Media and the News (AQA A-Level Sociology): Revision Notes

Media Representations

The media plays a powerful role in shaping how different social groups are portrayed to audiences. Research consistently shows that media representations often rely on stereotyping - presenting simplified, generalised images of particular groups. This affects how society views ethnic minorities, different genders, age groups, disabled people, and various social classes.

Gender representations in media

Male dominance in media production

The media industry remains heavily male-dominated, which influences the content produced. Croteau and Hoynes (2000) discovered that in the mid-1990s US media, only 6% of top newspaper management roles and 20% of top television management positions were held by women. This gender imbalance in decision-making roles affects how both men and women are represented in media content.

Stereotypical gender roles

Media representations of women often follow predictable patterns:

Women as ideals: Naomi Wolf (1990) and Susan Orbach (1991) argued that media presents women as ideals for other women to aspire to, directly contributing to rising eating disorders among women.

Limited female roles: Tuchman (1978) identified that media typically portrayed women in only two roles - domestic and sexual. He argued that women's achievements are presented as less important than men's, creating a form of symbolic annihilation - where a social group is represented negatively, falsely, or completely ignored.

Women as victims: Media frequently represents women as victims of sexual or domestic violence, reinforcing ideas about female vulnerability.

Traditional feminine advice: Ferguson (1983) studied women's magazines and found they consistently provided advice about stereotypically feminine topics - sexual relationships, domestic life, and romance.

Incompetence in action: Some advertisements portray women as incompetent at stereotypically female domestic tasks, while action films typically show men as violent and present male violence positively.

Binary opposition in gender representation

Binary opposition means viewing the world through pairs of opposites. Levi-Strauss (1963) explained that one half of a binary pair is culturally marked as more positive than the other. In the male/female binary, male characteristics are typically presented as positive.

This creates stereotypical representations where women are portrayed as housewives and men as breadwinners. The dominant half of the binary (men) is seen as normal and standard, while women are positioned as the 'other' - perceived less positively.

Changing gender representations

Some sociologists argue that gender representation is evolving:

Westwood (1999) noted increasing numbers of female characters on television and in films who don't conform to traditional gender roles. These characters are seen as 'transgressive' because they go beyond stereotypical representations of women.

Gauntlett (2002) identified changes in masculinity representation. Some men's magazines now mirror the format of women's magazines, focusing on health, appearance, and attracting the opposite sex. They promoted the 'metrosexual male' who cares about appearance, respects women, and displays traditionally feminine traits. However, many men's magazines still sexualise women.

Postmodernists like Hermes (1995) believe people can reject media messages about gender, suggesting audiences have more agency in interpreting representations.

Sexuality representations

LGBTQ+ stereotyping and invisibility

LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and transgender) groups face particular challenges in media representation. The media often presents inaccurate stereotypes of LGBTQ+ individuals or ignores them completely, creating another form of symbolic annihilation.

Improving LGBTQ+ representation

Gauntlett (2008) argued that representation is improving as people become more accepting of diverse sexual identities. He suggested that positive representation of sexuality in media is increasing and this leads to greater acceptance in society.

Disability representations

Under-representation in media

Disabled people face severe under-representation in media content. Cumberbatch et al (2014) studied the most popular British factual, entertainment and drama television programmes and found that UK government statistics show approximately 19% of the population has some form of disability, but their study discovered that people with disabilities had a much lower proportion of speaking roles in these programmes.

Limited and stereotypical roles

Cumberbatch and Negrine (1992) examined British television over six weeks and found that roles for disabled people were often based on pity or comedy. They discovered that disabled actors never appeared as regular actors playing characters who happened to have a disability - only in roles specifically about disability.

However, some positive portrayals exist in films and television, such as Stephen Hawking's experience of motor neurone disease in The Theory of Everything. Cumberbatch et al (2014) also found that disabled people on popular television are more likely to be presented seriously rather than comedically.

Power and representation

Disabled people are poorly represented in powerful media positions. Those in powerful positions often have specialised knowledge about disabled issues. For example, Peter White, a blind journalist who was born blind, began presenting radio shows about disability before becoming a disability correspondent reporting on events like the 2008 Beijing Olympic games.

Audience response to disability representation

Barnes (1992) argued that disabled people are often presented as reliant on others' charity, reinforcing stereotypes. Shows like Children in Need may inadvertently strengthen stereotypes about disabled people being unable to contribute to their communities.

