MASS MEDIA

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MASS MEDIA
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BROADCAST MEDIA TV, RADIO
INTERNET
MUSIC CDs
COMPUTER GAMES
What is the Media?
ADVERTISING
PRINT MEDIA NEWSPAPERS MAGAZINES BOOKS
FILM, DVD
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What is the Media?

• The Media are the methods or agents of
  communication between groups of people using
  visual and/or written means.
• The Media also describes the industries that
  produce material such as TV programmes or
  newspapers.
• The Media transmits information to mass audiences
  through the written or printed word and moving or
  still images.

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INTERTEXTUALITY - (sometimes called synergy) is
the connection and inter-relation between the
different types of media. It is very powerful in
today's media industries.
Think of James Bond
(no, not like that, ladies!)
First there was the book, then the film, with the
film comes the soundtrack, with the theme tune
performed by a high profile artist or band. All
of this is supported by advertising the trailer,
the poster and the TV advert. Now we also have
the computer game. It is thought that the game is
now the most powerful medium because the consumer
is likely to spend more time with James in the
game than in any other medium.
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GLOBALISATION Today the Media is dominated by a
few huge companies, such as Time Warner, NewsCorp
and Bertelsmann. Time Warner AOL, New Line
Cinema, Time Inc., Time Warner Cable, HBO, Turner
Broadcasting System, The CW Television Network,
TheWB.com, UBU Productions, Warner Bros.
Entertainment, Kids' WB, The CW4Kids, Cartoon
Network, CNN, DC Comics, and Mohawk Productions.
NewsCorp 20th Century Fox, Fox Television,
The Sun, The Times, MySpace, HarperCollins,
BSKYB,
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BERTELSMANN
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In Britain the BBC is owned by us - we have to
pay a licence fee to keep it going. Over the last
20 years the way the BBC is controlled, funded
and organised has become a hot issue in the media
world and in the political sphere. In terms of
production, the BBC, rather than making its own
programmes as it used to, increasingly buys in
programmes which are produced by independent TV
companies, such as Tiger Aspect, Leopard Films,
Talkback and Hat Trick
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POWER OF THE MEDIA Media industries are concerned
with the transmission and storage of
information. The people who control the media
have enormous power to influence the mass
audiences they serve. GATEKEEPING The owners and
producers have all the power when it comes to
deciding what we can actually consume. We think
we have lots of choice these days when it comes
to all the different forms of media we can
experience. In reality we can only choose what
the owners and producers decide to supply us
with. They are the gatekeepers.
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• The owners have the power to put whatever spin
  they choose on output and stories.
• For example, they can dictate the agenda of
  newspapers and the editorial content of stories.
• This can include
• the selection of which news stories will be
  covered
• the amount of space or time given to stories
• the way the story is presented
• the images and language used to cover the story
• the importance given to the story by its
  placement
• the way the audience is guided to interpret the
  story

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MEDIA BIAS AND CHOICE We should be all aware that
media bias exists in all forms of media. To some
extent we welcome bias when we choose which forms
of a particular medium we will consume, eg the
newspaper we buy will reflect our ideas about the
world and probably our politics too. The Guardian
is a socialist newspaper and generally regarded
as supporting the Labour Party, while The
Telegraph is seen as a right wing paper which
supports Conservative views.
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As well as producing biased products gatekeepers
can have a powerful effect on the ideas and
values of a society. The language and images used
in news reporting are an especially good examples
of this. The tabloid newspapers like The Sun and
Daily Mirror have deliberately used inflammatory
language to describe certain groups in society
and can be said to create moral panics and
create folk devils. An example of this is how
the words refugee and asylum seeker have come
to have negative connotations, largely because of
the way these groups are portrayed in the media.
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• Other groups or issues that have been given folk
  devil status or helped to create moral panic
  include
• Paedophilia
• Teenage pregnancy
• Knife crime
• Hospital super-bugs
• Illegal immigration
• Anti-Islamic feeling

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Published 27 Aug 2008
Super TB man back in hospital
A REFUGEE treated for a super-deadly strain of
tuberculosis in Scotland was back in hospital
last night - after taking ill during a trip
south. The Somalian asylum worker,in his 30s,
is the first person in the UK to be struck down
with the TB mutation, which kills HALF its
victims.
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• The Media and Issues
• Despite problems with bias, the media can be very
  good at highlighting issues and championing
  causes.
• Areas where the media can bring out issues
  include
• HEALTH - HIV, cancer etc
• MORAL abortion, divorce etc
• SOCIAL homelessness, violence
• ENVIRONMENT
• POLITICAL
• ECONOMIC

