Slides used in the ethics session at Level3

1. Global MediaMAC373 news | globalisation | imperialism

4. Globalisation of ideas

5. Power

6. New World Order

7. Media ownership

8. Cultural imperialism

10. Globalisation The rapid increase in cross-border economic, social, political, cultural, and technological exchange under conditions of capitalism.

11. Historical dimensions 6 19th– 20th centuries Mass Urbanisation Industrialisation Production Consumerism Economies of scale Fordist production techniques

12. 7

13. Early global media:News agencies divide up the world Reuters: Britain Empire, and the Far East Havas: French Empire, Italy, Spain and Portugal Wolff: Germany, Austria, Scandinavia and Russian territories

14. American contenders: 1893 – Associated Press (AP), United Press Association (UPA) 1907 – UPA became United Press International (UPI) 1934 – Reuters signs agreement with AP. Havas collapses (succeeded by AFP), Wolff collapses

15. Mid-20th century onwards The role of multinational communication conglomerates as key players The impact of new technologies The uneven flow of products in the global system

17. First tier General Electric AT&T/SBC communications Sony Disney Time Warner AOL News Corporation Viacom Vivendi Universal Bertelsmann 13

18. 14 Vertical integration Production Distribution Horizontal integration Publishing Radio Television Press Consumption

20. Patterns of ownership 16 ‘The global media system is better understood as one that advances corporate and commercial interests and values and denigrates or ignores that which cannot be incorporated into its mission’ (McChesney, 2003: 266).

22. 19

24. http://www.takebackthemedia.com/owners.html

26. Shift in content? 22 ‘There has been a shift towards lifestyle, celebrity, entertainment, and celebrity crime/scandal in the news and away from government and foreign affairs’ The Project for the Excellence in Journalism, 1998 (a 20 year study from 1977-1997)

27. Shift in content? [Audiences] ‘prefer live reports from global trouble spots to other types of international news stories, including background reports and interviews with world leaders’. Pew Center, 2002

28. ‘By making the live and the exclusive into primary news values, accuracy and understanding will be lost’ MacGregor (1997: 200) ‘[This leaves journalists] little time to investigate a story, research and reflect on it before it is transmitted. Their editors want to make the story as timely and dramatic as possible.’ Thussu (2003: 120)

29. News as a form of ‘infotainment’? Thussu, 2003: 122 Sky News ‘offers a more dynamic package, complete with computer graphics, a one-person presenter (sometimes standing, sometimes sitting), an interactive screen, complete with the occasional online vote’ Hargreaves and Thomas, 2002: 95

30. ‘This business of giving people what they want is a dope-pusher's argument. News is something people don't know they're interested in until they hear about it. The job of a journalist is to take what's important and make it interesting.’ Reuven Frank, Former president of NBC News 26

31. Corporate media? 27 As capitalism gathered impetus, it moved from calls for reform of the state to the take-over of the state…

32. Summary so far… 28 Original function of the media is to‘check’ dominant powers, free from state intervention Shift towards a corporate-owned media, repositioned audience members as consumers Monopolies and decreasing number of key players are the order of the day What are the implications?

33. What about the UK news media? 29 Nick Davies, 2008, Flat Earth News, London: Chatto & Windus (chapter 2) Justin Lewis, Andrew Williams & Bob Franklin, 2008, ‘Four Rumours and an Explanation: A political economic account of journalists’ changing newsgathering and reporting practices’, Journalism Practice, Vol 2, No 1. Justin Lewis, Andrew Williams, Bob Franklin, James Thomas and Nick Mosdell, 2006, The Quality and Independence of British Journalism, commissioned report for the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust

34. 30 Average employment for UK national newspaper companies versus profit (adapted from Lewis et al, 2006)

35. London-based reporter (1/3) 31 The owners of my newspaper made a £70million profit in this country in 2003. Yet year after year the union chapel has painstakingly to negotiate a pay rise simply to match inflation … the office has no PA wire, reporters are blocked from phoning overseas or even using the directory inquiry services, copies of our own newspapers are rationed in the office, and a current sort of Stalinist stationery embargo means journalists are expected to buy their own notebooks and fax paper… Source: Samuel Pecke, 2004, ‘Local Heroes’, British Journalism Review, Vol 15, No 2., p28-30

36. London-based reporter (2/3) 32 Perhaps one of the most worrying and frustrating aspects of life on local newspapers is being so office-bound. Of all the impressions I had of the profession before getting my first job, relying on telephone interviews and the internet for so much written work was not one of them. Journalism must allow relationships developing with contacts, whether or not there is a story at stake, and getting to know your patch inside out. Put simply, only lazy reporters spend their days behind desks. Yet such on-the-streets reporting was described to me early on as “a luxury”.

