What does the state of the British media tell us about society in Britain - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages In the world of today, media has become as necessary as food and clothing. As per Shakeel (2013) “It has played significant role in strengthening the society. Media is considered as "mirror" of the modern society, infect, it is the media which shapes our lives. The media of a certain country is a true mirror for portraying the cultural values and issue happening in a country. British media is of high standard and report on many issue which gives the public an image of British society. The sections like art, sports, entertainment, health and education. Britain being a cosmopolitan country does have a cultural and social mannerism different to other countries. British Media mostly present political and news and information on Royal family. According to Negrine(1991,pg.12-30) “The value of "political communication" in the dictionary of useful, catch-all phrases to describe the relationship between mass media and politics comes at a price in precision”. Although, the media does not reflect much on the life of common men it does give out what is British society is like. The nature of British media The British media has its own peculiarities and in Europe, Britain falls third to Germany and Estonia regarding the total number of newspaper published. Also the British Press market is the second largest in Europe with regard to newspaper circulation. The frequency of British newspaper is divided as weekly, daily and Sunday newspaper. The media of Britain greatly cover economic and political news. The media has the function of public enlightenment. The celebrity gossip and sports is a major portion in British media. The British media is also extensively interested in royal affairs. Unlike other countries, Britain has a regulated media. According to Enders(2011) “Until now, Britain has regulated commercial media far more tightly than the BBC and you argue that it is time for a change”. The British media has been a bit conservative in comparison to other media in Western countries. The country always had to keep the royal status of the country. However, the British news papers are information rich and same goes with television media. However, politics is a major topic area for British media. Apart from this entertainment and sports get lot of media attention. Crime, sex and stories of human interests are also a part of the British media. According to (Gonzalez) The British national press provides a variety of political views, interests and levels of education. The British media does give out certain ideas as follows about their society Britain as a class conscious society British media has been one which shows class segregation and it has been partial to different classes. The media always represented the royal families and celebrities as the wealthiest and influential. The upper class was shown as the well bred and cultured people. The media has consistently showcased royal families as the ideal British people. The upper class is shown to be intelligent and sophisticated. (Thorpe) “But class-warfare, whether waged by politicians or the media, merely diverts attention from those living in deprivation”. The upper class is shown to hardworking, wall mannered and decent. The media has always shown upper class people in a positive manner and hence we can see that the British society is class conscious. Class discrimination is highly visible from the fact that the media as television or newspaper is consistently publishing or broadcasting news related to royal families an ...Download file to see next pagesRead More