“Marxists focuses on social conflict, which is seen as being essentially derived from mode of production in capitalist societies. Karl Marx argued that the CULTURE and communications process- of a capitalist society reflects the NORMS and VALUES of that section of the community.” (Watson and Hill (2003). Marxists believe that the bourgeoisie produce content through means such as mass media, to spread their ideology and supress the working class. Marxists believe that the media along with the elite are conspiring to make us all zombie like being’s incapable of thinking for ourselves. This may be due to how different mediums are targeted at different demographics for instance MTV’s show ‘Geordie shore’ is targeted at young people who are most likely from a less educated back ground statistics show that 78% of scenes contain alcohol content and 30% show alcohol use (University of Bath (2018). Geordie shore is notorious for it’s wild behaviour showing alcohol use, one-night stands, throwing up, naked bodies and much more, is this the ruling class trying to make us throw our lives away to the life of binge drinking and kebabs? Marxists may have you believe that, however I must disagree. I feel the most likely conclusion is that TV imitates life rather than the elite and the media in conspiracy together. Media production companies go through extensive amounts of pre-production gathering information on their chosen demographics, they realise most young people do not want to sit and watch a documentary about anatomy with intricate vocabulary, they want to watch people they can relate to and want to be like. However, in some ways I can agree for instance how take a break costs 84p wear as more educational magazines cost more money this form selling media can absolutely give some people in society a head start against others if they don’t have the money to invest in these magazines, although in an era where the internet and library’s is easily accessible can you blame the media and? The greatest form of conflict I believe the media can cause is between one another, for instance while the media creates tension between atheists, Christians and Muslims, between British nationals and asylum seekers, working class and people on benefits the less we look at our own government, all the time we argue amongst ourselves the less time we focus on the elite. 

The pluralist theory is centred around ownership in the media, and how ownership is distributed. One big issue surrounding pluralism is free press “If the government controls what the media can say, it can control the political messages people hear” (Hibbert (2004). “The media ownership rules help ensure people can access a diverse range of viewpoints, which is important for democracy.” (Ofcom (2009). These rules on ownership are important as they give people multiple viewpoints, so they can make informed decisions that benefit themselves and society, it also minimizes the risk of propaganda. An example of to why we need pluralism is in 1992 the sun headlined “IT’S THE SUN WOT WON IT” after the Tories won the general election. This goes to prove how influential the media is and if as a society you didn’t have pluralism, would you have true democracy? Another reason for pluralism is to encourage creativity and competitive prices. If only one person owned the media the there would be no need to create new idea’s as there is no competition and media providers could charge extortionate amounts as they are the only provider. Looking at audience theories such as the hypodermic needle theory also gives us an indication as to why pluralism is a good thing. “the basic assumption is that the mass media have a direct, immediate and influential effect upon audiences by ‘injecting’ information into the unconsciousness of the masses” (Watson and Hill (2003). Passive audience theories although sound ridiculous do have evidence to back it up, take the bobo doll experiment for instance ‘Monkey see Monkey do’. Even in court lawyers have tried to use media as a way of misplacing accountability from a client to the media. Two teens watched The Natural Born killers on loop before going out and committing a copy cat killing. Although they were mentally disturbed and on narcotics it was argued that the movie had driven them to commit these acts. Although I do not believe that the movie drove them to kill I do believe media can encourage people to partake in behaviour they would not typically if they are vulnerable and not properly supervised. Relating the hypodermic needle theory to the pluralism theory it is clear to see why as a society we need pluralism. If we automatically believe everything we see and hear in the media surely it is better that we hear a range of view points to get us thinking. This reduces the risk of propaganda, creates a more democratic society, and most importantly gives us the resources and tools to create more informed decisions than if we lived in a monopoly ran society.