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Exam Prep, Newspapers, Notes

Noam Chomsky

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Chomsky and his theory of The Five Filters –

(1) Ownership; Big corporations constructed through horizontal and vertical integration and mergers control and own a lot of the media – their main goal is to make money as Hesmondhalgh describes it as a “risky business”. “Critical journalism takes second place to the needs and interests of the corporation.” – 5 filters of the mass media machine.

(2) Advertising; Financial disparity is made up by income from advertisers. The real product sold by the newspaper companies are the audience.

(3) Links with ‘The Establishment’: People in power can control who writes stories about things, and this often leads to fake recounts or propaganda, as reporters can be influenced heavily.

(4) Flack: Hard to get the full, true picture with all the opinions around nowadays.

(5) Uniting against a “common enemy”: Unified enemies are created to rally public opinion against – this helps the media to control people.

The author discusses the applicability of Herman’s and Chomsky’s propaganda model today. He demonstrates the validity of the propaganda model by concentrating on the bombing of Serbia in 1999.

AGENDA SETTING

FRAMING

MYTH MAKING

CONDITIONS OF CONSUMPTION

Journalism, Newspapers, Notes, Research, Theory

noam chomsky

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So how does this process of ‘manipulation’ or ‘persuasion’ work?

1.Structures of ownership

  • Maybe there is only a few select amount of companies
  • “The first has to do with ownership. Mass media firms are big corporations. Often, they are part of even bigger conglomerates. Their end game? Profit. And so it’s in their interests to push for whatever guarantees that profit. Naturally, critical journalism must take second place to the needs and interests of the corporation.”

2.The role of advertising

  • The propaganda model is a conceptual model in political economy advanced by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky to explain how propaganda and systemic biases function in corporate mass media.

3.Links with ‘The Establishment’

  • Links with higher power
  • (THE MEDIA ELITE)
  • The establishment manages the media through the third filter. Journalism cannot be a check on power because the very system encourages complicity. Governments, corporations, big institutions know how to play the media game. They know how to influence the news narrative. They feed media scoops, official accounts, interviews with the ‘experts’. They make themselves crucial to the process of journalism. So, those in power and those who report on them are in bed with each other.

4.Diversionary tactics – ‘flak’

  • Diverse someone’s attention to something else
  • “If you want to challenge power, you’ll be pushed to the margins. When the media – journalists, whistleblowers, sources – stray away from the consensus, they get ‘flak’. This is the fourth filter. When the story is inconvenient for the powers that be, you’ll see the flak machine in action discrediting sources, trashing stories and diverting the conversation.”

5.Uniting against a ‘common enemy’

  • To manufacture consent, you need an enemy — a target. That common enemy is the fifth filter. Communism. Terrorists. Immigrants. A common enemy, a bogeyman to fear, helps corral public opinion.

Noam Chomsky describes himself as an anarcho-syndicalist and libertarian socialist, and is considered to be a key intellectual figure within the left wing of politics of the United States.

Chomsky rose to national attention for his anti-war essay “The Responsibility of Intellectuals“. Becoming associated with the New Left, he was arrested multiple times for his activism and placed on President Richard Nixon‘s Enemies List

What is the manufacturing consent theory?

It argues that the mass communication media of the U.S. “are effective and powerful ideological institutions that carry out a system-supportive propaganda function, by reliance on market forces, internalized assumptions, and self-censorship, and without overt coercion”, by means of the propaganda model of communication …

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.

AGENDA SETTING

FRAMING

MYTH MAKING

CONDITIONS OF CONSUMPTION

Essays, Newspapers, Notes

Curran and Seaton Notes

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Curran studied the early 1800s era of media distribution, and described how newspapers were only producible by people with the wealth to manufacture products on an industrial scale.

The free market of media and newspapers means that the outcome of the products has the potential to be ultimately decided by the consumers themselves.

Audience, Newspapers, Notes, Regulation

Habermas and the public sphere

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Habermas defines the public sphere as a “society engaged in critical public debate”. Conditions of the public sphere are according to Habermas: The formation of public opinion. All citizens have access.

For Habermas, the private sphere is a primarily about autonomy: “a sphere of bourgeois society which would stand apart from the state as a genuine area of private autonomy” (51). This is the area of family, exchange, and even work that revolves around individuals, not institutions.

