“A large number of people or objects gathered together” (Soanes and Stevenson, 2006, p. 878). The “Mass” in “Mass Media” refers to audiences reached by the “Media” (Stephens et al., 1998).

The word media, the plural of medium, is treated as a collective noun and is defined as "the main means of mass communication (especially television, radio and newspapers) regarded collectively” (Soanes and Stevenson, 2006, p. 886).

Mass media is the means to communicate with a large number of people simultaneously (Lawson and Garrod, 2000). With its roots in newspapers and magazines during the eighteenth century, the mass media has grown first through the telegraph in the nineteenth century, encompassed radio and television in the twentieth century and today includes the internet, which pervades numerous aspects of twenty-first century communication (Lawson and Garrod, 2000). Modern mass media is split into “traditional” media (national daily and Sunday newspapers, terrestrial TV stations, plus national radio stations), designed to reach mass audiences and offering little choice and “new” media (digital technologies that use a mix of image, sound and text alongside technologies that enable consumption of that media, for example, computers and the internet), that provides a huge range of consumer choice (Browne et al., 2014).

Ownership in Britain is concentrated in the hands of a small group of companies whose main interest is in making profits (Browne, 2011), the exception being public service broadcasters, the BBC for example (BBC Bitesize, 2017). Multiple newspapers are owed by individual companies, for example News Corp UK and Ireland Limited publications include The Sun, The Times, The Sunday Times and The Times Literary Supplement (Browne, 2011). A total of 96% of national daily newspaper circulation is controlled by only seven companies (Browne et al., 2014), creating an oligopoly that Stevenson and Soanes (2006) define as “a state of limited competition in which a market is shared by a small number of producers or sellers” (p.996). This oligopoly may be a reason for concern, with some considering that the media role as a “forum for free speech, expression and debate will be curtailed” (Giddens and Birdsall, 2001).

There is a diversity of interests within these consolidated companies, having stakes not only in newspapers but in other areas of mass media such as magazines, books, publishing, television, the film industry, music and internet service providers (Browne, 2011).  These interests are often global and may include diversification into areas other than mass media (Browne, 2011).

(The Virgin Group, 2017)

 

One to one (interpersonal) communications are social interactions aimed at a specific person by another that may include, face to face meetings, personal email, text messaging, instant messaging and peer to peer networks (Lawson and Livesey, 2006). The primary purpose of one to one communication is to allow persons to communicate privately (Underwood and Farrington-Flint, 2015).

One to many (mass) communications may come in the form of published literary works, in-person public speaking and in forms of online interactions that include video sharing sites (for example, YouTube), social networking, and blogging which focus on sharing the ideas of an individual with a larger group (Lawson and Livesey, 2006). Underwood and Farrington-Flint (2015) suggest that people who use Facebook can be split into two groups, “communicators” who have regular high-quality communication with a small group and “broadcasters” who have less high-quality communication and were most interested in self-promotion.

Many to many communication is a form of interactive media that involves two-way communication between the producers of information and the consumers of information, for example online inquiry networking (Lawson and Livesey, 2006). Online inquiry networking is a form of many to many communication in which a question may be asked of many, answered by a few, with many others, who are interested, joining the “enquiry net”, thus improving productivity and innovation (Stevens, 1981).

 

 

 

 

BBC Bitesize. (2017). BBC Bitesize - GCSE Media Studies - Industries overview - Revision 2. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zqrdxsg/revision/2 [Accessed 10 Mar. 2017].

Browne, K. (2011). An introduction to sociology. 4th ed. Malden, MA: Wiley, John & Sons.

Browne, K., Blundell, J., Law, P. and Whalley, M. (2014). Sociology for A2 AQA. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Giddens, A. and Birdsall, K. (2001). Sociology. 4th ed. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Lawson, T. and Garrod, J. (2000). The complete A-Z sociology handbook (complete A-Z handbooks). 2nd ed. London: Hodder & Stoughton.

Lawson, T. and Livesey, C. (2006). A2 sociology for AQA. London: Hodder Arnold.

Stephens, P., Leach, A. and Taggart, L. (1998). Think sociology. Cheltenham: Trans-Atlantic Publications.

Stevens, C. (1981). Many to Many Communication. [online] Dspace.mit.edu. Available at: https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/48404/manytomanycommun00stev.pdf?sequence=1 [Accessed 10 Mar. 2017].

Stevenson, A. and Soanes, C. (2006). Concise Oxford English dictionary. 11th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

The Virgin Group, (2017). Find a Virgin Company. [image] Available at: https://www.virgin.com/company [Accessed 10 Mar. 2017].

Underwood, J. and Farrington-Flint, L. (2015). Learning and the E-Generation. 1st ed. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.