37. London-based reporter (3/3) 33 The newspaper did not have enough journalists to allow staff to go daily to court, let alone out and about. The paper had to be filled and could not wait for as-yet unwritten stories and features to arrive. While the editor preached the virtue of “interactivity” with the community, the management’s own reluctance to employ more staff or give its journalists enough free rein hampered basic reporting. Quality, it seems, is not an issue. Yet across local newspapers, regurgitating press releases and sticking a couple of opposing quotes on the end has become the norm

38. 34

39. 35

40. Churnalism 36 “We are churning stories today, not writing them. Almost everything is recycled from another source … It wouldn’t be possible to write so many stories otherwise. Yet even more is expected; filing to online outlets is considered to be part of the job…”

41. Churnalism 37 “…Specialist writing is so much easier because the work is done by agencies and/or writers of press releases. Actually knowing enough to identify stories is no longer important. The work has been deskilled, as well as being amplified in volume, if not in quality” Nigel Hawkes, Health Editor, The Times in Lewis et al , 2008

42. 38

43. 39 ‘Commercial logic is not necessarily destructive … But, applied to news, that logic is highly damaging, cutting out human contact and with it the possibility of finding stories; cutting down time and with it the possibility of checking; thus producing stories in greater numbers at greater speed and of much worse quality’ Nick Davies, 2008, p62

44. Problems of the press? 40 Interference from press owners (eg Murdoch) Pressure from advertising decline News production as profit making enterprise

45. Cutting (staff) costs 41 1986 – News International switch to Wapping Early 1990s – Newspaper price war Late 1990s – Advertisers begin switch to Internet 2000s – Newspaper circulations decline (online editions see growth) ‘In 1992 some two hundred companies owned local papers, by 2005, according to the media analysts Mintel, ten corporations alone owned 74% of them’ (Davies, 2008: p65)

46. Costs in context (Murdoch’s UK papers) 42 1985 – pre-tax profit of £35.6 million Staff employed: 8731 1988 – pre-tax profit of £144.6 million Staff employed: 949 The Sun pagination minus ads: 1985: 19.8 pages 1995: 25 pages 2006: 54.6 pages

47. Questions to consider 43 What impact does the push for corporate ownership of the media have on: Journalist output? Public knowledge? Should we be concerned about the claims made by Lewis et al about the tendency to rely on PR/news wire copy? Going forwards, how might new technology be both the problem and the solution for journalism?

48. Sources 44 Stuart Allan, 2004, News Culture, 2nd Edition, Berkshire: Open University Press Oliver Boyd-Barrett and TehriRantanen, 1998, ‘News Agencies in Europe’ in Adam Briggs & Paul Cobley (eds), The Media: An Introduction, Harlow: Longman. David Crocteau and William Hoynes, 2005, The Business of Media Corporate Media and the Public Interest - Chapter 3 ‘The New Media Giants - changing industry structure’, London: Sage. Nick Davies, 2008, Flat Earth News, London: Chatto & Windus (chapter 2) Elliott, P., 1982, “Intellectuals, the 'Informer Society' and the disappearance of the public sphere” in Media, Culture and Society, 4(3), pp. 243-253. Hargreaves, Ian & Thomas, James (2002) New News, Old News, London: Independent Television Commission and Broadcasting Standards Commission. Justin Lewis, Andrew Williams & Bob Franklin, 2008, ‘Four Rumours and an Explanation: A political economic account of journalists’ changing newsgathering and reporting practices’, Journalism Practice, Vol 2, No 1. Justin Lewis, Andrew Williams, Bob Franklin, James Thomas and Nick Mosdell, 2006, The Quality and Independence of British Journalism, commissioned report for the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust Robert McChesney, 2003, ‘The New Global Media’ in David Held & Anthony McGrew (eds), Global Transformations Reader¸ Cambridge: Polity Press DayaKishanThussu, 2003, ‘Live TV and Bloodless Deaths: War, Infotainment and 24/7 News’ in D. Thussu & D. Freedman (eds), War and the Media, London: Sage The Project for the Excellence in Journalism, 1998, Changing Definitions of News, March 6. Available at http://www.journalism.org/resources/research/reports/

49. Images used (slide #) 2: leralle, 2008, ‘Karl-Mark-Monument’ http://www.flickr.com/photos/leralle/2502099031/ 3: adobemac, 2006, ‘Marx-Engels-Forum’ http://www.flickr.com/photos/adobemac/244170074/ 4: svenwerk, 2006, ‘Marx and Engels’ http://www.flickr.com/photos/svenwerk/286219227/ 5: 10 Ninjas Steve, 2006, http://www.flickr.com/photos/steverideout/135270019/ 6: Lock, stock and 2 smoking barrels!!, 2008, http://www.flickr.com/photos/vivek-mukherjee/2959224072/ 8-10: anjan58, 2007, http://www.flickr.com/photos/anjan58/1281306048/ 11: carlos_seo, 2009, http://www.flickr.com/photos/carlos_seo/3248928935/ 12 & 16: HarshLight, 2009, http://www.flickr.com/photos/harshlight/3235469361/ 17: miskan, 2005, http://www.flickr.com/photos/miskan/4467937/ 18: cowfish, 2004: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cowfish/239613/ 21-23: Tony the Misfit, 2008, http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonythemisfit/3142216126/ 24: nickjeffery, 2007, http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickjeffery/402672296/ 25: Fujur, 2006, http://www.flickr.com/photos/fujur/108798414/ 30: Amanda Hayler, 2009, http://www.flickr.com/photos/minhay/3320928908/ 31-33: psd, 2008, http://www.flickr.com/photos/psd/2423289669/ 36-37: GiantsFantastic, 2007, http://www.flickr.com/photos/giantsfanatic/355201578/ 38-38: iCampbell, 2008 http://www.flickr.com/photos/icampbellzoom/2189881602/ 40: inju, 2006, http://www.flickr.com/photos/inju/112082907/ 41-42: just.Luc, 2008, http://www.flickr.com/photos/9619972@N08/2781329487/ 43: Oberazzi, 2006, http://www.flickr.com/photos/oberazzi/318947873/