Notes, Theory

HABERMAS AND CHOMSKY

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Public vs Private Sphere

  • The Public Sphere is the shared issues and problems we face as a shared group (society) and how those problems can be discussed freely together, whereas The Private Sphere is issues that concern the individual in personal life.

The Printing Press

  • The Printing Press was created in Germany around 1440.
  • This invention made way for the spread of news through a different media forms.
  • ‘The Peterloo Masacre’

Habermas

  • “Habermas argues that the development of early modern capitalism brought into being an autonomous arena of public debate.”
  • Habermas says that the public sphere is “a virtual or imaginary community which does not necessarily exist in any identifiable space.” He commented at a time in which the media was becoming ‘rationalised’ and pushed the public to the ‘side-lines’
  • ‘Arena of public debate’ in which a ‘public opinion’ is formed.
  • Before the creation of print media through the printing press, the public weren’t able to read or write, inhibiting their ability to share opinions and information. Habermas says that the media paved the way to allow people to share thoughts, therefore make change in a freer, more libertarian way.
  • “The primary role of the media is to act as a public watchdog, overseeing the state”
  • “Once the media is subject to public regulation” it will lose its ability to comment freely on current affairs.

Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky (born 1928) is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historical essayist, social critic, and political activist.

  • Chomsky says that the media works with the monarchy, the state and alongside with the ruling ideology to create a product that ‘manipulates’ and ‘persuades’ the audience to believe the view being presented as the truth.
  • He is critical of the media, saying that it is hand in hand with the government.
  • “(The media) is a mechanism that is deliberately used by the rich and the powerful (the elite)”.
  • “Mass media firms are big corporations. Often, they are part of even bigger conglomerates. Their end game? Profit” – Noam Chomsky: The five filters of the mass media.
  •  The Propaganda Model: “It traces the routes by which money and power are able to filter out the news fit to print, marginalize dissent, and allow the government and dominant private interests to get their messages across to the public”
  • ‘Manufacturing Consent’ – The media encourages consent.
  • The media is not a transparent ‘window’ on the world. Like the public, the media has opinions and values which influence their presentation of the world.

5 Filters: The type of news published in the media

1.Structures of ownership

  • Only a select few companies that own the media, therefore only a select few ideologies/ perspectives are being promoted.
  • Conglomerates
  • Endgame: Profit
  • Critical (quality/accountability/education/discussion/thinking) journalism takes second place.

2.The role of advertising

  • Advertisement fills the pay gap.
  • The media is also selling a product for advertisers: the audiences.

3.Links with ‘The Establishment’

  • Journalism encourages complicity

4.Diversionary tactics – ‘flak’

  • The term “flak” has been used to describe what Chomsky and Herman see as efforts to discredit organizations or individuals who disagree with the politicial ideal.
  • Distorting/ challenging/ undermining stories that don’t satisfy the powerholders through changing the focus.

5.Uniting against a ‘common enemy’

  • A target
  • Communism/ terrorism – Something to fear.

AGENDA SETTING, FRAMING, MYTH MAKING, CONDITIONS OF CONSUMPTION

Notes, Representation, Research

political compass

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Right wing vs Left wing

Libertarian vs Authoritarian

Key Themes and Ideas:

Globalisation

Business over humans (economy over public health)

A country’s economic stability > Individual unemployment issues (A country’s wellbeing over individual wellbeing)

Patriotism (A blind support of my country)

Racial superiority

Class Differentiation

Militarism and justification of military use

The fusion of entertainment and information

Protectionism and government regulation

Freedom of people

Restriction of immigration

Religion

Charity

Social security

Views on schooling

Older values

Newspapers

Key word / theme / question etcDaily Mail (Textual evidence)Daily Mail (Institutional evidence) The i (Textual evidence)The i (Institutional evidence)
Views on Conservative partyp18 is the ‘Comment’ ie the editorial or voice of the paper ‘Only Starmer gains from this clueless plot’ – ie Labour will gain from Conservative divisions over Boris Johnson

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.Front cover ‘Johnson future turning toxic for Tories’ seems to be against Conservative / Boris Johnson
Business over humansPage 16 – Shows an advertisement of a world issue, but is a focus on charity over business. Can be seen as both business and humanity based. Published in London by Daily Mail and General Trust
GlobalisationThe Daily Mail officially entered the Irish market with the launch of a local version of the paper on 6 February 2006; free copies of the paper were distributed on that day in some locations to publicise the launchThe i was named British National Newspaper of the Year in 2015 in the 2015 News Awards.

