Media Theories

The Marxist theory tends to emphasize the role of mass media in the reproduction of the status quo and it further suggests that a direct link exists between economic ownership and the dissemination of messages that affirm the legitimacy and the value of a class society. These theorists emphasized the ideological effects of media in the interests of a ruling class, in reproducing the essentially exploitative relationships and manipulation, and in legitimizing the dominance of capitalism and the subordination of the working class. According to Bechmann, G (143), the media institution must be considered to be a part of the economic system with close links to the political system. The consequence of this can be seen through the reduction of independent media sources, the concentration of the news on large markets, the avoidance of risks by media houses, and the reduction of investment in less profitable media tasks such as investigative reporting and documentary film making. There is also a neglect of the poorer sectors of the potential audience and the range of news media is often politically unbalanced.

The Frankfurt School is a neo-Marxist thought which rebelled against modern society and media as creators and bearers of contemporary culture and ideology. Their criticism of mass communication media was that they hamper the road to a utopian society which is free from class and domination, and that media also stands in the way of change. Negt, O (61) states that by selectively presenting reality, including aspects of culture, education and entertainment (in which the bourgeois values enjoy priority) the media confirms and supports the dominant capitalist ideologies and thus maintains the status quo at the cost of the working class, which is represented by the masses. This school is therefore concerned about the ideological manipulation and exploitation of the mass media by capitalist considerations.

The media dependency theory, which is also known as the media system dependency theory, has often been explored as an expansion of the gratification approach although here are some slight differences between the two theories, that is, media dependency looks to the viewers goal as the origin of the dependency while the gratification theory emphasizes on the needs of the audience. Both the dependency theory and the gratification theory are, however, in agreement that media use may lead to reliance and according to the media dependency theory, the more reliant a person is on the medium for having his or her requirements satisfied, the more significant the medium will be to that individual. According to Einwiller, S et al (305) the individual’s reliance on a particular medium is influenced by the amount of media sources available to that individual because a person should become more reliant on a particular available media if his access to alternative media is inadequate. The more alternatives there are for a person, the less dependent will he be on only one specific medium.

There are, in my opinion, more similarities than differences between the theories of Marxists and that of the media dependency concerning the media. Both are concerned about the effect of media on the society, especially more about the use of the elite within such a society of the media to further their own ends, namely, the maintenance of their status. Media is used to control the masses so that they do not rise in rebellion against the oppressive upper classes of their society. It is not used for the purpose of social progress, as is claimed by the heads of media corporations, but for the purpose of maintaining the status quo so that the lower classes can continue to render their services to the elite and in the process making the elite richer, while the working classes remain poor. By limiting the content and quality of the media that the masses can access, the elite are able to perpetuate and justify its reasons for dominating the society as well as why they oppress the working classes for their own benefit. A very good example is when one considers those countries that are ruled by autocratic regimes. These countries tend to have only one state television and radio which is normally used to spread the state’s propaganda among the masses and in this way, the regime is able to maintain its grip on power.

Both of these schools of thought agree that the media structure, following the capitalist trend, tends towards monopoly. Media monopoly is a great concern today, because with a monopoly comes great power and it is not a wise thing to leave such power in the hands of a few as there may be a tendency to abuse it. Loveless, M (165) states that the media industries tend not to facilitate free speech and political discussion because they are likely not to be open enough to promote debate on all points of view. Although credible media calls for there to be facts, accuracy and completeness, most of the media houses do not follow this code and instead they only promote that which is most profitable to them and that of the promotion of the elite. In relation to the dependency theory, one would suggest that media monopoly would lead to a dependency because since most of the media available have a single owner, then they all would most likely follow his political, social, and economic ideals. Therefore, the masses will only be dependent on a biased viewpoint on matters from the media and their way of thinking will adjust to suit that perpetuated by the media.

The global integration of media ownership is another issue tackled by these two theories. James, B (37) states that global integration leads to less freedom of choice in what the masses are interested in seeing and instead, they are forced to accept what the media industry wishes them to see. One can argue that the product of an integrated media possesses the ulterior motive of repressing the imagination and rendering the masses socially and politically inactive. This would be in the interests of the capitalist elite because this media product is able to confine the thought of the masses to meaningless things because they are the victims of what is offered to them. The media industry in this instance turns both the media contents and their audiences into something similar to commodities, whose main purpose is to be used to make a profit. According to Hung – Yi (230) the masses, or individuals, are shown contents which have no real meaning to them to such an extent that their dependency comes to be based on nothing but a mirage and not a true reflection of what really goes on in society. The global integration of media ownership also leads to the decrease of any real diversity in the various media and this will result in the growing dependency of the masses on a single media form.

The Marxist theory suggests that public interest in communication is subordinated to private interests by the capitalist media owners because opposition and alternative voices are marginalized in favor of that of the elite. Furthermore, the news about the dominant groups is given more time on air than that of the minority ones and this shows the unconscious attitudes that are predominant in society and it also shows the power of the elite to manipulate the media in their favor. The dependency theory, as exemplified by Bigne Alcaniz (403), corroborates this argument because it shows how people can get dependent on a single medium due to the unavailability of alternatives. Since most world’s media are capitalist owned, the ideas of capitalist dominance come to become prominent in the lives of those audiences dependent on this media, and who eventually take this ideas at face value and continue to perpetuate it within their societies.

In conclusion, I would suggest that both the Marxist theories (of the Frankfurt School) on media and the dependency theory are essential in the study of the world media today because they quite adequately explain how it works. In this paper, we have looked at the various aspects of media within the context of these theories and some aspects of how these media influence the lives of the masses. One would agree with these theories that the media today dominated by the elite and that its purpose is to perpetuate its dominance by using the media to control the masses. It is a well known fact that if the masses recognize all their problems and realize who is the cause of all of these problems (the elite/ bourgeois) then they would rise against them and overthrow their class. In order to contain such an incident from happening, the elite has devised many forms of meaningless yet entertaining forms of media to keep the masses from concentrating on their problems and instead to get lost in a world of fantasy. In this way, the elite not only makes a profit from the audiences of the media they own, but they are also able to use this same media to justify their oppression of the masses or working class by using such outdated social theories as the concept of ‘survival of the fittest’ among other elitist ideas.