1. Media and Ideology
COMM 100
Furness

2. Ideological Analysis in Media
Ideology
“A system of meaning that helps define and explain the world and that makes value judgments about that world”
Ideological analysis
Study of media images sent about the nature of the world, how it operates, and how it should be
Media images do not simply reflect the world: they “re-present” (construct) the world

3. Ideology as Normalization
Ideology defines what is being “normal” in society
Dominant ideologies
Taken-for-granted, rarely questioned ideologies, i.e. democracy, capitalism, Christianity, etc.
Media has the tendency to display a narrow range of behaviors and lifestyles

4. Theoretical Roots of Ideological Analysis
Marxist origins
Ideology as a powerful mechanism of social control whereby members of the ruling class imposed their worldview
Gramsci’s view of ideology
Power can be wielded at the level of culture or ideology
Hegemony: control of consensus; promotion of dominant, taken-for-granted ideologies
Mass media are one of the principal sites where the cultural leadership, the work of hegemony, is exercised

5. News Media and the Limit of Debate
Main point: News media can be ideological
“The news supports the social order of public, business, and professional, upper-middle-class, middle-aged, and white male sectors of society In short, when all other things are equal, the news pays most attention to and upholds the actions of elite individuals and elite institutions” (Gans, 1979)
How does ideology manifest in news?
Limited viewpoints
A small group of analysts are regular commentators and news sources
Most news favors the insiders’ (government, establishment) view

6. Economic News as Ideological Construct
Ideologies present in mainstream economic news
Focus on the activities and interests of investors and businesses
“pro-business” as being normal
“pro-labor” as being deviant
Economic crisis coverage
Top-down perspective (government and businesses)

7. Movies, Military, & Masculinity
Ex. Action-Adventure films
Ideology of polarity (us vs. them)
Ideology of the rugged individual
Ideology of the American Dream
Ideology of manhood

8. ‘Masculinity’

9. ‘Femininity’

10. Advertising and Consumer Culture
Today’s advertising
Celebrates and takes for granted the consumer-capitalist organization of society
Normalizes middle-class or upper-middle-class lifestyle
Promotes a worldview that stresses the individual and the realm of private life, ignoring collective values

11. Ideology and Popular TV
Images of family
Historically: predominantly white, upper middle class, happy, secure.
Changed toward family conflict and struggle in the 1970s.
Work family programs.
BUT…we also see perspectives that challenge existing norms (typically by working within an accepted framework). For ex. Blackish.

12. Alternative Media and Ideologies
Media images can and sometimes do challenge this mainstream, status quo–oriented ideology by providing a critique of contemporary social organization and norms
However:
Alternatives often remain on the margins
Commercialization makes it difficult to maintain a critical edge due to concerns over profitability, distribution.