A 300-level lecture on media and politics as part of a course on media and social change.

1. Mass Media and Politics:
Lecture Overview
1. Democratic vs. totalitarian
regimes
2. News filters
1. Ownership
2. Advertising
3. Sources
4. Anti-communism
1

2. Mass Media and Politics:
Lecture Overview
3. Media regulation in
democratic societies
1. Military
2. Radio
3. Deregulation
4. Ownership regulation: US & NZ
5. Content regulation: US & NZ
2

3. Mass Media and Politics:
Lecture Overview
3. Effects theory
1. Aggressor
2. Victim
3. Desensitization
4. Structure and agency
3

4. Last week: Economic influence
on the media
Economic environment (structure)
Media Industry
(agency)
4

5. Political influence on the media
Political environment (structure)
Media Industry
(agency)
5

6. Mass Media & Politics
• We must consider the differences between
democratic and totalitarian regimes

7. Propaganda
• Propaganda is the deliberate and systematic
attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate
cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a
response that furthers the desired intent of the
propagandist
7

8. Mass Media & Politics
• In totalitarian regimes, audiences become
adept at decoding propaganda
• This propaganda can have a domestic and/or
international focus

9. Mass Media & Politics
• In totalitarian regimes, audiences become
adept at decoding propaganda
• Of course, some attempts at propaganda are
more subtle than others, even in totalitarian
regimes…
…there are no
protests…

10. Mass Media & Politics
• In democratic regimes, we pride ourselves on
our relative freedom of expression…
Tiananmen
Square

11. Mass Media & Politics
• But should we really be so secure in
our superiority? Some say „no‟…

12. Mass Media & Politics
• Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky: „The
Propaganda Model‟ of news creation in
„Manufacturing Consent‟ (1988)
The existence of 5 new
filters:
1. Ownership
2. Advertising
3. Sourcing
4. Flak
5. Anti-communism

13. Mass Media & Politics
• Ownership

14. Mass Media & Politics
• Advertising:
– Monsanto
– Bhopal - Dow
– BP Oil

15. Mass Media & Politics
• Sourcing: political elites over-relied upon

16. Mass Media & Politics
• Anti-communism: now better conceived of
more generally as „threats to capitalism‟

17. Mass Media & Politics
• „Manufacturing
Consent: Noam
Chomsky and the
Media‟
• Well-worth watching
• Should be available at
some video stores if
your internet isn‟t up
to streaming the
whole thing.

18. Mass Media & Politics
• Therefore, in
democratic societies,
the questions become:
– Should the media
be regulated?
– And if so, how
should they be
regulated?
– By who?

19. Media Regulation
• Military content
regulation
– Press pools are
established, which
• Help the military
ensure safety
• But they do so by
restricting press
access
– Information is
censored

20. Media Regulation
• Military content regulation
– Does it just end up producing propaganda?

21. Media Regulation
• Military content regulation
– Propaganda
• not necessarily true

22. Media Regulation
Military content regulation
• Propaganda has a long history, and was very
prominent during WW2 on bothsides

23. Media Regulation
Military content regulation
• But is it persuasion or propaganda?
• Is everything relativist propaganda?
• Who controls the flow of information?

24. Media Regulation
Radio
• „Pirate radio‟ rebels
against idea that the
radio spectrum is a
protected space that
can be owned…
• but the spectrum is
limited

25. Media Regulation
Radio
• Spectrum scarcity has resulted in licenses being
issued to “protect the public interest”

26. Media regulation
Radio
• Pirate radio is based on the idea that
the radio spectrum should be free and
open to everyone
– Radio Hauraki: Later granted a
private land licence

27. Media Regulation
Radio
• on the margins
– Democracy Now
– Plains FM

28. Media Regulation
Deregulation
• AGAINST
regulation
• ...but what do
they favour?
• …what would
media like that
look like?

29. Media Regulation
Media regulation
• Can be hard to
detect, but it is
fairly widespread
• Content regulation
• Ownership
regulation

30. Media Regulation
Advertising regulation in NZ
• The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)
– Public & professional with public majority
– Public decision-making process
Objectives
• Regulating misleading or deceptive advertising
• Promote voluntary self-regulation
• Fund Advertising Standards Complaints Board

31. Media Regulation
Regulation is generally done in the name
of the public interest
• What public?
• What interest?

32. Media Regulation
The BBC or
Reithianmodel
• Government control
of organisation &
financing
– Emphasizes public
service
– Nationalistic
– Politicized
– Noncommercial
(but some private
interests)

33. Media Regulation
Media ownership
regulation
• The US situation:
– 1996
Telecommunications
Act in U.S.
– Eased restrictions
on cross-media
ownership

34. Media Regulation
Media ownership
regulation
• The New Zealand
situation:
– No regulatory body
examining:
– Ownershiprestrictio
ns
– Programme-based
license
requirements
– Programme quotas

35. Media Regulation
Media content regulation
• The US situation
– The (repealed)
Fairness Doctrine
– Broadcasters must
cover public issues &
provide both sides
– Result: one-sided
popular
programming

36. Media Regulation
Media content regulation
• The NZ situation
– New Zealand Press Council (NZPC)
• Created in response to potential for
Labour governmental interference
– Mix of industry & public reps
– Objectives
• Considering complaints against the press
• Promoting freedom of speech/press
• Maintaining professional standards of the
press

37. Media Regulation
Media content regulation
• The NZ situation
– The Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA)
• Funded by Parliament & broadcasters
• A government-initiated regulatory
framework
– Tasks and objectives
• Receiving complaints about alleged
breaches of practice
• Encouraging broadcasters to develop codes
of ethics
• Conducting research on broadcast standards

38. Media Regulation
Media content regulation
• The NZ situation
– The Broadcasting Standards
Authority (BSA)
• Responsible for programme
standards
– Good taste
– Fairness
– Accuracy
– Privacy
• They can impose fines and
other punishment if the
complaint is upheld.

39. Media Regulation
Film content regulation
• In the US, the Motion Picture Association of
America (MPAA)
• In NZ, the Office of Filmand Literature
Classification(OFLC)

40. Media regulation
Content regulation
• Regulation via citizen protest
– Monitorial citizen groups

41. Media Regulation
Film content
• Realities
– 80 percent of R16/R18 rated films
marketed to kids

42. Media Regulation
Broadcast content
• Realities
– V-chips rarely used

43. Media Regulation
Music
• Realities
– Advisory labels boost sales

44. Media Regulation
Content regulation
• Violence
– 8,000 murders seen before finishing
primary school

45. Effects Theory
The „Aggressor Effect‟
• Violent programming leads to violent
acts

46. Effects Theory
• Exposure to violence and the Aggressor Effect
– Exposure to violent media DOES have short
and long term effects on children‟s aggressive
behavior

47. Effects Theory
The „Victim Effect‟
• Violent programming
leads to fearfulness of
violence

48. Effects Theory
The „Desensitization Effect‟
• Violent programming leads to callousness
about seeing others in violent situations

49. Effects Theory
• Overall, there is a positive and significant
relationship between television violence and
aggressive behaviour

50. Effects Theory
How can you explain the tension between
institutional structure and individual agency?
Media Institutions (structure)
Individuals
(agency)