Does the British Media have Significant Power - Essay Example

?Does the British media have significant power Introduction The development of social turbulences worldwide – as an effect of the expansion of the financial crisis – has led governments to search for sources of support; the media industry has been proved to have a crucial role in the limitation of social and political conflicts but its power to promote specific political or social messages is differentiated in countries worldwide. Current paper focuses on the examination of the power of British media as parts of the country’s political, social and economic life. The examination of the relevant literature has proved that British media can have many different roles – being involved in political, social, economic or even military initiatives. From this point of view, their power in promoting specific political, social and economic trends cannot be doubted; however, it should be examined whether this power is positive or negative. Most of the theorists who studied the specific issue – as the relevant literature is presented below – agree that the British media can have a key role in the improvement of the local political, social and economic rules and initiatives; from this point of view, the specific industry should be characterized not just as a tool for the promotion of the views of the leading political and economic forces but also as a means for securing social equality and fairness; it should be also regarded as a tool for criticizing and evaluating the plans of the local government; at this point, the value of British media could be significant ensuring the alignment of the governmental decisions with the local laws and ethics. 2. British media – role and power 2.1 British media – description and role In order to understand the power of media industry in Britain it would be necessary to refer primarily to the characteristics and the role of this industry; then, its power could be identified and evaluated – taking into consideration the local ethics and culture. In accordance with Stokes et al. (1999) the media industry in Britain is not similar to the media industries of other countries; reference is made though not to the content of the term but rather on its potential forms. More specifically, it is explained that in Britain, the term ‘media’ is used to describe the ‘books, newspapers, television programmes, films and music’ (Stokes et al. 1999, p.1); however, the content/ texts of British media is unique – being related to the country’s ethics (Stokes et al. 1999, p.1). This fact, leads to the following assumption: in Britain, the role of the media industry in the development of political and social decisions can be significant – reaching higher levels compared to other countries where there is no such close relationship and interaction between the media and the local culture – an issue also analyzed in section 2.2 below. A more descriptive definition of media is provided in the study of Oakland (2011); in accordance with the above researcher ‘the term ‘media’ may include any communication system by which people are informed, educated or entertained’ (Oakland 2011, p. 258). The above definition reveals the potentials of media in terms of supporting specific social or political trends; moreover, it proves that people of all ages are expected to be influenced by the media – being exposed to the media in different ways – either in the context of education, of entertainment or just of information/ professional support, as described above. In accordance with Garnett et al. (2007) in order to understand whether the British media interact or not with politics, it would be necessary to explain primarily whether such interaction would be positive or negative – referring to its effects on the country’s political framework. In any case, it is noted that the freedom of the British media should be secured – no matter whether the information provided to the public is well – justified (Garnett et al. 2007, p.62). At the next level, it is explained that the power of British media to influence the local political and social life is not equal; more specifically, Garnett et al. (2007) note that this differentiation in the power of British media is based on their structure: the printed media – controlled by certain corporations – is expected to have an increased power to influence the political/ social life compared to the digital media (Internet); the reason is that the television programmes are likely to be based on the information provided by the printed media; in other words, in Britain an alliance exists between the printed media and the television/ radio programmes. This alliance represents the major part of the British media and is more likely to promote its views among the population. On the other hand, the specific part of the British media is characterized by concentration – due to its size; the existence of oligopolies is unavoidable. The above phenomenon has led many people to trust more the digital media – being characterized by increased freedom of expression. This trend – regarding the increase of power of digital media towards the printed media/ television – is continuously developed across Britain, as in other countries worldwide. 2.2 Power of media in Britain – aspects, consequences The power of the British media industry to influence the political and social decisions and events across Britain is reflected to the following fact: up today, in Britain, the lifestyle rules of the Royal family but also of all of the individuals who have a key role in the development of the British economy – referring to the local aristocracy and the entrepreneurs/ investors of the City of London and similar social classes – have been used as a criterion in order to differentiate those individuals from the other citizens – i.e. to set the borders of the social hierarchy. Through the media industry, the social hierarchy of Britain – as described above – has been differentiated; a ‘media elite’ has appeared having the power to control the initiatives of the government and the trends/ preferences of the local population (Blain et al. 2003, p.59). From this point of view, the media industry in Britain has a key role in ensuring fairness in the distribution of tasks among the public sector administrators; as a result it is expected that the quality of the political decisions in Britain has been improved – being under the continuous control and criticism of the media. Another aspect of the power of British media is presented in the study of Badsey (2000); in accordance with the above researcher, the British media industry is closely related not just to the politics and the social ethics but also to the country’s military (Badsey 