Marxism & Pluralism: Alain de Botton on the news

1) To what extent do you agree with Alain de Botton's views on the News?
I agree with Alain de Botton's view on the News to a certain extent because he makes a few valid points. The news is in fact the most powerful force out there and we only seem to concentrate on news that is put into some sort of disastrous imagery. The news "parachutes us to disastrous places" as we are familiar with the area around us. The news only shows us what they view as priorities and, in a way, has replaced the role of religion, as it guides people now. Recently, people feel helpless and manipulated by the news. Some news content is biased and due to the level o negativity thrown at us, people flee to the government and view them as a refuge. The news always sends a moral panic (Cohen).

2) How can you link Marxism and Hegemony to de Botton's criticisms of the News?
A marxist would agree with Botton's point about false role models and how it creates envy in people and overall just adds to the negativity and misguidance that the media enforces. With news stories of people becoming successful in a certain field, it's really only a happy story for that person, whilst it leaves audiences with no life lesson from these "role models" and just more upset at how their lives aren't as successful.

3) How could you use Pluralism and new technology to challenge de Botton's views on the News?
A pluralist perspective would actually argue that the advancements in technology have greatly improved and we are now able to easily access our own choice of news as well as produce news as well. With new and digital technology, we have options of doing this anonymously which ultimately means that we , to some extent, are protected from the repercussions of voicing alternative ideologies while still challenging the 'norms' that the elite has imposed upon us.

4) Choose two news stories from the last six months - one that supports de Botton's views and one that challenges his belief that the News is used for social control. 
Challenges: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/30/sun-website-to-scrap-paywall- sun scrapping the paywall challenges de Botton's view because it is beneficial to the audience who seems to hold the power over the news.
Supports: http://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2015/mar/04/the-most-important-article-youll-ever-read - this article is about how to determine which articles are important to write about, this supports de Botton as he also goes on about how some stories are presented as more important due to what is popular. this article looks at how to determine the importance

2 news artciles

#19Broadband bills will have to increase to pay for snooper's charter, MPs are warned

Recent reports inform us that if the snoopers charter is to be passed and funded, consumers will have to pay more on their internet bills, MPs are warned. They are unaware of just how much data is used by the average person; the article states that a common gamer plays through steam, live-streams using twitch, whilst using skype or something similar to communicate with friends, which is a huge amount of data being used by one person, let alone the whole population. 

• “The bill appears to be limiting the amount of funds available to a figure that we don’t recognise would be suitable for the entire industry to do it,” he said, adding that “the ongoing costs of looking after the data … will have to come out of price-rises”.

• “On a typical 1 gigabit connection we see over 15TB of data per year passing over that connection … If you say that a proportion of that is going to be the communications data, it’s going to be the most massive amount of data that you’d be expected to keep in the future.

• “for UK-based companies that serve non-UK customers, there’s some evidence, from what is happening to Microsoft right now in the US, that that can really undermine the trust of non-UK customers"

The development of new/digital media means that audiences are more powerful in terms of consumption and production. Discuss the arguments for and against this view.

The development of new/digital media means that audiences are more powerful in terms of consumption and production. Discuss the arguments for and against this view.

New and digital media can be defined as a multimedia experience that audiences have access to. These can range from a variety of sites such as social networking sites like, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram as well as others such as online newspapers, videos, games, blogs and many more. There are two perspectives to this argument. The first is the Marxists approach. They emphasize the role of mass media in the reproduction of the status quo. Whereas, the second approach, pluralists, emphasize the role of the media in promoting freedom of speech. 

A Marxist perspective would argue that the so called "information revolution" has done little to benefit audiences or to subvert the established power structures in society. Far from being a "great leveller" (Krotoski 2013) as many have claimed, it has helped to reinforce the status quo by promoting dominant ideologies. The most popular news website in the UK by a considerable margin is the 'Mail Online', which receives more than 8 million hits every month and is continuing to expand rapidly - with forecasts that it will make $100 million or more in digital revenues in the next three years. Similar to its tabloid print edition, the website takes a conservative, right-wing perspective on key issues around gender to passively accept what the Marxist theorist, Gramsci, called a hegemonic view. When one of their chief columnists, Jan Mior, wrote a homophobic article about the death of Stephen Gately in 2009 there were twitter and Facebook protests but, ultimately, they did not change the editorial direction of the gatekeepers controlling the newspaper.