At the 2019 British Media Awards, the i won Gold in the Media Brand of the Year category, Silver for the Digital Product of the Year, and Bronze in the Print Product of the Year category.
PatriotismFront page ‘Joyous Jubilee’ – supporting Royal Family

Header above many pages “Our platinum queen” – use of our shows a support for the queen and shows patriotism 		Front page ‘The new Firm’ slightly critical of Royal Family
Racial superiority
Feminism/ Females
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 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.
Nationalismpage 10 ‘how the nation came together’ suggest national harmony – we are all together.
Militarism (use of military)Page 18 – Justified use of military against Russia
Authoritarian / LibertarianStill uses an Editorial ie the voice of one over many? 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, in voice and thought?
Has space for many views and different stories in a more fair and libertarian way

Also the main page and master header ‘i’ is interesting as it can be seen to reflect the views and the structure of the newspaper. Can be viewed as a personal pronounal address as an effect to illustrate its more modern values and goals to be a greater newspaper for everyone.

Page 20 – Shows political views against the more authoritarian views of certain parties. “How long before Priti Patel makes it illegal for people to boo someone who they find offensive?” “… showing the Prime Minister as a bumbling spinner of lies.” – The i allows all different ideas and views on its ‘Opinion Matrix’ sections.
“Speaking truth to power” – title – “Thank you to Michael Day for saying what needed to be said about the oppressive Israeli state”
the fusion of entertainment and news / informationPage 9 – Shows a picture story of Prince Louis and his mother in a comedic manner as the 4 year old misbehaves (not relevant but is still in as its own page – shows patriotic values of the daily mail – right side, more authoritarian)

Page 13 – Shows a fictional character beside the queen as in an entertainment aspect, promoting the Paddington film

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. On 5 May 1946, the Daily Mail celebrated its Golden Jubilee. Winston Churchill was the chief guest at the banquet and toasted it with a speech.
  11. 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.

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
  7. The i was named British National Newspaper of the Year in 2015 in the 2015 News Awards.
  8. The paper had an average daily circulation of 302,757 in March 2013, significantly more than The Independent, though that figure has since continued to decline, and had dropped to 233,869 by February 2019.

9. Editors

  • Simon Kelner (2010)
  • Stefano Hatfield (2011)
  • Oliver Duff (2013)

10. At the 2019 British Media Awards, the i won Gold in the Media Brand of the Year category, Silver for the Digital Product of the Year, and Bronze in the Print Product of the Year category.

11. 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

Newspapers, Notes

CSP – THE I AND THE DAILY MAIL

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  • Left wing = More concerned with humanity; Collective
  • Right wing = More concerned with economics/ business; Individualist.
  • Authoritarian = The idea of power and control.
  • Libertarian = The idea of freedom and liberty.

The Daily Mail

Audience:

  •  It has a majority female readership, with women making up 52–55% of its readers.
  • Average age of its readers was 58.
  • Is considered to be the voice of ‘Middle-England‘ (middle class england).
  • “Highest-circulated daily newspaper. February 2020 show gross daily sales of 1,134,184 for the Daily Mail.”

The i

Audience:

  • It is aimed at “readers and lapsed readers” of all ages and commuters with limited time (lapsed reader = They had not read since leaving formal education, or because their reading habits had been interrupted).
  • The paper had an average daily circulation of 302,757 in March 2013.
  • At the top of select pages there are links to the social media handles of ‘The i’, perhaps they are trying to connect to a younger audience, becoming more inclusive and progressive.

Page 20 – “Your view”, opinions from the audience (readers letters)
‘Collin and Kathy’ – Freedom of speech to present unheard voices. “Exposes the brutality of Israel’s treatment”

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?“

  • Define authoritarian/ libertarian/ right/ left/ political compass
  • Introduce CSP’s and key information about each paper.

