Introduction to Media:
- Theories of Content
- Who shapes media content
- Pluralist, Marxist and Postmodernist
- Theories of Effect
- 6 Media Models
- Hypodermic Syringe Model
- Normative Approach, also known as the two step flow model
- Interpretative Model
- Uses and Gratification Approach
- Structured Interpretative Model
- Cultural Effects Model
- Media, State and the Political Process (Class - no recording?)
- Role of media in the political process
- Theories of Content come again here
- Media, Violence & the Amplification of Deviance
- Impact of the New Media (personal favorite of the examiner - very likely recording available)
- Digital Optimism (role of the internet in the political process)
- Digital Pessimism (few media outlets have control of the media)
- Representation of different Social Groups (likely for CAIES - recording available)
- (Class)
- (Gender)
- Ethnicity (Ethnic representation on media)
- Age (Age spectrum)
- Disability (problem or an emblem of evil)
- Post Modernity and Media
The Message Trajectory of Media:
- Message Formulation Stage (Content)
- Broadcasting Stage (Content)
- Reception Stage (Effect - Media content is received by the audience)
- Effects Stage (Effect - Effects the message would have on the audience)
{Theories of Content}
Pluralist, Marxist and Postmodernist
Q. ETV that media portrays interests of all sections of the population. (35)
Q. ETV that those who own media control media content. (35)
Q. ETV that journalists and media professionals control media content. (35)
Q. ETV that media promoted ruling class ideology. (35)
Pluralist Approach:
- Very functionalist in its characteristic, but it's not functionalism.
, - Media content is highly diverse & it represents all sections of the population. Also known as the Market-Model
Approach (media represents diverse public opinions - journalists are not biased, and they derive public opinions from
real life, and present it on media as is).
- Media does not promote social change, but rather its sole job is to present content to the market. Consumer is sovereign,
and no media agency can run without the consumer since it is a business which needs revenue to stay afloat, which
comes from advertisements which needs viewership.
- Newspapers are no longer in circulation as well as programs shut down which could not generate viewership.
Similarly, programs were pushed to ideal watching times in order to generate more viewership since they were
enjoyed by the audience.
- Media, hence, is based on supply and demand (Whatever the consumer demands, will automatically be
supplied to the consumers) - idealistic.
- Nicholas Jones and research on BBC
- Jones was working as a radio correspondent for BBC news and he conducted research on BBC news.
- Media reflects real-life bias, not journalistic bias. For example, if issues like racism appear more frequently, it’s
because these issues are prevalent in society, not because journalists are selectively highlighting them.
- Media does not create content ideologically; rather, it functions as a mirror to society, reporting events based
on visibility, accessibility, and newsworthiness.
- Media portrayal is influenced by how effectively a side communicates with journalists. If one group is
represented more favorably, it is due to their greater success in gaining media approval and coverage, not
systemic bias.
- He especially highlighted industrial disputes: the side (management or workers) that communicates more
persuasively and gains publicity support gets more favorable media treatment.
Critique:
Strengths Weaknesses
✔ Recognises the agency of social ✘ Implies a level playing field between actors, which is unrealistic - not all
actors (e.g., unions, employers) in groups have the resources to influence media equally - cultural capital, economic
shaping media narratives. power and institutional access.
✔ Highlights media reliance on ✘ Underestimates structural constraints like elite sourcing, political affiliations, or
visibility and access rather than editorial pressures.
ideology. ✘ Treats the media as passive, when it often selects, frames, and edit content in
ways that favor dominant ideologies.
✘ Relied heavily on BBC norms, not generalisable to more commercialised media
environments.
- Martin Harrison Criticism of GUMG
Martin Harrison, a media professional, offered a strong pluralist rebuttal to the hegemonic Marxist model exemplified by the
Glasgow University Media Group (GUMG). He argued that media bias identified by the GUMG was not constructed by
journalists or those in power, but rather a reflection of existing societal inequalities and real-world contexts.
- GUMG’s Research:
- Operated under the Hegemonic Marxist model.
- Conducted content analysis on BBC and ITV news reports of industrial disputes.
- Employed denotative and connotative coding to reveal how employers and workers were portrayed.
- Employers: Filmed in quiet, formal settings (offices), portrayed as rational and composed.
, - Workers: Filmed in noisy, chaotic settings (picket lines), shown shouting or emotional, suggesting
irrationality or aggression.
- Used a content analysis grid, combining:
- Primary quantitative data (frequency counts, visual coding, screen time, speaker balance)
- Frequency counts: How often particular words (e.g., “violence,” “crisis,” “militant”)
appeared.
