The Political Economy And Cultural Studies Theories

The mass media has become a big part of our society and its counterparts. In a time span of 50 years this medium has influenced society to an extent where it has created wonders. This immaculate tool can control almost every action we perform, from speaking to the actions that every human being performs in society. The mass media has brought upon a new era of idea's and changes in the world we live in. As we analysis media in depth we will find many aspects of media which overlap and some of the smallest factors and aspects of media, which create the biggest impact on society.

This underscores why politicians have long perceived mass media as a veritable channel of disseminating an ideology so that the society can mirror itself against what the media feeds it and thus be manipulated. This further begs the question of whether the media is a contributor or otherwise to societal problems in the face of political ideological dissemination.

This essay will exam how mass media in America saw one of its greatest collapses between the events of 9/11 and the lead up to the Iraq war.(Kamiya). The essay will use Herman and Chomsky's Propaganda model and its five filters and the Frankfurt school's concept of 'culture industry' to illustrate where the media went wrong. Habermas' public sphere model will be used to discuss what the media should have done. Media became a form of propaganda that enforced ignorance and lacked a balance between pro-war patriotism and necessary critiques. The mass media sacrificed its role as the fourth pillar of democracy through supporting the Bush administration and dismissing facts and the interests of the public.

Over the centuries, the media has played a significant role in the shaping of societies across the globe. This is especially true of developed nations where media access is readily available to the average citizen. The media has contributed to the creation of ideologies and ideals within a society. The media has such an effect on social life, that a simple as a news story has the power to shake a nation. Because of this, governments around the world have made it their duty to be active in the regulation and control of media access in their countries. The media however, has quickly become dominated by major mega companies who own numerous television, radio and movie companies both nationally and

The media influences how people experience social life. Media such as newspaper, television and film, are important sources of information, education and entertainment. It can be used to learn more about the world and the people in it. In this regard it can be said that the media represent, interpret and endorse aspects of social experience (O’Shaughnessy and Stadler, 2005). The media are also implicated in social regulation, or in other terms, the government of society. The media are implicated in government and politics in an obvious way because modern systems of democracy are conducted through the media. But the media have a bigger role to play in government by structuring how society is controlled and maintained.

The political economy of communication is using political economy approach to analyse the media and communication. Therefore, before discuss the political economy of communication we need to figure out what is political economy and what is communication.

‘’What the mass media offer is not popular art, but entertainment which is intended to be consumed like food, forgotten, and replaced by a new dish‘’ – W.H Auden. The quote is trying to convey the message that the mass media is just to humor people on a daily basis and then we’ll forget about it at the end of the day, just like how we consume food on a daily basis and then replace it with a new dish. It is crucial to understand that the mass media is something that everyone around the world are exposed to every single day of our lives. It is something that is being depended on by many, and have also played a big role in our lives. The mass media keeps people all over the world updated about news, events and advertisements easily. Mass media can be defined as the mean to reach out to the public through Television programs, radio, magazines, newspapers,

First and foremost, we must understand the concept of propaganda and mass media in contemporary world. According to Noam Chomsky, and Edward S. Herman on “Manufacturing Consent: The political Economy of the Mass Media” propaganda model was defined as

“A Propaganda Model” is a conceptual framework presented by Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman; they argue that the information displayed in the mass media is conditioned by wealth and power, so as a result of the concentration of power and the official censorship done by the government and corporate sources; the media follows the ideas of the elite. In order to deliver messages that support the elite’s beliefs, the media goes through five different filters that determine the information presented, this are ownership of media, funding, sourcing, flak, and fear.

Over the past century or two it has become quite evident that elite certainly hold all the cards when it comes to what the public should know through the media which initially was supposed to be autonomous of the government and the socially elite. This essay will mainly focus on the findings of Noam Chomsky and his postulations, the works of Harold Innis and his influence on the first application of the political economy approach within the media. And I will touch base on theories by Boyd Barrett then neatly wrap it up with a bow of how influence impacts public opinion in general.

Economism, or vulgar Marxism, is a key feature in explaining the media’s role according to Marx. This is also referred to as the base/superstructure model. In economism, “the economic base of society is seen as determining everything else in the superstructure, including social, political, and intellectual consciousness.” (Marxist Media Theory 1) This maintains that the media is used as the base of society. Society is referred to as the superstructure. Clearly, media shapes society even today. Since consumers rely on the media for information and entertainment, (ex. Television and radio new, magazines, newspapers, Internet), they are shaped by whatever forms of media they chose to be an audience to. The media manipulates everything from popular fashion to the food people consume.

Media influence would be viewed in different ways from the five different sociology perspectives since the theories all contribute to the understanding of society and social life in different ways. The influence of media in our society is very important since it can easily determine the viewers and the public’s opinion on various topics and issues in today’s world.

Media influence is the force by which ideas are injected into people’s lives shaping the very culture of society. This influence is masqueraded through hidden media message, resulting in a change in its audience which can be positive or negative, abrupt or gradual, short term or long term. Although mass media’s influential effect can reach a wide ranged audience as an agent of socialization the responsibility to contain what it releases has not been of importance. “The media’s socially significant obligations are formally ignored.” (A.S. Zapesotskii, 2011, p 9). Media messages can be exerted through many different outlets such as TV shows, music, movies, commercials, news, magazines, games which are all gravitated to entertain audiences ultimately offering personal gratification that can sometimes blur the lines between reality and

Throughout society, the mass media constantly changes over time. The mass media play a prominent role in informing the public about what occurs within the world, especially in areas which audiences do not acquire direct experience and knowledge. This essay will argue that the propaganda model is no longer valid as it has become outdated. This essay will also discuss the model in relation to the five filters and draw on Rampton's critique of the propaganda model in contemporary society.

Media and communications are powerful tools in the world that has had major input in the development of technology and knowledge. However, there are theoretical aspects that have gone into the development of media and communications such Marxism, structuralism, cultural studies, subcultural theory, feminism and postmodernism. Louis Althusser (1970) wrote an essay called ‘Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses’, in which he explains how the various parts of social formation- “the family, education, the mass media, cultural and political institutions” all serve to preserve the sense of the ruling ideology (Hebdige, 2012). This connotes that there are many things that have influenced the development of mass media.