2000, p. 240). The above relationship between the media and the military can be identified also in USA (Badsey 2000, p.240). Such relationship can positively affect the development of the government’s military projects – through the media the consent of the local population to the military projects of the government can be secured. On the other hand, by presenting the progress of the country’s military projects, the British media industry contributes to the improvement of the communication and trust between the government and the public – a fact that can help to the limitation of the conflicts between the political powers of the country and the population. In periods of strong financial or political crisis, the use of the media industry for improving the relationship between the state and the citizens can be quite important. On the other hand, Robins et al. (1997) note that the mass media can interact with politics in three different ways: ‘a) they can act as major political players in their own rights, b) they don’t act independently as political players on their own but – rather – they influence other political players and c) they become the point of a controversy regarding the issue how the media should be organized’ (Robins et al. 1997, p. 162). In accordance with the above, the relationship between the media and the politics cannot be denied; similar assumptions would be developed for the British mass media; however, in this case, the following issues need to be addressed: are the political leaders aim to understand the social needs and trends? This is an issue also critical for understanding and evaluating the role of British media – as parts of the British social and political life, in the context described above. The above problem is addressed in the study of Brinks et al. (2006); in accordance with the above study, political leaders in Britain who belong in the extreme right side are likely to face an important dilemma: should they promote the views of their supporters or should they follow the social trends as presented through the media? (Brinks 2006, p.83). The above dilemma is established because of the involvement of the media in the promotion of equality and fairness in all social and political activities. Through this point of view, the British media should be considered as a factor controlling the development of extreme social trends – through the media indications for the rejection of these trends by the society are given in advance so that these trends are not further expanded – in fact they are limited. Through a similar point of view it has been made clear that British media can influence the country’s social life; this fact is indicated in the involvement of the British media in the limitation of racism. The specific issue is highlighted in the study of King et al. (2001) where reference is made to the support provided by the British media to the ethnic minorities across the country; this support has been made clear through the ‘Code of Practice that the British National Union of Journalists introduced in 1975 regarding the presentation of stories involving the commitment of crimes by people belonging in minorities’ (King et al. 2001, p.34). More specifically, the reference to the racial background of the offenders would lead to the increase of racial discrimination across the country; for this reason, journalists in Britain adopted the specific Code of Practice aiming to protect the rights of people belonging in ethnic minorities; this initiative is an important indication regarding the positive role of British media – as a tool for promoting social justice and fairness. Of course, the involvement of media in the social life can have negative effects; for instance, the role of media in the accident of Princess Diana – which led to her death – has been negatively criticized; it was argued that limits should set regarding the potentials of media to get involved in the personal life of well-known individuals (Hutchison 1999, p.1); however, no similar event has been reported ever since; thus, the positive effects of media as controllers of equality and fairness in a society cannot be disregarded. The above issue is emphasized in the study of Julios (2008) where emphasis is given on the potentials of media ‘to teach freedom, equality and social justice’ (Julios 2008, p.6) – reference is made particularly to children who are most likely to be influenced by the social and political messages promoted through the media. 3. Conclusion The examination of the role of media in the British political and social life has led to the assumption that in Britain media can have significant power – referring to their potentials of influencing the political and the social decisions and trends. On the other hand, it has been also proved that the means used by the British media industry for the achievement of its target may not be always justifiable – being in opposition with the common and the local ethics and culture. Moreover, issues like the concentration of powers in specific firms and the establishment of monopolies – as explained above, negatively affect the perceptions of citizens on media. Still, it seems that the contribution of the British media to the development of important political decisions – referring to the country’s position in the international community – and the achievement of social targets – meaning the limitation of discrimination in society/ workplace – is important. In this context, it would be stated that the British media industry has the power to influence all aspects of social, political and economic life across the country – a fact that has helped, through the decades, to the increase of trust between the government and the citizens but also to the increase of social integrity and the limitation of social/ political conflicts. References Badsey, S. (2000) The Media and international security. Routledge Blain, N., O’Donnell, H. (2003) Media, monarchy and power. Intellect Books Brinks, J., Timms, E., Rock, S. (2006) Nationalist myths and modern media: contested identities in the age of globalization. I.B.Tauris Garnett, M., Lynch, P. (2007) Exploring British politics. Pearson Education Hutchison, D. (1999) Media policy: an introduction. Wiley-Blackwell Julios, C. (2008) Contemporary British identity: English language, migrants, and public discourse. Ashgate Publishing King, R., Wood, N. (2001) Media and migration: constructions of mobility and difference. Routledge Oakland, J. (2011) British Civilization: An Introduction. Taylor & Francis Robins, L., Jones, B. (1997) Half a century of British politics. Manchester University Press Stokes, J., Reading, A. (1999) The media in Britain: current debates and developments. Palgrave Macmillan Read More