CMNS 130 Reading Questions
CMNS 130 Reading Questions Week 3 Mediamaking: Mass Media in a Popular Culture (Grossberg et al.) 1. Explain the two notions/levels of power as outlined by the authors • Power as Effect o Power as the ability to produce effect, make a difference in the world o Every medium has significantly reshaped people’s experience of time and their sense of history o Connected to determination (causality) o Contextual vision of social life: the relationship of any practice to its effect cannot be isolated and identified , because it depends on the entire context • Power as Control: Consensus and Conflict o Control over people and resources o Producing and then operating through or exploiting, social differences in the world 2. Define: ‘conflict models’, ‘a system of social difference’ • Consensus models o Emphasize unity and harmony within society o Ability of different people to get along together o Cultural model of communication (Dewey 1925) Communication is the progress through which different groups in society come to understand and accept each other despite their differences New media of communication are not doing this • Conflict models o Emphasize conflicts and inequalities within social life and the difficulties different groups in living together o A system of social difference: Various resources of a society are unequally distributed according to structures of social difference (social class, race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual identity, age, different abilities) Example: feminism, feminist theory of communication • Both models describe important aspects of the media’s role in making society and people’s lives o Should appreciate both positive and negative sides of media’s role in society
The Politics of Media Policy (Freedman) 1. Who has power, and who has the most power, in a liberal pluralist view of society • different interests vie for power and influence but there is no single dominant voice • politics are dominated by coalitions (rival groups of actors and interests), none of which exercise complete control • no clear center of dominant influence • no single group of unified leaders possesses enough influence to impose solutions • “there are elites, but there is no elite” 2. What is the pluralist conception of power? Describe the two types of power outlined by Dahl. • when A creates or reinforces social and political values and institutional practices that limit the scope of the political process to public consideration of only those issues which are completely innocuous to A 3. What were the two main critiques of pluralism from Milliband? • the major organized interests do not compete on equal terms, they can in fact achieve a decisive and permanent competitive advantage • the main threat to democracy does not come from interest groups or lobbying but from the pressure upon governments generated by the private control of concentrated industrial, commercial and financial resources 4. What are the 6 ways (normative principles) that pluralist media policy should function in a democracy? • ensuring circulation of a wide range of voices and opinions • facilitating a competitive environment in which multiple voices are available to citizens • stimulating the creation of public opinion that acts as a communication channel between private individuals and the state • fostering citizens who are informed about issues perceived to be important to their daily lives • protecting the freedom of individuals from the state as well as the state’s ability to protect its citizens from harm • stabilizing society by maximizing the expressive and cultural right of all social groups 5. Describe the three normative characteristics of pluralistic media policymaking.
• accountability • impartiality • autonomy 6. Outline the pluralistic reasons for ownership restrictions & content regulation. What kinds of policy has this resulted in? • Ownership restriction: media industries have a tendency towards monopolistic behaviour (threatens pluralism) • content regulation: maximise the number of media outlets and voices, protect the public from harm (safeguard its interests)
The Politics of Media Policy (Freedman) 1. Who has power, and who has the most power, in a liberal pluralist view of society • different interests vie for power and influence but there is no single dominant voice • politics are dominated by coalitions (rival groups of actors and interests), none of which exercise complete control • no clear center of dominant influence • no single group of unified leaders possesses enough influence to impose solutions • “there are elites, but there is no elite” 2. What is the pluralist conception of power? Describe the two types of power outlined by Dahl. • when A creates or reinforces social and political values and institutional practices that limit the scope of the political process to public consideration of only those issues which are completely innocuous to A 3. What were the two main critiques of pluralism from Milliband? • the major organized interests do not compete on equal terms, they can in fact achieve a decisive and permanent competitive advantage • the main threat to democracy does not come from interest groups or lobbying but from the pressure upon governments generated by the private control of concentrated industrial, commercial and financial resources 4. What are the 6 ways (normative principles) that pluralist media policy should function in a democracy? • ensuring circulation of a wide range of voices and opinions • facilitating a competitive environment in which multiple voices are available to citizens • stimulating the creation of public opinion that acts as a communication channel between private individuals and the state • fostering citizens who are informed about issues perceived to be important to their daily lives • protecting the freedom of individuals from the state as well as the state’s ability to protect its citizens from harm • stabilizing society by maximizing the expressive and cultural right of all social groups 5. Describe the three normative characteristics of pluralistic media policymaking.
• accountability • impartiality • autonomy 6. Outline the pluralistic reasons for ownership restrictions & content regulation. What kinds of policy has this resulted in? • Ownership restriction: media industries have a tendency towards monopolistic behaviour (threatens pluralism) • content regulation: maximise the number of media outlets and voices, protect the public from harm (safeguard its interests)
