Question:
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.

References to key theories:

1. Karl Marx in the second half of the 19th century that unifies social, political, and economic theory.
2. Antonio Gramsci is best known for his theory of cultural hegemony, which describes how the state and ruling capitalist class – the bourgeoisie – use cultural institutions to maintain power in capitalist societies.
3. Denis McQuail says “The media do serve the ‘public interest’ or ‘general welfare’ whether its by design or chance”
4. James Curran says “The professional media sector occupies a space wholly independent on the state and the market”
5. James Curran says “Media enables viewers to plug into different views and different perspectives”

Newspaper content:

Daily mail (right-wing ideology):
Page 18: Boris Johnson is by a country mile the best person to lead the Tory Government.
Page 2: “Tory rebels ‘are plotting course to catastrophe’.

The I (Left-wing ideology):
Page 20: “Thank you for saying what needed to be said about the isralian state”
Page 20: “How long before Priti Patek makes it illegal to boo at someone we find offensive?”
Nick clegg, a deputy prime minister (libertarian) sided and said he is a reader of ‘The I’
Didn’t side with a political party in the 2017 and 2019 election.

Habermas and the public sphere:
Public sphere: Is the mass spread of communication that came around when letters and newpapers were produced.

-“Newspapers, letter and notes forged a consensus which shaped the direction of the state/country.”
-“The media ceased to be a emergence of empowerment and rationality, and became a further means to sideline the public. Instead of including a direction for rational-critical debate, the media manipulated and changed mass opinions”
-“The emergence of a independent, market-based press created a new critical political discussion”

Noam Chomsky:

– Sometimes called “the father of modern linguistics”
– Critical of the media, claiming they are hand to hand with the government, being swayed and told to write and make news to sway the opinion of the public.
– “Manufacturing consent”
– “The dominant mass-media outlets are large profit-based operations, and therefore they must cater to the financial interests of the owners such as corporations and controlling investors”

The 5 filters of mass media:

1. Structures of ownership – Media conglomerates are mostly owned by bigger companies with the same Endgame: Profit. Pushing for anything that gives profit.
2.The role of advertising – Advertising companies get paid by media conglomerates to sell a product, which they make money off of, as well as this the advertising company pays the media conglomerates to get ads within the newspaper or product the media conglomerates are selling.
3.Links with ‘The Establishment’ – Links to higher power, which allows you to get a higher controlling job within the media.
4.Diversionary tactics – ‘flack’ – A diversionary activity is one intended to attract people’s attention away from something which you do not want them to think about, know about, or deal with. Discrediting stories, sources and ideas so that it supports and fits what the government want.
5.Uniting against a ‘common enemy’ – something the media can write about that everyone agrees on or hates to make money and make topics to write on, to therefore sell more.

AGENDA SETTING: Agenda-setting describes the “ability to influence the importance placed on the topics of the public agenda”

FRAMING: the act of providing with a frame. a frame or a system of frames; framework

MYTH MAKING: Making lies to criticise and discredit other sources and stories, making you question their credibility.

CONDITIONS OF CONSUMPTION: income, wealth, interest rates, age, education, and family size.

Essay beginning:

Media products utilise a constructional view of the world and current times to target certain audiences and make sales. As Denis Mcqauil states “The media do serve the ‘public interest’ or ‘general welfare’ whether its by design or chance”” saying that the newspapers we read today are designed to sway and support our own decisions and that it doesn’t matter how it came about, that is the truth. As well as this, in the second half of the 19th century Karl Marx argued that the ideas of the governing power were causing to much in society and that people should take a step back and look at what they’re doing before they mindlessly follow it.