Media Theory - Curran and Seaton
- 2. FIND OUT THE FOLLOWING • top 20 highest grossing films of 2018 • top 20 biggest selling albums 2018 • top 10 national newspapers with highest readership 2018 • top 10 most listened to podcasts in 2018 • top 10 most played songs and artists on the radio in 2018 • top 20 most viewed YouTube videos of all time
- 3. REVIEW • Do you notice any patterns? • What might this tell us about the media industry? • Why might this be problematic, and for whom?
- 4. OBJECTIVES • To know and understand the basis of Curran and Seaton’s theory • To be able to apply theory points to media industries we have studied • To evaluate the extent to which theory can be applied
- 5. MARXIST VIEW OF SOCIETY • Society as a power struggle between the ruling elite and the proletariat class • The rich and powerful use their resources to maintain their economic power and support the values of capitalism • Media texts are used as an ideological tool to maintain this status quo and keep the working classes docile and unaware of their exploited status in the capitalist system
- 6. PLURALIST VIEW OF SOCIETY • view society as less black and white • society is made up of several autonomous but interdependent groups which either share power or continuously compete for it • Pluralists argue that the digital revolution has shifted power from the hands of the big institutions and into those of smaller independent institutions, and the audience • Audiences have become producers, or ‘prosumers’, creating their own content • Prosumers can challenge the power of the established media institutions through the widespread use of social media
- 7. CURRAN AND SEATON: POWER IN MEDIA INDUSTRIES • argue that patterns of ownership and control are the most significant factors in how the media operate • media industries follow the normal capitalist pattern of increasing concentration of ownership in fewer and fewer hands • this leads to a narrowing of the range of opinions represented and a pursuit of profit at the expense of quality or creativity • media is controlled by a small number of companies primarily driven by profit and power • media concentration generally limits or inhibits variety, creativity, and quality • more socially diverse patterns of ownership help to create the conditions for more varied and adventurous media
- 8. THE PRESS • Classical liberal theory says the freedom to publish in the free market ensures the press reflects a wide range of opinions and interests in society. • The free market is also argued to make the press a representative institution • The market-based press is independent because it owes allegiance only to the public – the press is the people’s watchdog – the 4th Estate
- 9. THE PRESS • Newspapers should reflect the interests of an audience, otherwise they will go out of business • they should be liberal and anyone should be able to set one up • it is extremely expensive to set up a newspaper meaning there are far fewer newspaper owners than there are readers, meaning an audience only receives a small amount of opinions • Many hoped that the internet would make this fairer, due to lower costs, but Curran and Seaton believe this hasn’t happened in practice as big news organisations control the majority of online news.
- 11. THE 4TH ESTATE? • “The free market makes the press a representative institution…newspapers and magazines are to respond to the concerns of their readers if they are to stay in business.” • “The press is the people’s watchdog, scrutinising the actions of government and holding the country’s rulers to account” • Since the press has been industrialised, the assumption that ‘anyone is free to start a paper’ is an illusion • Press used to be independent of outside financial interests, but most British press was bought up in the 60s and 70s by conglomerates • The press have become subsidiaries of these
- 15. ANTI- MONOPOLY • Anti-monopoly legislation has been ineffective, allowing the creation of large media monopolies, which allows individual companies a great deal of power • they can publicise a message to vast amounts of people • Curran found evidence that media owners did interfere and manipulate newspaper content at the expense of the independence of journalists and editors
- 16. WEB 2.0 • Curran has discussed how the Media project an illusion of freedom through digital technologies and web 2.0, however this industry is still dominated and controlled by large powerful media institutions that reach mainstream audiences.
- 18. ISSUES OF MEDIA CONCENTRATION • Conglomeration creates monopolies • 1. Media becomes loyal to sponsors, rather than to public interest • 2. Fewer diverse options and voices available for the audience • 3. Small number of companies representing the interests of a minority elite control • for minorities and others, few opportunities are available for voicing their concerns and reaching the public • 5. healthy, market-based competition is absent, leading to slower innovation and increased prices