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With reference to the major competing theoretical perspectives on the role of the mass media, comment on the degree to which the media ease or hinder the process of governing in modern Britain. In this essay, I intend to identify, examine and refer to various major theoretical perspectives regarding the role of the mass media in order to assess the extent to which the media eases or hinders government and politics in Britain today. I will identify the main issues that this topic gives rise to and relate these to the current climate of British politics to illustrate the role and power of the media. It is undeniable that the mass media has a considerable impact on government in Britain today although it is difficult to establish the degree of its effect. According to Heywood the concept of the mass media can be described as “societal institutions that are concerned with the production and distribution of all forms of knowledge, information and entertainment”. The ‘mass’ aspect in the term ‘mass media’ refers to the way that the media provide information and entertainment, not for a small exclusive audience but for all who wish to avail of it. Political socialisation has been described by sociologist Haralambos as the manner “by which people acquire their norms and values” as well as their beliefs and political leanings. It is generally accepted that the ‘mass media’ is a very important (albeit secondary) agent of political socialisation. Through “a combination of social and technological changes, the media have become increasingly more powerful political actors and…more deeply enmeshed in the political process.” Whereas, before the introduction of mass literacy in the late nineteenth century and more recently, broadcasting media such as television and radio, “primary” agents of socialisation such as the family and social class were the most important factors in deciding a person’s political leanings, such ‘primary agents’ have been replaced with ‘secondary agents’, in other words, the mass media. The development of the mass media as a political factor in recent years has been nothing short of extraordinary with the advent of populist publications and ‘new media’ such as satellite and cable TV, the internet and ‘infotainment’ such as the televisation of the Louise Woodward and OJ Simpson murder trials as well as the media frenzy over President Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky. Jones and Kavanagh (1998) claim that “television is most peoples’ primary source of political information (between 60 & 70%) with the press coming in second on 25% to 30%)” . It is widely held that the influence of the mass media on government and politics in Britain and indeed, across the world, is not to be underestimated. While a variety of theoretical perspectives concerning the mass media exist, the main examples are ‘market’, ‘elite values’ and the most discussed ‘pluralist’ and ‘dominant ideology’ models. Pluralism is said to encourage party competition, societal diversity and the participation of ‘the people’ in the debate and discussion of politics which could lead to a more thorough understanding of government and the political process.
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