Habermas and the Public Sphere

The Public Sphere is a theory by Habermas where people can come together to freely discuss problems within society.

The Theory of Free Press – Curran and Seaton

Curran and Seaton write about how the media should be free from interference or political control so they are neutral, transparent.

Noam Chomsky and Manufacturing Consent

Chomsky talks about ownership and how mass media forms are large corporations or even conglomerates. He says how every business has the same goal which is money/profit. He says that every company puts profit as their first priority over everything else.

• Ownership: mass media firms are big corporations and are often part of even bigger conglomerates, their goal is profit and they will push for whatever guarantees that profit. 
• Advertising: exposes the role of advertising. As media costs a lot more then consumers pay, advertisers fill the gap and pay for audiences. 
• The Media Elite: the establishment manages the media through the third filter. Elite news companies have the resources to ease the news-gathering process. 
• Flak: flak refers to the negative commentary to a new story or journalist. Flak includes lawsuits, complaints, petitions, and government sanctions. 
• Anti-Communism and Fear: this filter still operates; it mobilises the population against a common enemy (terrorism etc) while demonising opponents.  

Louis Althusser and the theory of the ideological state apparatus.

Althusser created the theory of the ideological state apparatus (ISA) to describe the structure of complex relationships in society.

He argues that the ideological state apparatuses (ISA) are the sites of ideological conflict among the social classes of a society. That, in contrast to the repressive state apparatuses (RSA), such as the military and the police forces, the ISA exist as a plurality. While the ruling class in power can readily control the repressive state apparatuses, the ISA are both the sites and the stakes (the objects) of class struggle. Moreover, the ISA are not monolithic social entities, and are distributed throughout the society, as public and as private sites of continual class struggle.

Althusser said the ideological apparatuses of the state are over-determined zones of society that complex elements of the ideologies of previous modes of production, so the sites of continual political activity in a society. Which are:

• the religious ISA (the system of Churches)
• the educational ISA (the systems of public and private schools),
• the family ISA,
• the legal ISA,
• the political ISA (the political system, e.g. political parties),
• the trade union ISA,
• the communications ISA (press, radio, television, etc.)
• the cultural ISA (literature, the arts, sport, etc.)

Antonio Gramsci and the concept of hegemony

Hegemony is a tug of war for power and that the balance of power can be changed.

In terms of cultural forms, Frantz Fanon on ‘national culture’ said “From America, black voices will take up the hymn with fuller unison. The ‘black world’ will see the light”. Gramsci comments how certain cultural forms predominate over others, which means that certain ideas are more influential than other, post colonialism articulates a desire to reclaim, re-write and re-establish cultural identity and thus maintain power of The Empire.

Gramsci came up with the theory of cultural hegemony. Cultural hegemony is the domination of a culturally diverse society by the ruling class which manipulates the culture of that society so that the ruling-class view becomes the accepted norm.

The Theory of the Liberal Free Press

• “The Flat Earth News is free to sell a million copies. What it lacks is the ability to find a million people with a conviction that the earth is flat. Freedom is neutral” – Curran Press Freedom
• ” ‘The broad shape and nature of the press’, proclaim John Whale, ‘is ultimately determined by no one but it readers’. This is because newspapers and magazines must respond to the concerns of their readers if they are to stay in business.” – Curran Press Freedom
• “Some liberal theorists view the market as an analogue of the electoral process. They claim that newspapers submit themselves to public judgement every time they go on sale, whereas politicians stand for election at infrequent intervals. Consequently newspapers are closer to the people than are their elected representatives.” – Curran Press Freedom