The article’s objective is to discuss how ‘culture’ has become a commercial and indoctrinating industry under the capitalist economic system. The author identifies two or three key mechanisms through which culture is manufactured and distributed towards achieving its goals. Author Sut Jhally is not in doubt as to the propagandistic or profit-oriented motives of mass…
Tag: TV
Why is writing for radio and television different from writing for a newspaper or magazine?
Different set of rules apply to the art of writing depending on the medium of publication/broadcast. Even within a particular medium, writing can be divided into creative writing and reportage/opinion, with the latter usually based on facts. Various genres exist within conventional creative writing – prominent among them are novels, short stories, poetry and plays. …
Media Literacy and Ethics
In Chapter 2 of Converging Media: A New Introduction to Mass Communication, “Media Literacy and Ethics,” we are introduced to the concept of media literacy and how to develop it in ourselves. Explain what media literacy is and discuss how media literate you yourself are. How many sources of news and information do you consult…
Dangers posed by lack of diversity and representation in the mainstream media’s coverage
One of the talking points among the intelligentsia is the dangers posed by lack of diversity and representation in the mainstream media’s coverage, especially that of Television. This situation gives rise to production of news content that serves the interests of select media elite. This concentration of power in the hands of large media conglomerates…
Why people are obsessed with appearance?
There are several reasons why people give importance to their looks. Firstly, we all have to present ourselves in an acceptable manner in social occasions. The appearance need not be lavish for all occasions but at least pleasant. Women generally tend to be give more importance to their appearance than men – this is because…
Do governments in the developing world censor TV and Internet?
The issue of regulating internet and television content is highly significant, given the exponential growth in the use of this medium for commercial and informational purposes across the globe. When the internet was thrown open for commercial use during the mid 1990s, most of its content originated from theUnited States of America, making English the…
Are we living in a period of ‘the cult of the personality’? An analysis in relation to docusoaps and reality TV
One of the markers of the 21st century popular culture is the apparent dilution in its quality and content. The medium with the widest reach, Television, is not only a source of entertainment but also employed by the powers that be to manipulate and deceive the gullible viewer in order to propagate its own political…
Problems in ethics codes of TV, Radio and Newspapers
The common framework of journalistic ethics that is being adopted by radio, television and newspaper associations is a fair and balanced one. Having said so, adhering to such guidelines are not without challenges. The rest of this essay will try to demonstrate why these ethical guidelines are difficult to implement in a media atmosphere dominated…
Differences between the worlds of social marketing and commercial marketing
Thesis: Significant differences between the worlds of social marketing and commercial marketing mean that the transfer of commercial marketing concepts into the social marketing arena poses a number of problems to the social marketing program Introduction: Andreasen defines social marketing as “the application of commercial marketing technologies to the analysis, planning, execution and evaluation of…
Ideology and the Mass Media
How useful is the concept of ideology for media analysis? Discuss in relation to soap operas. Ideology as a sociological term has been interpreted in many different ways. But the following is an approximate definition of the term: Any system of beliefs, values and habits that are based on a particular political or religious school…