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ETHNOCENTRISM One criticism levelled against
the media in the Europe and America is that they
are ethnocentric, ie they concentrate on their
own ethnic groups and geographical area. For
instance, when we are shown images of the
problems in foreign countries, it is often the
aid agencies from our country or Europe who are
asked to comment on the situation for our news
reports, not the people actually involved in the
situation.
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CONTROL AND REGULATION The Media in this country
is regulated by a variety of bodies, some with
the power of law behind them others depend on
self regulation.
The BBC is governed by a Royal Charter and also
has its own internal regulatory system.
OfCom is the regulatory body that controls the
telecoms industry, radio and TV (apart from the
BBC). It is an umbrella organisation that
includes the old regulatory bodies like the RA,
ITC,ITA, ASA.
The Advertising Standards Authority ensures that
print, poster and cinema advertising is "legal,
decent, honest and truthful".
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• Other bodies that control the media
• BBFC film certification (local authorities)
  Computer games
• PCC (Press Complaints Commission) Newspapers,
  magazines

There is no statutory regulation of the Press.
Instead there is an entirely voluntary system
which does not have the force of law.     The
industry has drawn up a Code of Practice and
funds the Press Complaints Commission to resolve
or adjudicate complaints. Editors agree to
publish the PCC's criticisms, but damages cannot
be awarded.
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SELF-REGULATION HAS ITS FLAWS. The Press
Complaints Commission (PCC), set up after
complaints about newspapers invading people's
privacy, has not been especially
successful either in preventing stories
about people's private lives in the papers or in
keeping the law at arm's length
Journalists are the eyes and ears of the public.
In a democratic society they must be free to
investigate and report matters of public
concern. And the public should be able to trust
them to provide accurate information.
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Regulatory bodies for the print and broadcast
media receive some 10,000 complaints a year.
Inaccuracy and unfairness top the list of
complaints about journalism.
However, it must be remembered that there are
millions of people consuming the media but
relatively few ever complain, for example
Wrigleys dog breath advert was withdrawn after
only 700 complaints to the ASA. (see it on
YouTube for the full effect)
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• MEDIA LAWS
• BBC charter and ITV Television Acts impose
  impartiality on the broadcast media
• The Obscene Publications Act
• The Libel laws
• Emergency, Official Secrets and National Security
  law
• Human Rights laws
• Blasphemy laws

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PRIVACY -There is NO law on privacy in this
country but since the Moseley case (2008) this
may change. The case which established the right
to privacy may bring about legislation to enforce
some form of law to guarantee a persons privacy.
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CENSORSHIP
It is thought we need some forms of censorship in
order to protect the young, the vulnerable and
easily influenced. However, we live in a society
which believes in free speech but this means that
finding ways to protect those who need it,
without preventing freedom of speech is
difficult. There are some voluntary forms of
censorship such as the watershed, which means
that the broadcast media agree to limit
programmes with adult content (sex, violence,
drug use and bad language) that are broadcast
before 9 p.m. However, the watershed is rather
toothless in the face of modern media
consumption, where children have TVs and
computers in bedrooms that allow them access to
lots of inappropriate material.
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• Modern Media Audiences
• These days audiences have more power than ever
  before as they now have all sorts of
  opportunities to influence the media they
  consume.
• Audience participation voting on X Factor, Big
  Brother, Strictly Come Dancing
• Bloggers/readers/viewers comments and reviews
  of media products influence other audience
  members
• Bloggers also have a role now in commenting on
  how society operates and its values.

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Audiences also can have an economic effect
word of mouth on sites like YouTube and MySpace
can promote and sell media products eg the Arctic
Monkeys.
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Funding of the Media is largely through
advertising Advertising on popular websites
makes them a popular form of revenue for media
owners and producers. Indeed the revenue for
terrestrial TV channels like ITV1, C4 and 5 has
been hit hard by the competition for all the
different advertising opportunities on the
internet. The increase in the number of
programmes that involve audience participation
through phone-ins and voting may just be an easy
way to raise money, rather than giving audiences
more power. Other sources of funding include
franchises, merchandise and selling programmes
abroad.
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NEVER FORGET THE MEDIA ISNT REALLY THERE TO
ENTERTAIN, INFORM, EDUCATE, STIMULATE AND AMAZE
US. MOST OF IT IS ABOUT MAKING MONEY FOR THE
OWNERS AND PRODUCERS!
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Are media owners motivated by the desire to
provide a public service and for the public good
or the quest for power and profit? To what
extent do multi-marketing and cross-media
ownership exploit customers? Does it reduce
freedom of choice? How can censorship stifle
freedom of thought and expression? Why do we need
censorship?