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.

Media products target audiences by constructing an ideological view of the world. Media products such as newspapers create a view or opinion which transfers to the variety of audiences. For example, popular newspapers such as The Daily Mail and ‘The I’ feed audiences with opinions and critical views on subject matters to almost control the belief of each individual reading, potentially leading to a right- or left-wing audience. Left-wing is a political belief of social equality and egalitarianism. Those who follow left-wing politics are often in opposition to the social hierarchy and are seen as a libertarian. Libertarians seek to maximise autonomy and political freedom and minimise the state’s violation of individual liberties. Whereas right-wing politics support of the view that certain social orders and hierarchies are inevitable, desirable and regular. Right-wing typically supports this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authority, and tradition. Ordinarily, the supporters are authoritarians, meaning the strict rules and laws put into force by those of hierarchy and power to eliminate personal freedom of those with less freedom of speech.

The Daily Mail is a British newspaper, owned by the DMGT with the current chairmen and controlling shareholder Jonathan Harmsworth, 4^th Viscount Rothermere. The Daily Mail presents itself as a neutral supporter of all political parties however, this is not shown through textual evidence. For example, on page 18 of the newspaper, the paper mentions, ‘The Truth is that Boris Johnson is by a country mile the best person to lead the Tory government’, this links to the theorist Noam Chomsky, also known as ‘The father of modern linguistics’. Chomsky claimed that the media is hand in hand with the government and supports the association that the government dominants the media, giving the media what the government wants the audiences to read. The five filters of mass media relate to Noam Chomsky’s claim and the quote through the first mass media filter known as ‘Structures of Ownership’, meaning media conglomerates are mostly owned by bigger companies with the same end goal such as profit. Profit controls and misleads companies into pushing anything that provides them with this resource. The Daily Mail and the prime minister, Boris Johnson may have a mutual agreement and could be the reasoning to why the newspaper speaks highly of the government. 

‘The I’ is a British national morning paper which was originally owned by the JPIMedia, but since 29^th November 2019, the JPIMedia sold the newspaper to The Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) and ‘The I’ is now published in London by the DMGT. ‘The i’ could be represented as the opposition to The Daily Mail and can be seen as a technique used to please those in belief of left-wing politics. In relation to The Daily Mail, on page 20 of ‘The I’, ‘The thought of Boris Johnson or someone equally embarrassing representing us as head of state’ suggests that the editors of ‘The I” may believe in the freedom from hierarchy’s and do not allow themselves to be controlled through government sources. On top of that, in the 2017 and 2019 UK general elections, ‘The I’ chose not to endorse a political party, showing audiences that the newspaper does not have a political view. Further to this, on page 20, ‘Thank you to Michael Day for saying what needed to be said about the oppressive Israeli state’, advocates that newspapers don’t mention critical and own views on subject matters, as well as speaking the voice of the readers. This shows, theorist, Jurgen Habermas, work on the public sphere, through the spread of communication. The German philosopher and sociologist work introduces communicative rationality and the public sphere. He argued that the growth in newspapers, journals, reading clubs, Masonic lodges and coffeehouses in 18^th century Europe marked the gradual replacement of “representational” culture. In conclusion, both newspapers, ‘The I’ and The Daily Mail construct ideas and views upon the target audiences through the language and techniques used, specifically regarding political views.

‘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.’

Definitions:

• Ideology – A system of ideas which form the basis of economic or political theory.
• Media Watchdog – A group of people or more who watch over the states when the state watch over …
• Public Sphere – Habermas defines the public sphere as ‘a virtual or imaginary community which does not necessarily exist in any identifiable space’. The public sphere is an area in social life where individuals can come together too freely discuss and identify societal problems, and through that discussion influence political action.
• Private Sphere: Habermas describes the private sphere as ‘a sphere of bourgeois society which would stand apart from the state as a genuine area of private autonomy’. The private sphere is ones own opinion and ‘space’ to think about their own views on social problems.

Media creates balance.