 

 

 

1.1 Analyse the issues relating to media ownership and control.

2.2 Evaluate two sociological perspectives on control and media

Consider explicitly sociological perspectives, wider world, contemporary, historical

Consequences for society regarding the issues converged

Handouts;

Sir Oswald Mosley and the Jews (Warwick Digital Collections, 2017),

Hurrah for the Blackshirts (Pride, 2014).

Capitalist British economic system characterised by great inequalities of wealth and income brought about by the labour power of the working classes (Livesey and Lawson, 2006).

Cultural power used by the capitalist class to dominate institutions for example education, mass media, to transmit ruling class ideology and so legitimise and reproduce the system (Haralambos, et al., 1990).

The function of these agencies is to socialise the working class into accepting the legitimacy of the capitalist system and capitalist ideas(Livesey and Lawson, 2006). 

Working class people experience false class consciousness (accept that capitalism is a just system that benefits all social groups equally) (Haralambos, et al., 1990).

Fail to see that they are being exploited by a system that only benefits a powerful minority.

Media and Ideology

Traditional (Manipulative or Instrumentalist) Marxist Approach to Mass Media

Media moguls or owners, members of the capitalist elite, use their media outlets to;

create profit (Lawson and Livesey, 2006),

transmit the ideology of the dominant class, legitimising the idea of profit in private hands (Lawson and Livesey, 2006),

control, shape and political stance of media content, manipulate ideas, beliefs and behaviour (Lawson and Livesey, 2006),

feed a sensory diet of biased, dumbed-down, “culturally poor” trivial content, with a side portion of “brutality and violence, sex and sadism” (Miliband et al., 2013),

dupe audiences into believing in and identifying with whatever media content is placed in front of them (Miliband et al., 2013),

create biased reports favouring the dominant class and keeping the status quo, (Browne et al., 2014),

denigrate, malign, mock or ignore people, ideas or groups critical or threatening to the ideology of the dominant class (Browne et al., 2014),

control mass media editors, mangers and journalists (mass media controllers) (Miliband et al., 2013), 

The controllers of mass media SELF-CENSOR, jobs are dependent on the owner (Browne et al., 2014). 

(Find a Grave, 2001)

Karl Marx was pro freedom of speech and anti-censorship (both by the state and by newspaper owners), the newspaper he edited having been suppressed by the Prussian authorities (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1971).

State ownership of mass media could allow freedom of expression for editor and journalist (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1971).

 

 | The Press Law | The Censorship Law
|   |  
| Freedom Punishes | Freedom is Punished
| Vote of Confidence Which Freedom gives Itself | Law of Suspicion Against Freedom
| Punishes the Abuse of Freedom | Punishes Freedom as an Abuse
|   |  

 (Marx and Padover, 1974).

 

 

It is possible that Marxists overemphasize the degree of collusion between media moguls and other power-brokers. Competition with other mass media conglomerates, battles with government, the courts and various establishment institutions all evidence the pursuit of a mass media company’s own interest (Stephens et al., 1998).

The Marxist dislike of mass media saturation of the ideology of the dominant class fails to take account of Marxism itself being an ideology attempting to become the dominant class (Stephens et al., 1998).

In contrast to Marxist orthodoxy, many different interest groups not in agreement with the dominant class, have a voice within mass media, for example the charity, Shelter (Stephens et al., 1998).

 

 

 

Ralph Miliband

democratic Marxist, academic, teacher, public intellectual, influential socialist, political theorist (Newman, 2002).

Miliband (1976) suggests that;

media owners have common economic status and social status as the capitalist elite

media owners have common cultural background as the capitalist elite (elite schools and universities, family connections and interlocking directorships) and so identify with the “interests of the ruling class”

financial inequality or reasons for persistent poverty are seldom mentioned 

the capitalist system is unlikely to be criticised or challenged and that “most newspapers in the capitalist world have one crucial characteristic in common, namely their strong, often their passionate hostility to anything further to the left than the milder forms of social-democracy and quite commonly to these milder forms as well” (p.198).

media content is shaped to ensure that approved and conformist views are heard. 

it is only “the free expression of ideas and opinions which are helpful to the prevailing system of power and privilege.” (p.197). that are transmitted,

mass media shapes how we think about the world.

(Levy, 2013).

 

'Ultimate tribute': Ed, pictured with Ralph in 1989, is determined to bring about his father's vision of socialism 
(Levy, 2013).

 

“The Englishman is a rabid nationalist. They are perhaps the most nationalist people in the world…you sometimes want them almost to lose (the war) to show them how things are. They have the greatest contempt for the Continent…To lose their empire would be the worst possible humiliation” (Miliband, 1940 cited in Newman, 2002, cited in Levy, 2013).