The purpose of newspaper is to highlight global issues and to reflect the conversation of the ‘public sphere’. Habermas (1989) says that the newspaper has allowed a libertarian expression of thought and opinion, he comments on how the media is an ‘arena of public debate’. Curran reinforces this ideology by saying that “the freedom to publish in the free market ensures that the press reflects a wide range of opinions and interests.” Different newspapers use their political stance to influence their target audiences, providing information that links to their ideological view of the world. ‘The Daily Mail’ and ‘The i’ provide us with opposing ideological viewpoints. ‘The Daily Mail’ evidently constructs a right wing political stance with support for the conservative party whilst ‘The i’ is presenting a more libertarian, central viewpoint.

Analysis

KEY THEME/ ISSUE/ KEY WORDThe Daily Mail (Textual evidence)The Daily Mail (Institutional evidence)The I (Textual evidence)The I (Institutional evidence)
GlobalizationAugust 2016: The ‘Daily Mail‘ began a partnership with ‘The People’s Daily‘, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party. This partnership included publishing articles in the ‘MailOnline’ produced by The People’s Daily.
The agreement appeared to observers to give the paper an edge in publishing news stories sourced out of China, but it also led to questions of censorship regarding politically sensitive topics.

– Implies that the newspaper shares the views of ‘Communism’ through
Political stance (Right/Left, Conservative/ Labour, Authoritarian/Libertarian)Page 3 – “Tory rebels”, “We are strongest when united”, “No alternative candidate” (The Daily Mail is supportive of this one party state)
Suggesting that the UK is a one party state (right authoritarian).
Authoritarian viewpoint

Page 18 (Daily Mail Comment/ Editorial, the voice of the newspaper) – “Boris is right”
“Humiliation, Malice, Superiority”
“If the Tories implode, they could let in the nightmare coalition of the Labour etc.”

Page 23 – Strong views of support for the conservative party “outsting PM now would be nothing less than insanity”		As a right-wing tabloid, the Mail is traditionally a supporter of the Conservative Party.

Lord Rothermere was a friend of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, and directed the Mail’s editorial stance towards them in the early 1930s.

According to a December 2004 survey, 53% of Daily Mail readers voted for the Conservative Party

The paper is generally critical of the BBC, which it says is biased to the left

– Right wing stance which seems more concerned with buisness and authority over humanity. 		Front cover: ‘Johnson future turning toxic for Tories‘The i‘ chose not to endorse a political party throughout the 2016 elections.

During the referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union, held in June 2016, the paper chose not to declare for either “leave” or “remain”

Nick Clegg, former UK Deputy Prime Minister and former leader of the Liberal Democrats, a centrist party, is a fortnightly columnist for The i. His column usually features in the “My View” comment section of the paper.

Perhaps, the paper is a more ‘centralist’ viewpoint rather than supporting one political ideology.
Business over humanity The ‘Daily Mail and General Trust’, the publishers of ‘The Daily Mail’, ‘The Independent’ and ‘The i’ etc.
The Daily Mail is a conglomerate which uses horizontal integration to merge ownership over many newspaper products. 		The paper and its website were bought by the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) on 29 November 2019, for £49.6 million

originally launched in 2010 as a sister paper to The Independent.
Patriotism/ Nationalism (support of own country)Page 6 – National pride “final parade was so very British”

Page 10 – “How the nation came together to put on a right royal spread

Page 14 – “keep the togetherness”, “lets not go back to bickering after the weekend”- The Royal Family are presented as more important/ superior
Support for the Royal Family Front page – “magnificent celebrations”, “joyous jubilee”- The paper seems to be in support of the monarchy, celebrating their status.

Special insert with coverage of the Queen’s Jubilee – “our platinum queen”
– Page 4 of insert “Our beacon of duty”		Front page – “Slimmed down Royal Family is revealed in Jubilee finale”