The Printing Press:

• A mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink.
• One of the most influential events in the second millennium as this mechanical device allowed the spread of ideas and information, as well this influenced most people to learn how to read and write.
• The printing press introduced the era of mass communication, which permanently altered the structure of society.
• Johannes Gutenberg was the inventor of the printing press and began experimenting with printing in Strasbourg, France in 1440 and later his experimenting lead to the start of the Printing Revolution.

Quotes:

1. ‘Once the media becomes subject to public regulation it will lose its bite.’ This meaning, that once the state starts to regulate media, the media watchdogs will no longer be necessary and will not have a certain degree of power over public regulation. As well this could mean, that once media is owned by the state / public regulation, media will no longer be free to write / discuss and have their own opinions of social problems. (Public regulation is the States/government).

Theorists:

1. Jurgen Habermas – A German philosopher and sociologist whose work introduces communicative rationality and the public sphere. His first book was focused on the public sphere – The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere.

• He argues that the growth in newspapers, journals, reading clubs, Masonic lodges, and coffeehouses in 18th-century Europe, all in different ways, marked the gradual replacement of “representational” culture.
• Habermas states that a variety of factors resulted in the eventual decay of the public sphere, including the growth of a commercial mass media, which turned the critical public into a passive consumer public.

1. James Curran –

• Wrote a book about how the media landscape has fallen under the control of a handful of global media conglomerates and reflects on contemporary concerns relating to digital media.

1. Noam Chomsky – An American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historical essayist, social critic, and political activist and he is critical of the media, claiming that the media is hand in hand with the government.

• He presented in the documentary, ‘Manufacturing Consent’.

Noam Chomsky- The 5 filters of mass media:

• Structures of ownership: There are a three companies which links to the establishment and high. An ownership structure concerns the internal organization of a business entity and the rights and duties of the individual holding the equitable or legal interest in that business.
• The role of advertising: Advertisers get paid for the audience
• Links with ‘The Establishment’:
• Diversionary tactics – ‘flack’: Flak refers to the negative response to a media statement (Chomsky & Herman, 1988). Diverting someone else’s attention to something else.
• Uniting against a ‘common enemy’:

AGENDA SETTING

FRAMING

MYTH MAKING

CONDITIONS OF CONSUMPTION

Essay Structure:

Intro:

1. Definition – Ideology
2. Introduce The i and The Daily Mail – when they were founded / who is the owner , founder / What are they?
3. Use a quote

The emergence of an independent, market-based press, created a new public engaged in critical political discussion.

The public sphere is an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems, and through that discussion influence political action. 

The public sphere is an area in social life where individuals can come together to openly discuss and identify societal problems, and through that discussion influence political action.

‘Habermas argues that the development of early modern capitalism brought into being an autonomous arena of public debate.’

‘He argues, the public sphere came to be dominated by an expanded state and organised economic interests’.

‘Created a new public engaged in critical political thinking’.

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.

First paragraph basis: The purpose of papers is to inform us. Discussion

• One the media becomes subject to public regulation, it will lose its bite as a watchdog and may even be transformed into a snarling Rottweiler in the service of the state

• Habermas argues that the development of early modern capitalism brought into being an autonomous arena of public debate.
• arena of public debate
• …the critical reflection fostered by letters and novels, the flowering of discussion in coffee houses and salons and, above all, the emergence of an independent, market-based press.
• a new public engaged in critical political discussion
• …was restricted to the propertied class (i.e., the class of the owners)

Some Quotes from both Newspapers:

Daily mail – right-wing:
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:
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:

Starting para:

