Philosophy Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Mass media: Mass media refers to communication channels - such as newspapers, television, radio, and the internet - that transmit information to a wide audience simultaneously. It encompasses news, entertainment, and advertising. Mass media plays a significant role in shaping public opinion, disseminating information, and influencing societal perspectives on diverse subjects. | |||
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Yochai Benkler on Mass Media - Dictionary of Arguments
Benkler I 197 Mass Media/VsMass Media/Advertiser-supported media/Benkler: There have been three primary critiques of [mass] media: 1. Their intake has been seen as too limited. Too few information collection points leave too many views entirely unexplored and unrepresented because they are far from the concerns of the cadre of professional journalists, or cannot afford to buy their way to public attention. The debates about localism and diversity of ownership of radio and television stations have been the clearest policy locus of this critique in the United States. They are based on the assumption that local and socially diverse ownership of radio stations will lead to better representation of concerns as they are distributed in society. 2. Concentrated mass media has been criticized as giving the owners too much power - which they either employ themselves or sell to the highest bidder - over what is said and how it is evaluated. 3. The advertising supported media needs to attract large audiences, leading programming away from the genuinely politically important, challenging, and engaging, and toward the titillating or the soothing. Three primary defenses or advantages have also been seen in these media: 1. Is their independence from government, party, or upper-class largesse, particularly against the background of the state-owned media in authoritarian I 198 regimes, and given the high cost of production and communication, commercial mass media have been seen as necessary to create a public sphere grounded outside government. 2. Is the professionalism and large newsrooms that commercial mass media can afford to support to perform the watchdog function in complex societies. Because of their market-based revenues, they can replace universal intake with well-researched observations that citizens would not otherwise have made, and that are critical to a well-functioning democracy. 3. Their near-universal visibility and independence enable them to identify important issues percolating in society. They can provide a platform to put them on the public agenda. They can express, filter, and accredit statements about these issues, so that they become well-specified subjects and feasible objects for public debate among informed citizens. >Commercial mass media/Benkler._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Benkler I Yochai Benkler The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom New Haven 2007 |
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> Counter arguments against Benkler
> Counter arguments in relation to Mass Media
Ed. Martin Schulz, access date 2024-04-28