Page 7 – “A grand spectacle packed with pomp, silliness” – ‘The i’ is criticizing the over dramatic parades seen at the Queen’s jubilee.
(The Queen) “absent from so far, absent from party at the palace” – Bringing light to the lack of royal presentation when all this money and effort put into creating the Queen’s jubilee.
Power through authorityPage 20 – “Sturgeon keeps schtum over bullying inquiry” – Perhaps the paper is in support of the abuse of status/ authority .
Racial superiority/ Immigration
Terrorism
LGBTQ+ RepresentationPage 21 – “backlash as transgender paedophile is spared jail” – Perhaps the newspaper perceives those in the LGBTQ+ community as dangerous individuals. Page 22 – Representing the voice of a LGBTQ+ individual. Presenting diverse views. She says that “pride month is an empty gesture” and how Pride has been stripped of celebration for individuality it is now “one giant rainbow painted empty gesture”. The Mail described one of the judges as “openly gay.” Critics accused the Mail of unnecessarily highlighting the judge’s sexual orientation due to anti-gay motives.
Difference in Religion
“From each according to his ability, to each according to his need”
Education Page 32 – Presenting the university ideal, concluding that higher education is the only way to success and knowledge. “My lifelong shame over failing to go to university”
Tax
ReproductionPage 39 – “decided to pay Svetlana to have their baby”, “your Ukrainian surrogate”, perhaps they are presenting this view that immigrants are objects of slavery. Ridiculing couples who rely on surrogacy to reproduce?
Commodification
Regulation
Money VS Unemployment
The Military/ ViolencePage 28 – The paper is presenting this idea that the Military should be kept to deal with violence and not waste time on minor issues such as helping in an airport. – “The army is not a snap solution to every problem”
Representation of different countries. Page 16 – Not a news story, an advert. “You should be reading this on the front page”
– Use of statistics and numbers to shock the audience into making a change.

Page 32 – ‘Panorama’ section which provides news stories from other countries over the world. Under-represented countries such as; ‘Cambodia’, ‘Bangladesh’, ‘
Information fused with entertainment
Exam Prep, Notes, Regulation, Uncategorized

THE DAILY MAIL AND THE I

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Political Compass- Key Terms

Right Wing- Conservative (Biased to economy)

Left Wing- Labour (Biased to humanity)

  • Class superiority
  • Business over humanity
  • Racial superiority
  • Freedom of people
  • Patriotism
  • Restriction of immigration
  • Militarism
  • Globalisation
  • Abortion
  • Protectionism
  • Regulation
  • Monopolies
  • Discipline
  • Commodities
  • LGBTQ+ Rights
  • Religion
  • Charity
  • Education
  • Tax
  • Disability
Pages: 1 2 3 4
Institution, Notes, Regulation

regulation

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focusspecifics
why regulate?– to maintain the truth
– protect others from explicit content
– privacy
– to prevent reputational damage/ libel/ slander
– in terms of ownership to avoid monopolies etc
-to prevent criminal activity
– to maintain good working practice eg equal pay, job security
ALSO
– morals/ethics, subjective ‘good’ behaviour
– to prevent political bias
– to prevent extreme controversy		EG protect others from explicit content/to maintain the truth – banning of ‘Life of Brian’ in numerous countries
EG privacy – Rooney vs Vardy
EG reputational damage – Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard
EG to avoid monopolies – Elon Musk buying twitter
EG to maintain good working practice – Activision Blizzard’s $18m settlement over sexual harassment suit
what is regulated?– newspapers
– films
– books
– TV
– radio
who regulates?– the government
– individuals
– internal company/structural regulators (code of ethics)
– self-regulation
– key individuals eg celebrities and influencers
SPECIALIST BODIES:
– BBFC (cinema)
– OfCom(broadcasting)
– IPSO (newspapers)
– PEGI (video games)
– PRS + MCPS (music)
how are things regulated?

libertarianism – promoting ideas of freedom

authoritarianism – promoting the idea of strict centralised control

Epicurus – Hedonism

  • Greek philosopher who was a hedonist
  • hedonism is the philosophy of living you life to experience pleasure and avoid pain
  • he believed that small pleasures are more likely to bring us tranquillity than extreme pleasures as they are more difficult to obtain and are therefore more likely to result in pain
  • likely hood of experiencing more pain goes up as you become more exacting in what gives you pleasure
  • opened a school where they studied happiness
  • he concluded happiness comes from: non-sexual friendships, working either alone in small groups, and finding calm in own mind rather than tangible goods

