• Media producers silence or restrict certain
  political debates/issues/viewpoints being
  expressed to help support certain political
  agendas.

9
IMDB

• This website is a good example in which an
  audience is packaged and sold to advertisers.
• There is heavy advertising and a link to Amazon,
  online sellers of DVDs, music and books.

10
Magazines

• Do a content analysis of a popular glossy
  magazine.
• How many pages are dedicated to advertising?
• How does the magazine promote itself to potential
  advertisers?
• Who has the most power/influence over the content
  of the magazine readers, producers or
  advertisers?