Ownership & control of the mass

media
Traditional functions of media

Educate Inform Entertain

Make
Investigate
Money
Guises of modern media

Political Economic
player agent

Technological
Social agent
Innovator
 The Fourth Estate

Media monitors the political process in

order to ensure that political players don't
abuse the democratic process.
Media & Free Speech

Defamation Contempt

Media

National Subjudice
Security
 Media Moguls

A person who controls either through

personal ownership or a dominant
position in a public company, a
significant part of the mass media

Media moguls are frequently accused

of using their positions to further
political agendas
 Media Moguls

Silvio Berlusconi Michael Bloomberg

4 times PM of Italy 3 times Mayor of New York
Mediaset & AC Milan Bloomberg LP
194th richest man in the world 13th richest man in the world
Media Ownership
 Media Moguls

Salman F Rahman Latifur Rahman

Vice-chairman of Beximco Chairman, Transcom Group
PM’s political advisor One of the richest man
Top sponsor of the Awami League Big patron of the Awami League
 Key Issues:  Essay Title

 Ownership & Control  Assess Marxist explanations of the

 relationship between ownership & control
Pluralist View
of the mass media.
 Marxist View
 Neo-Marxist View
 GUMG
 The Fallacy of Choice
 Do we have more choice
Examples of the media today?
More channels
Print media More free papers &
Audio Visual media magazines
Cyber or Digital media We’ve got the internet
Some sociologists say no

The Mass Media

Agencies of communication
that transmit information,
education, news &
entertainment to a mass
audience

Concentration of ownership
Factors that Horizontal Integration (Cross-media ownership)
have Vertical Integration
Diversification
contributed to Global conglomeration
this decline Synergy
Technological Convergence
Concentration of ownership
Factors
The Mass Media is that have
owned/controlled by a small contributed companies own various types of
number of individuals & to this
companies decline of
choice
Diversification
Global This is when companies
conglomeration branch out into new areas
to spread risk
This is where media
companies operate in
the global market
producing for example Synergy
newspapers in many
countries – they also This is where media
control more than one companies sell their
type of media. product in different
formats – e.g. a film will
also be a game, have an
album, action figure etc.
Horizontal Integration
This is when large media
media
Vertical Integration
This is where companies
want to maximize their
profits by controlling all
aspects of the industry.
Technological
Convergence
This is a relatively new
concept; it’s where
several technologies are
put together in one
product.
Media emphasises the
power of hegemony –
Neo-Marxist
The diversity of the mass
This ideology is spread media products, the
because they accept it & different platforms for
believe it to be reasonable Controlled by Journalists
broadcasting & the range
to do so. of pressures that
influence the production
of the media serve to
ensure that ideological
Jour domination cannot take
in th nalist a place
r
ideo e domi e socia alis
ts
lo g n an lised rn
n
will y
refle so the
t Jou nce
w h o ow t he r
rulin ct the v efore
e
hav pende
se il
l e
Tho edia w ence g cla alue
s of ind e not d
ss r e
m
the tly influ o & a ipulat ers
c tt n n
d i re
nten r ma he ow
co by t
the ct thei te
refle est. l d icta es
r il st
inte ice w all ta
Journalist will cho dia –
er e
Marxist go along with
owners views
o n
m
su t of m
C ten or.
Pluralist
Owners want con ered f
lled by
as they depend profit –need an cat
& Contro on them for s,
Ow ne d
s audience – so ti on
ing clas their jobs
nis
a
the rul provide what
ga & er
the audience or
rent ment sum
wants n
diffe vern y co
by go d b
ned d by rolle
The Media Reinforces the dominant Ow ulate cont
reg tent
con ice
position of the ruling class in a capitalist
society & affirms the patterns of power
cho
that exist.

This creates an ‘ideological

smokescreen’ that persuades the
working class to accept their position
Economic Pressure

Need to keep advertisers sweet so avoid

offensive or controversial story’s
Many are on temporary contracts so
Media content
comply in order to keep job
supports the
interest of owners
It is a byproduct of
the social
GUMG: hegemonic approach to backgrounds of the
media ownership & control. journalists &
broadcasters they
are generally
White / Middle
Class/ Male – just like
the owners

Agenda setting
The media decide what issues we discuss &
what issues are avoided – we are not
presented with the information that would
change our lives. So we have ‘cultural
hegemony’ - the principles of capitalism are
presented as normal.
 Barnett & Weymour (1999) The Fallacy of Choice

The quality of TV has reduced. Not really more choice on TV just

Aim is to have large audiences so they go for repeats & reality TV.
high entertainment for the masses More of the same mindless rubbish.
Cheap American Imports
Less serious TV

Public Service
Broadcasters
Pluralist use the PSB Criticisms
as proof of media
integrity
However the BBC are
becoming more
commercialized; Curran: Print Media in last 10 years
Developed their own
digital channels & set Reduction in serious news reporting & an increase in
up an internet news human interest stories & celebrity news.
site. This has led to a fall in journalistic standards, we have
witnessed a rise in cheque-book journalism & the
paparazzi.
The press are not reflecting the diversity in public
opinion on subjects such as the Euro or the monarchy