The Frankfurt School

  • aimed to develop a psychological understanding of the problems thrown up by modern capitalism, especially the culture and mindset it creates
  • he blames this on the culture industry films, tv radio etc designed to keep us distracted and unable to understand ourselves and therefore without the will to alter political reality
  • drew attention to three significant ways capitalism corrupts and exploits people:
  • leisure time becomes toxic: culture industry influences people to spend their free time to relax and take off one’s mind, instead the time should be used to develop a better understanding of oneself – culture industry, films, tv radio etc, designed to keep us distracted and unable to understand ourselves and therefore without the will to alter political reality
  • capitalism doesn’t sell us things we actually need: the huge range of products available makes us believe everything we could possibly want is available, however the problem is many people cant afford such things – capitalism shields our real wants, luxury material goods etc, so we forget what we actually need, relationships, a home, food etc, and settle for manufactured desires without interest in true welfare EG adverts portray instances that we truly want in order to sell us something we don’t truly need

Essentially, Pleasure and culture gets commodified by superior bodies in order to provide, a false, happiness for the inferior bodies so that they can be happy

they argue that those in control of popular culture use it to control society and distract them from questioning the reality of the world around them

Permissive society 1960s

after WWII, there was more affluence and optimism amongst society and by the 1960s, young people had began to push for more social freedoms

  • The ‘Lady Chatterley’ Trial
  • the contraceptive pill available at NHS
  • The abortion act
  • The sexual offences act
  • The divorce reform act

Mary Whitehouse

  • conservative activist during 1960s who campaigned against social liberalism and the mainstream British media
  • she accused them of promoting a more permissive, promiscuous society
  • her motivation came from her traditional Christian values, which she believed social liberalism undermined
  • founded the National Viewers and Listeners association
  • Whitehouse’s campaigns continue to divide opinion. Her critics have accused her of being a highly censorious, bigoted figure, and her traditional moral convictions brought her into direct conflict with advocates of the sexual revolution, feminism, children’s rights and LGBT rights.
  • Others see her more positively and believe she was attempting to halt a decline in what they perceived as Britain’s moral standards
personalised chart
My political compass
Economic Left/Right: -4.63
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -1.54

Notes, Regulation, Theory

REGULATION

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Key QuestionFocusSpecifics
Why Regulate?– Truth
– Child protection
– Political bias
– To abide by law
– Criminal activity
– Health and safety
– Ownership
– Privacy
– Slander
– Reputation
– Morals/Ethics		– War in Ukraine
– COVID
– Johnny Depp VS Amber Heard Court trial
– Elon Musk buying out twitter – Power of status

Who regulates what?– Government
– Individuals
– Specialist bodies (eg. Ofcom)
– Internal regulation within companies (Code of Conduct, HR)
– Self regulation
– Key individuals (eg. celebrities, influencers, opinion leaders)		– IPSO (Newspaper and Magazine )
– ITU (Radio)
– Ofcom (Complaints for broadcasting)
– BBDC (Cinema)
– PEGI (Video games/ Games in general)
– PRS (Music)





How will regulation be put in place?– Privacy
– Data protection
– Copyright
What gets regulated?– Radio
– Newspaper
– TV/Film
– Games
– Magazine
– Social Media
– The News
– The internet
– Books

Libertarianism = The idea of being free from control and regulation. The freedom of expression without being told what to do by authority.

Authoritarianism = Society in which people are oppressed by the state and are told what to do/ regulated.

Epicurus

  • 3 ways of finding happiness: Friends, Family and an analysed life.
  • He studied happiness and revealed that money isn’t a way to finding happiness
  • Hedonism =  The word is derived from the Greek ‘hedone’ (“pleasure”). The idea that human behaviour seeks increase of pleasure and a decrease of pain, pleasure should be the ultimate goal.

The Frankfurt School

The Frankfurt School was a school of social theory and critical philosophy associated with the Institute for Social Research, at Goethe University Frankfurt in 1929.

Key Ideas, they theorized that …

  • Pleasure was commodified in the media and in popular culture. The idea that the media sells a perfect idea that money can buy happiness.

Mary Whitehouse and Media Watch UK

  • Mary Whitehouse (1910-2001) was a British school teacher who left her job to become a conservative activist
  • She campaigned for less social liberalism and against the British media which she thought promoted a ‘permissive society’ in the 1960’s. She was against the society of the time which saw the rise in the civil rights and gay rights movements, 2nd wave feminism and the right to contraception and abortion.
  • She based her ideas of off traditional Christian teachings
  • Founded the ‘National Viewer’s And Listener’s Association’ (now known as Media Watch UK).
  • As the president of the group, she used the organization as a way to criticize the BBC for their portrayals of sex, violence and use of bad language.

Political Compass

personalised chart