- Habermas argues that the development of early modern capitalism brought into being and autonomous arena of public debate.
- He argues the public sphere came to be dominated by an expanded state and organized economic interests.
- Within the public sphere, people collectively determine through the processes of rational argument the way in which they want to see society develop.
- The media manipulated mass opinion, it defined politics as a spectacle, and it conditioned the public in the role of passive consumers.
Monthly Archives: June 2022
Filters
essay plan
Ideology can be defined as a collection of values and beliefs. To what extent do media products target audiences by constructing an ideological view of the world?
Intro: give overall judgment give definition of political compass and highlight the main ideas of authoritarian and libertarian and talk about the differences between left and right wing. include Habermas and his ideas and talk about Steve Curran and include relevant quotes.
para 1: talk about the ownership of the daily mail and the political compass of the owner and previous owner. left or right?, libertarian or authoritarian? mention in more detail how main theories relate to given information
para 2: talk about ownership of the i and talk about the political compass of the owners, left or right?, libertarian or authoritarian? mention in more detail how main theories relate to given information
para 3: talk about actual contents in the paper (daily Mail)and give examples of the different categories identified on the table.
para 4: talk about actual contents in the paper (the i )and give examples of the different categories identified on the table
conclusion: talk about overall judgment and yeaa:)
Exam Prep
Q7 Media Paper 1: Ideology can be defined as a collection of values and beliefs. To what extent do media products target audiences by constructing an ideological view of the world?
You should refer to your newspaper Close Study Products, The i and The Daily Mail.
Introduction
The 2 CSPs “The i” and “The Daily Mail” construct an ideological view of the world based on their political compasses, The Daily Mail constructs a conservative view of the world, based around what they want and their views – whereas The i constructs a more liberal view of the world, shown in their neutrality.
Argument
The Daily Mail is a conservative newspaper, proven 0by quotes in the June 6th 2022 publication, such as “Boris Johnson is by a country mile the best person to lead the Tory government” on the editorial page. This quote is in support of Boris Johnson, the conservative Prime Minister of the UK. Furthermore, the newspaper opposes those who are against conservatism with quotes such as “Tory rebels plotting catastrophe”. This quote shows to me that The Daily Mail is unhappy with the “Tory Rebels”, it also shows that the paper is a Tory paper – they want the Tory’s to succeed and is unhappy that the rebels are getting in the way of that. “Gimcrack alliance… they are either clueless or simply don’t care”, this quote shows the negative views that the paper has on the alliance – and that they believe that those supporting it are clueless. “Only Starmer gains from this clueless plot” helps to show this, Starmer is the leader of the Labour party, who the Daily Mail would not want in charge. Other quotes show The Daily Mails older and more traditional views, for example in the editorial column “Is West End going broke because it’s gone all woke?”. This quote is making fun of being “woke”, suggesting that it is the cause of the West End going “broke”. The Daily Mail is owned by the “Daily Mail and General Trust” – who’s chairman is The 4th Viscount Rothermere. Rothermere is a supporter of the former conservative leader David Cameron, which shows that he too is conservative. In addition, Lord Rothermere, who owned the paper before the 4th Viscount Rothermere, was a friend of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler- showing his support of them by directing the Daily Mail’s editorial stance in their favour during the early 1930’s. The paper was originally founded by Alfred Harmsworth in 1896, who whilst he was chairman, the paper reported on “The Shell Crisis of 1915”. The stance that the paper took was so critical of the liberal government, it caused the end of H. H. Asquiths lead as Prime Minister.
I would agree that the Daily Mail constructs an ideological view of the world based around conservatism, to target audiences who are conservative. Throughout the papers history, it has gone against liberals and supported those who are conservative (i.e. Hitler, Mussolini, Cameron) and shows more traditional or older views on the world – such as blaming being “woke” on the current downfall of the West End.
“The i” is a more liberal newspaper. Whilst also being owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust, it is run independently with only one editor. Whereas the Daily Mail openly supports the conservative party, The i does not – choosing to not endorse any political party during key moments such as elections. However quotes such as “How long before Priti Patel makes it illegal to boo at someone we find offensive?” openly criticise the conservative party – showing the papers liberal stance. In addition, Nick Clegg, a liberal deputy Prime Minister is a fortnightly columnist for the paper – having a liberal columnist shows the papers support for the liberals as opposed to having a conservative columnist. Jeremy Corbyn, former leader of the labour party, also showed his support for the newspaper – declaring himself a dedicated reader. This support to and from the left-wing parties shows that the paper is more liberal than the Daily Mail. whether they want to remain neutral or not. Furthermore, Oliver Duff – the editor for the paper – is the youngest editor for any UK national newspaper, which may give The i some newer views than the Daily Mails older ones. Whereas the Daily Mail has an editorial column, which shows the editors views and does not give a voice to many, The i has an “opinion matrix” instead; which can include a range of different voices and opinions and gives more freedom and plurality in those voices and opinions.