- Screen time: How long employers vs. workers were shown.
- Visual coding: Objective notations such as:
- Employer shown in an office or studio.
- Workers shown on the streets or at picket lines.
- Tone of voice used by the speaker (calm vs. agitated).
- Speaker balance: Number of employer vs. worker sound bites.
- Secondary qualitative interpretation (connotative meaning)
- Employers in formal, quiet spaces suggest authority, control, rationality.
- Workers filmed in noisy, chaotic environments imply disorder, aggression, or emotional
instability.
- Use of background music, camera angles, and editing choices to convey mood or
narrative.
- Voiceovers and headlines framing disputes as “disruptions” rather than legitimate
resistance.
- Harrison’s Criticisms:
- GUMG overgeneralized from a small sample; only three industrial disputes.
- Argued the GUMG representation was inaccurate and under-representative, falsely suggesting the media
always portrays working-class interests negatively.
- Asserted that the media merely reflects reality, rather than producing a biased narrative.
- For Harrison, if workers appear negatively, it is because of how events unfold in reality, not because of an
ideological media agenda.
- Sociological Implication:
- Supports the pluralist view: media is fair, balanced, and reactive to real-world dynamics.
- Challenges Marxist claims of ideological bias, asserting instead that journalistic routines and
newsworthiness drive representation.
Critique:
Strengths Weaknesses
✔ Challenges the deterministic nature ✘ Overstates the neutrality of journalists and media institutions. ✘ Ignores how
of Marxist accounts. news values, institutional routines, and editorial structures shape what counts as
✔ Encourages empirical scrutiny of “news”.
claims about media bias. ✘ Fails to address the systemic privilege enjoyed by dominant voices (e.g.,
✔ Emphasises audience perception corporations or the state).
and external context. ✘ Doesn't explain how media under-represents marginalised voices even if bias
“exists in reality”.
✘ Relied heavily on BBC norms, not generalisable to more commercialised media
environments.
✘ Relies on a state-funded broadcaster; findings less applicable to
private/commercial media.
- Blumler and McQuail’s study of the 1964 General Election campaign supports the idea that multiple groups in society
shape media content rather than any single dominant force. They showed that political parties actively sought to frame
issues and influence coverage through press releases, speeches, and strategic messaging.
- Theories of Content
- Who shapes media content
- Pluralist, Marxist and Postmodernist
- Theories of Effect
- 6 Media Models
- Hypodermic Syringe Model
- Normative Approach, also known as the two step flow model
- Interpretative Model
- Uses and Gratification Approach
- Structured Interpretative Model
- Cultural Effects Model
- Media, State and the Political Process (Class - no recording?)
- Role of media in the political process
- Theories of Content come again here
- Media, Violence & the Amplification of Deviance
- Impact of the New Media (personal favorite of the examiner - very likely recording available)
- Digital Optimism (role of the internet in the political process)
- Digital Pessimism (few media outlets have control of the media)
- Representation of different Social Groups (likely for CAIES - recording available)
- (Class)
- (Gender)
- Ethnicity (Ethnic representation on media)
- Age (Age spectrum)
- Disability (problem or an emblem of evil)
- Post Modernity and Media
The Message Trajectory of Media:
- Message Formulation Stage (Content)
- Broadcasting Stage (Content)
- Reception Stage (Effect - Media content is received by the audience)
- Effects Stage (Effect - Effects the message would have on the audience)
{Theories of Content}
Pluralist, Marxist and Postmodernist
Q. ETV that media portrays interests of all sections of the population. (35)
Q. ETV that those who own media control media content. (35)
Q. ETV that journalists and media professionals control media content. (35)
Q. ETV that media promoted ruling class ideology. (35)
Pluralist Approach:
- Very functionalist in its characteristic, but it's not functionalism.
, - Media content is highly diverse & it represents all sections of the population. Also known as the Market-Model
Approach (media represents diverse public opinions - journalists are not biased, and they derive public opinions from
real life, and present it on media as is).
- Media does not promote social change, but rather its sole job is to present content to the market. Consumer is sovereign,
and no media agency can run without the consumer since it is a business which needs revenue to stay afloat, which
comes from advertisements which needs viewership.
- Newspapers are no longer in circulation as well as programs shut down which could not generate viewership.
Similarly, programs were pushed to ideal watching times in order to generate more viewership since they were
enjoyed by the audience.
- Media, hence, is based on supply and demand (Whatever the consumer demands, will automatically be
supplied to the consumers) - idealistic.
