Topic Summaries

Media ownership and control

A-Level > Sociology > AQA > A Level Sociology Topic Summaries > The media > Media ownership and control
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Exam overview
  • Traditional Marxism: (👤 Bagdikian, 1983) media is concentrated in the hands of a few large corporations, serving ruling-class interests. These owners control content to maintain capitalist ideology.
    • Ignores audience interpretation and alternative media sources.
  • Neo-Marxism: (👥 Glasgow University Media Group, 1976) media reflects the values of journalists and editors, who are often middle-class and share ruling-class assumptions, leading to biased reporting without direct owner control.
    • Still underestimates owner influence and commercial pressures.
  • Pluralism: (👥 Blumler and Gurevitch, 1973) media reflects diverse views and serves consumer demand. Audiences are active and can choose from many sources.
    • Overstates audience freedom, ignores structural inequalities in ownership.

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