1 Politics of the Media

2 Growing Up Political Socialization; how we acquire attitudes towards politics Family Peers Religion

3 Education Like the family, education is hierarchical in structure As an obvious source of social control, the state watches over the school system with vigilance

4 Advertising Although most of our advertisements promote a product, they generally subscribe to the ethos of free- market capitalism Political parties are now investing enormous funds to sell themselves to voters

5 The Press 13 million newspapers a week Broadsheets Tabloids Serious weeklies Major newspapers are national, providing uniformity of view and centre on London Provincial dailies are in decline

6 Partisanship Freedom of the press is held to be a major characteristic of the liberal state Newspaper industry is part of ‘big business’ Only in times of crisis does the state overtly demand that the press become its instrument

7 Partisanship Our newspapers have a strong political bias Traditionally they have favoured the Conservative Party and the right of the Labour Party

8 Profit Maximise profit Appeal to mass readership ensures stories featuring sensationalism, trivialisation Racism Jingoism (chauvinistic militarism) Celebrity stories Tabloid coverage focuses on immediate events rather than background analysis

9 Press Barons The Press, a neo-liberal Establishment Press Barons regularly recognised by elevation to the peerage Newspaper owners exercise editorial control

10 Journalists Usually from middle and upper-middle class backgrounds Good journalists will get to know leading figures in business and politics Few journalists would be willing to ‘bite the hands’ of those who can give them information

11 Television We watch 21 hours of television each week Television has become the organ of a truly mass culture and is the principal means of informing perceptions of the political world Power of television is recognised both by politicians and the advertising industry

12 Regulatory Bodies British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Independent Television Commission (ITC) Class bias in news programmes Points of view tend to fit within a consensus acceptable to the Establishment

13 Political Interference Both the BBC and ITC boards of governors are appointed by the government Each board delegates day to day operations to a Director General Some journalists aim for a more robust style, but they can come under attack

14 Media/Internet Today we are looking at two competing forces in the evolution of a new society; neo-liberal globalization, and an information technology revolution

15 On-line In mid-February, 2003, millions of people marched in cities across the world in protest of the war in Iraq A stunning example of what networked global civil society is capable of: online organizing leading to massive offline direct action

16 Seminar Look up information about Press Baron Rupert Murdoch Discuss Murdoch’s upbringing and his political values How do you think Murdoch has influenced the outcome of elections in Great Britain

17 Press Baron Profile Rupert Murdoch, Born 1931 Known to have conservative views, but strong supporter of Tony Blair – “Who Blairs Win” Pomotes a free enterprise culture Disapproves of Britain joining the euro