Pluralism is perspective that argues that we live in a classless society and media organisations are responsive to an audience and are economically determined. The plural value of society, highlighted by Halloran, says that it enables audiences to ‘conform, accommodate, challenge or reject this. Furthermore, the uses and gratifications theory proposed by Blumer and Katz (1974) is associated with pluralism. It states that media audiences are active and make conscious choices about the way we consume media. They suggested that there are four main uses and gratifications that audiences get from the media. Diversion, personal relationships, personal identity and surveillance.  Diversion is where we escape from everyday problems and routines. Personal Relationships are where we use the media for emotional and other interaction. Personal Identity is finding ourselves reflected in texts or learning behaviour and values from the media and surveillance is where  information that is useful to us e.g. the weather etc. In addition, as pluralists argue that audiences are free agents, examples of this are user generated content such as blogs, twitter, Facebook, instagram etc. We are able to be ourselves on these and not be influenced by dominant ideologies. Moreover, the news has been mutualised, "the mutualisation of news is a very powerful idea that particularly works for the Guardian, as our relationship with our readers is very strong. We can use the community of our readers in ways we would not have been able to in the past."

Another Marxist perspective would argue that audiences are not empowered through the development of new and digital media. As Marxists argue that mass media are a tool used by the ruling bodies/elite that reinforce this statement made by Gramsci who used the concept of hegemony to describe the dominance of one social class over another e.g. the ruling class. Furthermore, Chompsky's theory also stems from this hegemonic view as he talks about 'manufacturing consent ‘and the ruling class brainwashing people into believing that something is 'natural or common sense' (hypodermic needle model). In addition, the global village promoted dominant ideologies and some can argue that whether this is good or bad, focusing particularly on Americanisation and Western ideologies is new and and digital media becoming more diverse or re more cultures being subordinated by Americanisation. This links well with major media conglomorance such as Google with 50 billion revenues, Facebook with 5 billion and New Corporation with  33 billion. 

The internet is known as the most important medium of the century (Briggs and Burke). From a pluralist perspective, audiences are seen as free agents. They are not influenced by dominant ideologies. They argue that "The internet has given readers much more power...The world is changing and newspapers have to adapt" (Rupert Murdoch, Newscorp). This suggests that audiences are at an advantage due to new and digital media as they are able to access a variety of information as well as produce their own material online e.g on blogs - giving them the power.

Andrew Keen (Marxisit) says that "Web pages and blogs are like a million of monkeys typing nonsense", arguing that the information that we produce is false and inaccurate compared to the dominant ideologies and that we are better of to engage into material uploaded by them. This links to the statistic that '38% of UK pupils aged 9 to 19 never question the accuracy of online information' (Livingstone/Bober 2005).

Facts show that 57% of 9-19 year olds had come into contact with pornographic material online (Tanya Brown). This creates an illusion of autonomy, making us believe that we are in power when in fact we are not, therefore under aged people having access to porn when they shouldn’t means they are creating this "illusion" of power.

In contrast, developments of new/digital media has made audience more powerful as they are now actively producing their own content on the internet and therefore have more freedom. Online blogs, forums, global information and social networking sites has increased self-expression for the audience which establishes that they are active consumers and therefore are powerful.  Through the developments of new/digital media “the web has the power to show people’s different views” (Kroteski 2012). It could be suggested that the audience are no longer passive as they can now actively challenging to dominate ideologies through social media. Significantly, “shared activity or crowdsourcing on the internet has enabled people to come together and to solve problems” (Wesch 2008). An example of this would be the 2011 Twitter campaign which caused thousands of citizens onto the streets of London to help clean the mess after the London riots. Thus, it can be argued that the development of new/digital media has empowered the audience. This is because; they can now actively produce content through social media which allows them to get their messages across to the public.

Whilst content analysis and semiotics may .shed light on media content, Marxist theory highlights the material conditions of media production and reception. 'Critical political economists' study the ownership and control of the media and the influence of media ownership on media content cannot be ignored. It also remains important to consider such issues as differential access and modes of interpretation which are shaped by socio-economic groupings. Marxist media research includes the analysis of representation in the mass media (e.g. political coverage or social groups) in order to reveal underlying ideologies. We still need such analyses: however oppositional it may sometimes be, audience interpretation continues to operate in relation to such content. Because of the distribution of power in society, some versions of reality have more influence than others.

People are being oppressed by the elite. They are dominating over them making them feel weak and less powerful (class domination). The public suffer from a false consciousness, they are not being aware of things due to them being influenced and manipulated by the capital. The public do what they are told as we do not ever question the power of relationships. Also, the capital are 'a minority of (media) producers always serve a majority of consumers' (Paretos law) and yet we still obey them, why is this? Due to power. 

Media Magazine Notes

Bill Thompson: What does the internet do for me?

• Open to innovation
• Network is becoming seemless and very fast - accessable

Internet is valuable for free speech but is not yet safe

The internet is replacing many things such as newspapers

Ways to use the internet: 

• Connection
• Information
• Voices in your head
• Political action
• Cartias and campaighning 
• Financial reward
• Games
• Learning
• friendship

Downsides:

• Bullying
• Unwanted porn
• Images of child sexual abuse
• Abuse
• Scams and rip offs
• Fraud
• conspiracy theories
• The dark web

Over 50% of newspapers are controlled by billionaires e.g Rupert Murdoch

Media representations: 

Stuart Hall - role of society - 'commonsense

Rob Watson and Pete Fraser - film production

"Never simply about journalists behaving badly - it is about power

Media power:

Power over: 

• Media content
• journalists
• audiences
• government

Power to:

• censor
• mislead
• set the agenda

Media and democracy?