 

A teenage diary entry at the age of 16 in autumn 1940,

worried about his sister and mother, who were left behind in Nazi occupied Belgium because his sister was too weak to walk to Ostend to catch the boat for England,

blamed British appeasement of Hitler for the rise of Nazi Germany,

jingoistic complacency and nationalist superiority the British upper classes (Newman, 2002).

 

 “Opportunity to reply

 A fair opportunity for reply to inaccuracies must be given when reasonably called for” (The Press Complaints Commission, 2012).

The Daily Mail gave Ed Miliband a right of reply, one of the conditions of the Editors Code of Practice, “Why my father loved Britain, by ED MILIBAND” (Miliband, 2013).

 

Short BBC News interview on the contents of that reply

(BBC News, 2013).

 

The Daily Mail asserted the right to freedom of speech. 

In this case “the freedom of the individual” could be said to have taken second place.

It could be argued that it was a deliberate act of character assassination of father and son which may have affected the result of the 2015 general election

It is a testament to freedom of speech and lack of censorship that although the target of this article (along with his deceased father), Ed Miliband still defends the rights of the press 

“Should the Daily Mail be barred and banned from printing that sort of material?

 No, it’s not about regulation, it’s about right and wrong…”(BBC News, 2013).

 

Ralph Miliband, who joined the Royal Navy at the earliest opportunity. Photograph: From the book Ralph Miliband and the Politics of the New Left, by Michael Newman

 (Newman, 2002).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reference List

BBC News, (2013). Ed Miliband accuses Daily Mail over 'lie' about father - BBC News. [online] BBC News. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24343074 [Accessed 26 Mar. 2017].

Browne, K. (2011). An introduction to sociology. 4th ed. Malden, MA: Wiley, John & Sons.

Browne, K., Blundell, J., Law, P. and Whalley, M. (2014). Sociology for A2 AQA. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Encyclopaedia Britannica. (1971). 1st ed. Edinburgh: A. Bell and C. MacFarquhar.

Find a Grave, (2001). Karl Marx. [image] Available at: https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=680 [Accessed 26 Mar. 2017].

Haralambos, M., Holborn, M. and Heald, R. (1990). Sociology: Themes and perspectives. 3rd ed. London: HarperCollins Publishers.

Lawson, T. and Garrod, J. (2000). The complete A-Z sociology handbook (complete A-Z handbooks). 2nd ed. London: Hodder & Stoughton.

Levy, G. (2013). The Man Who Hated Britain. The Daily Mail. [online] Available at: : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2435751/Red-Eds-pledge-bring-socialism-homage-Marxist-father-Ralph-Miliband-says-GEOFFREY-LEVY.html#ixzz4cGOzQJjp [Accessed 26 Mar. 2017].

Livesey, C. and Lawson, T. (2006). A2 sociology for AQA. 1st ed. London: Hodder Arnold.

Marx, K. and Padover, S. (1974). On freedom of the press and censorship. 1st ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Miliband, E. (2013). Why my father loved Britain. The Daily Mail. [online] Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2439593/Why-father-loved-Britain-Ed-Miliband.html#ixzz4cSwVNm48 [Accessed 26 Mar. 2017].

Miliband, R. (1976). The State in Capitalist Society: The Analysis of the Western System of Power. 1st ed. London: Quartet Books.

Miliband, R., Editors, T., Foster, J., McChesney, R., Baran, P., Sweezy, P., Baran, P., Sweezy, P., Hakim, E., Williams, R. and Foster, J. (2013). Communications in Capitalist Society by Ralph Miliband | Monthly Review. [online] Monthly Review. Available at: https://monthlyreview.org/2013/07/01/communications-in-capitalist-society/ [Accessed 24 Mar. 2017].

Newman, M. (2002). Ralph Miliband and the politics of the New Left. 1st ed. London: Merlin Press.

Pride, T. (2014). Hurrah for the Blackshirts!. [online] Pride's Purge. Available at: https://tompride.wordpress.com/2014/02/27/its-time-the-daily-mail-apologised-for-supporting-hitler-and-its-anti-semitic-past/hurrah-for-the-blackshirts/ [Accessed 30 Mar. 2017].

Stephens, P., Leach, A. and Taggart, L. (1998). Think sociology. 1st ed. Cheltenham: Trans-Atlantic Publications.

The Press Complaints Commission, (2012). Editors Code of Practice. [online] Newspaper and Magazine Publishing in the UK Editors’ Code of Practice. Available at: http://www.pcc.org.uk/assets/696/Code_of_Practice_2012_A4.pdf [Accessed 26 Mar. 2017].

Warwick Digital Collections, (2017). Sir Oswald Mosley and the Jews: Anti-Semitism in England: The Archive Vault. [online] Contentdm.warwick.ac.uk. Available at: http://contentdm.warwick.ac.uk/cdm/ref/collection/tav/id/5210 [Accessed 30 Mar. 2017].