- Nicholas Jones and research on BBC
- Jones was working as a radio correspondent for BBC news and he conducted research on BBC news.
- Media reflects real-life bias, not journalistic bias. For example, if issues like racism appear more frequently, it’s
because these issues are prevalent in society, not because journalists are selectively highlighting them.
- Media does not create content ideologically; rather, it functions as a mirror to society, reporting events based
on visibility, accessibility, and newsworthiness.
- Media portrayal is influenced by how effectively a side communicates with journalists. If one group is
represented more favorably, it is due to their greater success in gaining media approval and coverage, not
systemic bias.
- He especially highlighted industrial disputes: the side (management or workers) that communicates more
persuasively and gains publicity support gets more favorable media treatment.
Critique:
Strengths Weaknesses
✔ Recognises the agency of social ✘ Implies a level playing field between actors, which is unrealistic - not all
actors (e.g., unions, employers) in groups have the resources to influence media equally - cultural capital, economic
shaping media narratives. power and institutional access.
✔ Highlights media reliance on ✘ Underestimates structural constraints like elite sourcing, political affiliations, or
visibility and access rather than editorial pressures.
ideology. ✘ Treats the media as passive, when it often selects, frames, and edit content in
ways that favor dominant ideologies.
✘ Relied heavily on BBC norms, not generalisable to more commercialised media
environments.
- Martin Harrison Criticism of GUMG
Martin Harrison, a media professional, offered a strong pluralist rebuttal to the hegemonic Marxist model exemplified by the
Glasgow University Media Group (GUMG). He argued that media bias identified by the GUMG was not constructed by
journalists or those in power, but rather a reflection of existing societal inequalities and real-world contexts.
- GUMG’s Research:
- Operated under the Hegemonic Marxist model.
- Conducted content analysis on BBC and ITV news reports of industrial disputes.
- Employed denotative and connotative coding to reveal how employers and workers were portrayed.
- Employers: Filmed in quiet, formal settings (offices), portrayed as rational and composed.
, - Workers: Filmed in noisy, chaotic settings (picket lines), shown shouting or emotional, suggesting
irrationality or aggression.
- Used a content analysis grid, combining:
- Primary quantitative data (frequency counts, visual coding, screen time, speaker balance)
- Frequency counts: How often particular words (e.g., “violence,” “crisis,” “militant”)
appeared.
- Screen time: How long employers vs. workers were shown.
- Visual coding: Objective notations such as:
- Employer shown in an office or studio.
- Workers shown on the streets or at picket lines.
- Tone of voice used by the speaker (calm vs. agitated).
- Speaker balance: Number of employer vs. worker sound bites.
- Secondary qualitative interpretation (connotative meaning)
- Employers in formal, quiet spaces suggest authority, control, rationality.
- Workers filmed in noisy, chaotic environments imply disorder, aggression, or emotional
instability.
- Use of background music, camera angles, and editing choices to convey mood or
narrative.
- Voiceovers and headlines framing disputes as “disruptions” rather than legitimate
resistance.
- Harrison’s Criticisms:
- GUMG overgeneralized from a small sample; only three industrial disputes.
- Argued the GUMG representation was inaccurate and under-representative, falsely suggesting the media
always portrays working-class interests negatively.
- Asserted that the media merely reflects reality, rather than producing a biased narrative.
- For Harrison, if workers appear negatively, it is because of how events unfold in reality, not because of an
ideological media agenda.
- Sociological Implication:
- Supports the pluralist view: media is fair, balanced, and reactive to real-world dynamics.
- Challenges Marxist claims of ideological bias, asserting instead that journalistic routines and
newsworthiness drive representation.
Critique:
Strengths Weaknesses
✔ Challenges the deterministic nature ✘ Overstates the neutrality of journalists and media institutions. ✘ Ignores how
of Marxist accounts. news values, institutional routines, and editorial structures shape what counts as
✔ Encourages empirical scrutiny of “news”.
claims about media bias. ✘ Fails to address the systemic privilege enjoyed by dominant voices (e.g.,
✔ Emphasises audience perception corporations or the state).
and external context. ✘ Doesn't explain how media under-represents marginalised voices even if bias
“exists in reality”.
✘ Relied heavily on BBC norms, not generalisable to more commercialised media
environments.
✘ Relies on a state-funded broadcaster; findings less applicable to
private/commercial media.
- Blumler and McQuail’s study of the 1964 General Election campaign supports the idea that multiple groups in society
shape media content rather than any single dominant force. They showed that political parties actively sought to frame
issues and influence coverage through press releases, speeches, and strategic messaging.