All products and services have a purpose, if it is to entertain or educate, they all have a reason to provide a function to people. Newspapers have a primary purpose to inform, but how can there be different newspapers if they all serve the the same function? The difference is, is that each newspaper supports different ideologies and uphold different values and beliefs of the world, there is no way everyone in the world can hold the exact same values and beliefs, which is why multiple different newspapers all around the world serves a reasonable value. Habermas says that there is an arena of public debate as in form of a public sphere, when applying these ideas, newspapers have an important obligation to inform with veracity. The issue with this is that with modern regulations, entire and vastly different views from person to person, in their own private spheres, modern newspapers lose their “bite as a watchdog” as said by Haberman and will bend to the “service of the state”. When looking at Noam Chomsky’s filters of the mass media machine, it is said that mass media companies and firms as parts of even bigger conglomerates, have a sole function for profit. It’s in their interest to push what ever increases that profit. This is relevant because knowing that the Daily Mail owns The i, they try to reach as vast audiences as possible to sell as many newspapers as possible. The more newspapers that become a part of the Daily Mail, DMG Media, General Trust conglomerate, the larger the public sphere becomes and the larger control they have on public views and ideas, controlling their ideologies of the world. The Daily Mail is the United Kingdom’s second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun and to maintain this status they target audiences by constructing an ideological view of the world, this is done by having a priority for entertainment over news on their news website and also their newspapers, but also reporting on news that suit their traditionally right-wing tabloid, conservative party views, proven by the quote on a recent issue that the ‘Comment’ ie the editorial or voice of the paper says ‘Only Starmer gains from this clueless plot’ – ie Labour will gain from Conservative divisions over Boris Johnson, showing their views on Conservative party clearly and steering their audiences into their own philosophies and ideologies of country issues.

Facts about the Daily Mail

1. Publisher: DMG Media
2. First issue date: 1896
3. Owner: DMG Media, Daily Mail and General Trust
4. Editor: Paul Dacre, Stewart Steven, R. D. Blumenfeld, W. G. Fish, Tom Clarke
5.  It is the United Kingdom’s second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun.
6. Morning daily newspaper published in London, long noted for its foreign reporting, it was one of the first British papers to popularize its coverage to appeal to a mass readership.
7. The Daily Mail’s main target audience is lower-middle-class British women. It was the first newspaper in the UK to write articles targeted at women.
8. Support of fascism: 1930–1934
9. Lord Rothermere was a friend of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, and directed the Mail’s editorial stance towards them in the early 1930s
10. As a right-wing tabloid, the Mail is traditionally a supporter of the Conservative Party. It has endorsed the party in every UK general election since 1945, with the one exception of the October 1974 UK general election, where it endorsed a Liberal and Conservative coalition.
11. Priority of entertainment over news

Facts about The i

1. Owner: Daily Mail and General Trust
2. Editor: Oliver Duff
3. Founded: 26 October 2010
4. Headquarters: Northcliffe House; London, England, UK
5.  It is aimed at “readers and lapsed readers” of all ages and commuters with limited time
6.  Published in London by Daily Mail and General Trust
   11
7. During an interview for the i in December 2017, then Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn declared himself to be a dedicated reader of the i, saying that its compact size and concise articles suited his busy lifestyle as Leader of Her Majesty’s Opposition

Libertarians:

Seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state’s violation of individual liberties; emphasizing free association, freedom of choice, individualism and voluntary association.

Libertarianism – Libertarians seek freedom away from regulation and the government. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state’s violation of individual liberties; emphasizing free association, freedom of choice, individualism and voluntary association – Wikipedia

THREE TYPES OF MEDIA OWNERSHIP

• Capitalist Media
  corporations content that addresses humans in various social roles and results in meaning-making.
• Public service media
  state-related institutions
  Content that addresses humans in various social roles and results in meaning-making.
• Civil society media
  Citizen-control

The 5 Filters of Mass Media Machine

The five filters are:

(1) ownership; (2) advertising; (3) official sources; (4) flak; and (5) marginalizing dissent.

The author discusses the applicability of Herman’s and Chomsky’s propaganda model today.

1. Ownership: Mass media companies and firms as parts of even bigger conglomerates, as a sole function for profit. In their interest to push what ever increases that profit.
2. Advertising money: Advertisers are paying for audiences. So their role is to be at the use of mass media conglomerates as a tool to increase profits.
3. The media Elite: Make themselves crucial to the process of advertising. They are used as a tool to help the processes of media consumption. You cannot challenge power.
4. Flak machine: discrediting, distorting, challenging and undermining stories.
5. The common enemy: Helps crowd public opinion, points the finger at the common enemy as a tactic to control the masses.