Diversity and plurality

Last few decades - 

• Rolling news
• Free newspapers
• mobile apps
• online news

Cut and paste journalists - 'cut and paste from the daily mail'

Hackgate - corruption of power

Chris Jeffres - documentry

2 new articles

#17 BBC says public back its online journalism even if it hurts papers

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/nov/05/bbc-says-public-back-its-online-journalism-even-if-it-hurts-papers

The BBC has hit back at critics who say it should stop publishing written journalism online, claiming the vast majority of the public support its digital news coverage even if it makes it more difficult for newspapers to make money. Newspapers were “entitled” to be concerned if the BBC continued to “provide news content that looks like newspaper content” and suggested the corporation should consider reining in its online operation.

• a survey commissioned by the BBC has found that 95% of the public think it is important that the BBC publish written news on its apps and website, and more than three quarters think it should keep doing so even if it makes it harder for newspapers to attract readers and generate revenue.
• Only 6% said they thought the negative impact on newspapers meant the BBC should stop publishing online, and 83% said the BBC should continue its current approach to putting news online.

#18 Can dropping the paywall and upping the story count boost Sun’s website?

Rupert Murdoch, has bowed to the inevitable by dismantling the Sun’s paywall. It was a flawed decision at its inception in 2013 and has proved to be disastrous ever since. It was significant the Sun’s digital audience slipped backwards in September compared to August, suggesting opening the odd door in the wall had failed to keep stimulating interest. Meanwhile, the paper’s rivals have continued to prosper. Mail Online kept growing apace and the Daily Mirror, despite a somewhat clunky site, began to attract an impressively increasing audience. Although the revenue garnered from the Sun’s £7.99 monthly subscription for website access proved lucrative, it had the effect of locking the paper out from the online national conversation. That was unacceptable for a mass market newspaper that has always relied on the volume of its readership to provide it with political and social clout.

• Although the revenue garnered from the Sun’s £7.99 monthly subscription for website access proved lucrative, it had the effect of locking the paper out from the online national conversation. 

NDM: Marxism, Pluralism and Hegemony

Main task

Read the Media Magazine article ‘Web 2.0: Participation or Hegemony?'. Go to our archive of Media Magazine issues and click on MM39 - the article you need is on page 58. Answer the following questions:

1) Research the Ian Tomlinson case. What would the traditional, hegemonic view of the police be in a case like this? 

The traditional hegemonic view of the Ian Tomlinson case shows that the police, also known as the ruling class have dominance over anyone and anything. Ian was just an ordinary man walking by selling newspapers and was beaten to death my the police, due to misinterpretation. The police would be seen as low and selfish - as they wouldn't care about any classes below them, due to the hitting Ian, who done nothing wrong. They may be seen as nothing compared to them (lower-class)

How did new and digital media create a different story?

However, with the help of new and digital media, we were able to see the true footage of what actually happened that day as it hasn't been manipulated or edited to show that the police are not in the wrong. Citizen journalism records everything that happens during the incident and gets uploaded to social networking sites so the wider public are able to se what people are really like. 

What does the police officer's subsequent aquittal suggest about the power of new and digital media?

Furthermore, the power of the police officer's subsequent aquittal suggests that new and digital media has become more advanced and it shows the public the true side of what the ruling class are like. Also, it shows us that no matter what the ruling class have committed, they will still get let off as they are superior and dominant, which is discrimination towards others, causing them to act up. 

2) What does the author argue regarding whether hegemony is being challenged by Web 2.0? 

The author argues that new an digital media is challenging the concept of hegemony as its showing the public the true side of the ruling class. Also, the author is arguing that we don't really have as much power as we think we have and so we shouldn't expect too much from ourselves. 


3) In your opinion, does new and digital media reinforce dominant hegemonic views or give the audience a platform to challenge them?

In my opinion, i think that new and digital media have given audiences a platform to challenge dominant hegemonic views. This is due to the fact that when the public are given access to see footage by citizens online e.g social networking sites such as Youtube an Facebook, which haven't been manipulated, edited or cut, they can express their views and opinions on what the ruling class are really like, which can cause chaos. For example the man who was strangled to death by the police, caused chaos and and riots. People were rioting against the police as they believe that everyone should be treated the same. As the police are the ruling class, they feel as if us citizens are below them and so they can do anything to s, but i believe that this is so wrong. Some say the police are good and some can argue that they are bad. I can argue for and against this as they do help to keep peace but then sometimes they take advantage of their status.