Althusser:
“All ideology hails or interpellates concrete individuals as concrete subjects, through the functioning of the category of the subject.” – 1971
Althusser said that society is structured to keep you in your place & coined the phrase ‘socially constructed’. The ruling ideology (the ideas of the ruling class) constructs us. He says we cant escape, we are interpellated in this system which relates to Orientalism since the ‘other’ do not have the power to represent themselves.
Noam Chomsky:
“A political economy perspective has sometimes tended towards ‘conspiracy theory’”
Chomsky came up with the idea of manufacturing consent which states the mass media has the power to use propaganda to persuade the public. He would say all news is fake. This relates to the idea of media setting an agenda. Agenda setting is the creation of the public awareness & concerns the big issues by the news media which links to conditions of consumption which means the media actually decides how the mass audiences interpret it.
Habermas:
He came up with the idea of the media as ‘watchdog’, meaning that the media acts in the public sphere in the public interest. He believed democracy depended on the public and came up with the theory of the public sphere which is an area in social life where people can come together to freely discuss and identify problems. This could possibly influence political action.
James Curran & Seaton:
“The best way to organise the core media sector is to entrust them to public service organizations.”
“public service broadcasting organizations tend to be unduly influenced by the political class.”
James Curran wrote ‘Mass Media and Democracy’ which focuses on Habermas and his idea of the public sphere. He argued that the developments in education and the mass media made it simpler to access information related to the government, authority & control.
Gramsci:
He wrote about hegemony which means the ruling class can manipulate societies views.
Quotes for the theory of liberal press (James Curren)
- “The assumption that ‘anyone’ is free to start a new paper has been an illusion ever since the industrialization of the press.”
- “Can the freedom of the press, be equated with the freedom of conglomerates, owning much of the press, to promote their business interests?”
- “Since the Commission’s report, most large press groups have refocused their activities on communications, though many still retain some non-media interests.”
- “Newspapers have poured money into developing news sites, thereby pre-empting the rise of rivals.”
- “The voices calling for change where thus marginalized.”
Quotes for the role of public servie broadcasting:
- “The principle of public service… was not the paternalistic and abstract rule which critics have suggested.”
- “Broadcasters have often failed to perceive the public interest &, even more frequently, have been too acquiescent to political pressure.”
- “…broadcasters’ institutionalized caution
3 types of media ownership: (media as a commodity)
- capitalist media – wants money
- public service media – informs public
- civil society media – independent