Noam Chomsky states that the motive of the media is profit, and that critical journalism takes second place. The Daily Mail’s and The i’s journalism construct their views to target the audiences that buy into those views and increase profits. Noam Chomsky also states that there are 5 filters of mass media, and both papers have been shown to use these. For example, “Links with the establishment” – as mentioned earlier, Lord Rothermere was friends with Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, and supported both of them in The Daily Mail during the 30’s. Even now, the front page of the Daily Mail quotes “Joyous Jubilee” alongside a picture of Queen Elizabeth – which is in clear support of the royal family, the establishment of the UK. Another example of the 5 filters of mass media is “Uniting against a common enemy”. This is shown in The i, with their criticisms of different political parties. As mentioned earlier “How long before Priti Patel makes it illegal to boo at someone we find offensive?” in The i is clear criticism of the the conservative parties members.
NEWSPAPER PLAN:
Q7 Media Paper 1: Ideology can be defined as a collection of values and beliefs. To what extent do media products target audiences by constructing an ideological view of the world?
You should refer to your newspaper Close Study Products, The i and The Daily Mail.
DAILY MAIL:
Format
-Views (Right or left//lib or authoritarian) through options on the table, backed by a quotation of the newspaper, furthermore backed by institutional evidence.
X5:
Examples:
-The daily mails political compass focusses on more a right wing conservative view point, we can enforce this idea through their attitudes towards views of a conservative party, p18 is the ‘Comment’ i.e. the editorial or voice of the paper ‘Only Stammer gains from this clueless plot’ – i.e. Labour will gain from Conservative divisions over Boris Johnson, and through analysis of the daily mail facts we can infer that The Daily Mail’s ownership supports the UK conservative party, and the paper prominently supports Brexit. For example, according to a Reuters Article, the Daily Mail blatantly labelled judges ruling against the Brexit decision as “enemies of the people.”
THE I:
Format
-Views (Right or left//lib or authoritarian) through options on the table, backed by a quotation of the newspaper, furthermore backed by institutional evidence.
X5:
Exam layout and prep
Q7 Media Paper 1: Ideology can be defined as a collection of values and beliefs. To what extent do media products target audiences by constructing an ideological view of the world?
You should refer to your newspaper Close Study Products, The i and The Daily Mail
INTRODUCTION:
1. Define the keywords
Ideology is a system of ideas and ideals and beliefs are assumptions that we make about the world and our values are things we see as important to us. Such as loyalty, honesty perseverance etc.
2. Argument:
I believe that media products target audiences with ideology,
3.Context
PARAGRAPH:
1.Point
There are many ways that media products target audiences by constructing ideological views of the world. These ideologies
2.Evidence
3.Argument
Habermas and the Transformation of the Public Sphere: you will need to include this in your essay, as it provides a framework for *why we have newspapers, what is the point and purpose of them – the idea of a democratic society enabled by news, information, ideas and debate.
The notion of the “public sphere” began evolving during the Renaissance in Western Europe. In The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, Habermas showed how modern European salons, cafés, and literary groups contain the resources for democratizing the public sphere,
| Key word | Daily Mail (textual evidence) | Daily Mail (Institutional Evidence) | The I (Textual Evidence | The I (Institutional Evidence) |
| Politics | P23 Sub head “Ousting PM… nothing less than insanity” – This tells me the Daily Mail are favourable to Boris Johnson. To be clear Boris is PM of the conservative party who are right wing and authoritarian. | Right Wing political alignment | ||
| Racism | ||||
| Equality | majority of readers are female (52-55% of readers) | |||
| Military | ||||
| Patriotism | “Joyous jubilee” – Support for royal family. P4 Sub head “Our beacon of duty and service” – This shows the support to the Royals who are conservitive | |||
| Authoritarian / Liberterian | Still uses an Editorial ie the voice of one over many? | Support of fascism: 1930–1934 | Does not have voice of editor, but an ‘Opinion Matrix’ instead ie a range of different voices and opinion – so much more freedom and plurality (=many) in voice and thought? | |
| Globalisation | The paper and its website were bought by the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) on 29 November 2019, for £49.6 million | |||
| Immigration rules |
6 facts about The Daily Mail
Most circulated newspaper in the United Kingdom
Founded in 1896
2014 survey showed the average reader was 58 years old
majority of readers are female (52-55% of readers)
Right Wing political alignment
Support of fascism: 1930–1934
6 facts about The I
Aimed at all ages
launched 2010 as a sister paper to the Independent
The i was named British National Newspaper of the Year in 2015.