Class representations

Class bias in media production

Media editors and executives are predominantly middle class, and middle-class people appear on television more frequently than working-class people in both dramas and news programmes.

Stereotypical class portrayals

Drama representations: Working-class characters are mostly limited to soap operas, while upper-class characters often appear in historical costume dramas, which tend to present a romantic view of life and class relationships.

Working class as problematic: News often represents working-class people as sources of trouble through anti-social behaviour, riots, strikes, and crime. The neo-Marxist Glasgow University Media Group (1982) suggested that media spreads the view that the working class creates problems to ensure the dominance of capitalist ideology.

Research evidence on class representation

Newman (2006) argued that media gives positive attention to things only wealthy people can afford. For example, newspapers devote significant space to reporting on stocks and shares, despite most UK citizens not owning any. According to Newman, media blames the working class for poverty and unemployment, and when poverty is discussed, media focuses on statistics rather than human suffering.

Media influence on class identity

Research by Medhurst (1999) demonstrated that media can influence class identity. When middle-class students watched The Royle Family, which featured deliberately exaggerated and stereotypical working-class characters, they believed it accurately portrayed working-class life.

Ethnicity representations

Representation patterns in British television

Cumberbatch et al (2014) studied the 60 most popular British factual, entertainment and drama television programmes and found mixed patterns in ethnic representation:

• The percentage of people from ethnic minorities who held speaking roles in these programmes was quite representative of the proportion of ethnic minorities in the UK population
• However, some ethnic minority groups were over-represented (such as Black African Caribbean groups) while others were under-represented (such as South Asian groups)
• People from ethnic minorities are most likely to appear in entertainment shows and are fairly well represented in factual shows as 'key contributors' (interviewees)
• Representation in major roles is more limited - ethnic minorities are less likely to be presenters or have leading roles in drama

Media technology and ethnic representation

New technology has created more specialist satellite and digital television and radio channels that often cater for specific ethnic minorities and are controlled by people from those ethnic minorities, such as Bangla TV and BBC Asian Network. However, people from ethnic minorities remain under-represented in positions of power in mainstream media.

Stereotyping and negative representation

Tabloid newspapers sometimes stereotype ethnic minority groups as problems or threats. Van Dijk (1991) conducted detailed content analysis of headlines in five British national newspapers and found frequent associations between ethnic minorities, violence, and negative language in headlines.

Some media representations of multiculturalism have been criticised. Media portrayals of ethnic minorities can be part of multicultural representation, such as television and newspaper coverage of events like the Notting Hill carnival. Some representations present multiculturalism as utopian (suggesting everything's perfect) while others acknowledge problems, such as the film Bend It Like Beckham.

Audience responses to ethnic stereotypes

This shows that people don't always accept media stereotypes if they have better knowledge of the groups being represented.

Age representations

Stereotyping of older people

There's often a sexist double standard in how older people are represented. Older women are less likely to get presenting roles on television, while older male actors like Sean Connery and Harrison Ford are 'allowed' to be romantically paired with much younger women. There are more older men presenting television programmes than older women.

Biggs (1993) found that representation of older people in entertainment shows often featured stereotyped roles like 'forceful', 'vague' and 'difficult' characters.

Signorelli (1989) studied American prime-time television characters and discovered that both young and old people were under-represented - television representation was biassed towards middle-aged people.

Youth representation

Featherstone and Hepworth (1995) found that magazines targeting older people tend to push an image of 'youthful' older people - showing them enjoying holidays, wearing 'young-looking' clothes, etc.

Newman (2006) discovered that class influences age representation. Older upper-class and middle-class people are often cast in television dramas as characters with high social status and advanced careers.

Slightly older 'youth' are sometimes portrayed as social problems - prone to drug abuse, binge drinking, petty crime and unplanned pregnancy.

Changes in young women's representation

McRobbie (2008) argued that media representations of young girls have changed over recent decades:

1970s representation: Young girls were often presented in magazines as 'passive' and led by desires to impress boys. By the 1990s, television shows and magazines aimed at young women moved away from this representation, using language of 'Girl Power' to suggest girls were free to be what they wanted to be.

Consumer culture influence: This presented girls as active consumers who could choose how to express themselves. McRobbie argued that media wanted to create a consumer market for products aimed at young girls and women, encouraging young girls to desire products aimed at teenagers so they would become consumers too.