The paper had an average daily circulation of 302,757 in March 2013
The paper and its website were bought by the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) on 29 November 2019, for £49.6 million
published in the standard compact tabloid-size format.
Newspaper CSPS
Left-Labour
Right– Conservative
| Key word/Theme/Question etc | Daily Mail (Textual Evidence) | Daily Mail (Institutional evidence) | The i (textual Evidence) | The i (institutional Evidence) | |
| Globalisation | Pg 32- “Panorama” segment covers new from around the world, showing how the i has expanded into different regions globally | ||||
| Gender | women making up 52–55% of its readers The term | ||||
| Patriotism | front cover– “Magnificent celebrations climax in pageantry and parties for millions” “A joyous jubilee” ” pg 14– “keep Togetherness”, this shows that The Daily Mail supports the Royal Family | Front page ‘The new Firm’ slightly critical of Royal Family | |||
| Racism | |||||
| War | Page 18- Macron “Declared how unwise it would be to humiliate Russia” | “““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““ | |||
| Classism | Pg 27-“Battle to save the sunken liquid gold”, Irrelavent to working class | ||||
| Regulation | PG 38- Publishing a controversial (possibly sexist) article “Men as monsters: is that really radical?” showing less regulation than certain other papers have | The paper and its website were bought by the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) on 29 November 2019, for £49.6 million | |||
| Protectionism | |||||
| Taxes | |||||
| Neoliberalism | |||||
| Conservative | “Grim crack of Tory MP’s moving against Boris Johnson,” “As to the second they are either clueless or dont care” | The paper takes a centre-right political stance and is considered to be the voice of ‘Middle-England‘ | |||
| Sexism | “Barely 6 months ago it was feared that the sexual abuse case against him would inflict untold damage on the Queen’s jubilee” | “suffragette” was first used in 1906, as a term of derision by the journalist Charles E. Hands in the Mail to describe activists in the movement for women’s suffrage, | |||
| Fusion of information and entertainment | PG 24- heading “Met chief must restore trust” directly next to Liam Gallagher concert review shows that paper is trying to entertain and inform as opposed to the daily mail which is essentially brainwashing readers into thinking the jubilee is great | The paper is classified as a ‘quality‘ in the UK market but is published in the standard compact tabloid-size format. the i has developed a strong national reputation over time. The paper is understood to be highly regarded by many journalists The i was named British National Newspaper of the Year in 2015. | |||
| Authoritarian | Still uses an Editorial ie the voice of one over many? | It strongly defends conservative or traditional values and regularly speaks-out against liberal views | Does not have voice of editor, but an ‘Opinion Matrix’ instead ie a range of different voices and opinion – so much more freedom and plurality (=many) in voice and thought? | The paper and its website were bought by the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) on 29 November 2019, for £49.6 million | |
| Libertarian | Title “The i” connotates that that’s its more collaborative in that — PG 18-22- “the opinion matrix” is 4 pages of opinions from numerous people including viewers – opposed to daily mail which has opinions from one person | Does not have voice of editor, but an ‘Opinion Matrix’ instead ie a range of different voices and opinion – so much more freedom and plurality (=many) in voice and thought? | e paper chose not to declare for either “leave” or “remain” during Brexit, unlike a majority of other British newspapers who came out for either side of the debate |
Facts
Daily Mail
- First published in 1896
- website has more than 218 million unique visitors per month
- receiving the National Newspaper of the Year award from The Press Awards eight times since 1995
- sold an average of 896,455 copies each day – or 767,021 on weekdays and 1,449,049 on Saturdays
- founded by Alfred Harmsworth (journalist)
- The paper takes a centre-right political stance and is considered to be the voice of ‘Middle-England‘
- It strongly defends conservative or traditional values and regularly speaks-out against liberal views
- women making up 52–55% of its readers
- The term “suffragette” was first used in 1906, as a term of derision by the journalist Charles E. Hands in the Mail to describe activists in the movement for women’s suffrage,
The I
- Launched in 2010
- The paper and its website were bought by the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) on 29 November 2019, for £49.6 million.
- average daily circulation of 145,411
- the paper chose not to declare for either “leave” or “remain” during Brexit, unlike a majority of other British newspapers who came out for either side of the debate
- The i was also found in a 2018 poll to be the second-most trusted news brand in the UK after The Guardian
Newspapers CSP
‘Authoritarianism’ vs. ‘Liberalism’: our own attitudes
ACTIVITY 1: Complete the Political Compass Survey to give you an understanding of left / right . . . authoritarian / libertarian . . .
If news media (and other media forms?) exhibit bias, how can we identify and critically understand it? A good starting point may be to identify our own social-economic-political bias, so take this survey from ‘The Political Compass’ (link to test).
Post up the image of your results from the Political Compass and make some brief notes that show your understanding of left / right politics and authoritarian / libertarian forms of social control.
About the Political Compass
In the introduction, we explained the inadequacies of the traditional left-right line.
If we recognise that this is essentially an economic line it’s fine, as far as it goes. We can show, for example, Stalin, Mao Zedong and Pol Pot, with their commitment to a totally controlled economy, on the hard left. Socialists like Mahatma Gandhi and Robert Mugabe would occupy a less extreme leftist position. Margaret Thatcher would be well over to the right, but further right still would be someone like that ultimate free marketeer, General Pinochet.
That deals with economics, but the social dimension is also important in politics. That’s the one that the mere left-right scale doesn’t adequately address. So we’ve added one, ranging in positions from extreme authoritarian to extreme libertarian.
Both an economic dimension and a social dimension are important factors for a proper political analysis. By adding the social dimension you can show that Stalin was an authoritarian leftist (ie the state is more important than the individual) and that Gandhi, believing in the supreme value of each individual, is a liberal leftist. While the former involves state-imposed arbitrary collectivism in the extreme top left, on the extreme bottom left is voluntary collectivism at regional level, with no state involved. Hundreds of such anarchist communities existed in Spain during the civil war period
You can also put Pinochet, who was prepared to sanction mass killing for the sake of the free market, on the far right as well as in a hardcore authoritarian position. On the non-socialist side you can distinguish someone like Milton Friedman, who is anti-state for fiscal rather than social reasons, from Hitler, who wanted to make the state stronger, even if he wiped out half of humanity in the process.
The chart also makes clear that, despite popular perceptions, the opposite of fascism is not communism but anarchism (ie liberal socialism), and that the opposite of communism ( ie an entirely state-planned economy) is neo-liberalism (ie extreme deregulated economy)
The usual understanding of anarchism as a left wing ideology does not take into account the neo-liberal “anarchism” championed by the likes of Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman and America’s Libertarian Party, which couples social Darwinian right-wing economics with liberal positions on most social issues. Often their libertarian impulses stop short of opposition to strong law and order positions, and are more economic in substance (ie no taxes) so they are not as extremely libertarian as they are extremely right wing. On the other hand, the classical libertarian collectivism of anarcho-syndicalism ( libertarian socialism) belongs in the bottom left hand corner.
In our home page we demolished the myth that authoritarianism is necessarily “right wing”, with the examples of Robert Mugabe, Pol Pot and Stalin. Similarly Hitler, on an economic scale, was not an extreme right-winger. His economic policies were broadly Keynesian, and to the left of some of today’s Labour parties. If you could get Hitler and Stalin to sit down together and avoid economics, the two diehard authoritarians would find plenty of common ground.
A Word about Neo-cons and Neo-libs
U.S. neo-conservatives, with their commitment to high military spending and the global assertion of national values, tend to be more authoritarian than hard right. By contrast, neo-liberals, opposed to such moral leadership and, more especially, the ensuing demands on the tax payer, belong to a further right but less authoritarian region. Paradoxically, the “free market”, in neo-con parlance, also allows for the large-scale subsidy of the military-industrial complex, a considerable degree of corporate welfare, and protectionism when deemed in the national interest. These are viewed by neo-libs as impediments to the unfettered market forces that they champion.
ACTIVITY 2: Take a screen shot of your Political Compass Survey and post on to your blog (this will help to give you an understanding of left / right . . . authoritarian / libertarian . . .)
political compass activity 7
| Key word / theme / question etc | Daily Mail | The i |
| Views on Conservative party | ||
| Business over humans | ||
| globalisation | ||
| Patriotism | ||
| Racial superiority | page 54-55 – “i hope everyone remembers the effort the Ukraine team made” – The team shown in photos consist of just white males placed in the centre of both pages with on page 55 a small photo of black football player Saka in the bottom corner away from the main photos. | |
| Nationalism | Front Page – “slimmed down royal family is revealed in Jubilee finale” – showing how long its taken for the royal family to slim down from a big extended family to very few which was finally released to the British public during the grand finale of the queens platinum Jubilee. | |
| Militarism (use of military) | Page 43 – “coverage of the Ukraine war has focused more on empathetic victims” – how the use of the war can cover victims stories to help to stop the war through the use of seeing how impactful this war is on ordinary civilians. | |
| Authoritarian / Libertarian | ||
| misleading information | Page 36 – free hearing tests – possibility of misleading an audience to gain customers and gain more income. (free test but paying for consultation) | |
| humanity | Front page – “the menopause revolution” showing the world continues to move on and so should we. | |
| the fusion of entertainment and news / information |