More Theorists:

Bandura- Media effects on audiences (The Bobo Doll Experiment)

Studies of news sources that show the same values and judgments underlying different newspaper
coverage. (E.g. expressing core ideologies such as democracy and the rule of law or individualism)
may suggest a direct effect on audiences. As an example an experiment was done where children
were shown a video of adults beating a doll or being nice to it. The children each copied the adult’s
behaviour according to the one they watched, which shows how people can be influenced by what
we see or hear, which can be applied in the media.

How Bandura Applies to Newspapers:

Would most apply to strongly delivered newspaper messages that are consistent across newspapers,
e.g. about the wrongness of terrorism. (Same for online)

Draws attention to the need to investigate the direct effects on individuals who consume
newspapers. (Same for online)

Support the arguments of those who think newspapers should be regulated to avoid public harm.
(Same for online)

It was originally developed to explain the effects of media that are powerful in positioning
audiences, such as television (In TV it may be portrayed that a knife fight is cool and exciting, not
dangerous and bad.) Newspapers representations of aggression or violence may be less likely to
produce imitative behaviour (They will be more serious, focusing on discouraging it and highlighting
its problems involving crime.)

Newspaper messages are likely to be contradicted by messages from politically and socially opposing
newspapers like The Guardian and Mail, especially in areas of social or political conflict (Brexit)

Prioritising the effects of the media on the audience may mean that these effects are
underestimated. (Same for online)

How it Applies to Online Newspapers:

Same points and print newspapers but they also support the arguments of those who think the
internet should be regulated to avoid public harm, e.g. to remove fake news and terrorist
propaganda.

Online newspaper messages may often be challenged by audiences in comments, tweets or other
posts which would reduce the effect of the original messages.

Livingstone and Lunt- Regulation

Key concept one: The idea that there is an underlying struggle in the recent UK regulation policy
between the need to further the interests of citizens (by offering protection harmful or offensive
material) and the need to further the interests of consumers (by ensuring choice, value for money,
and market competition.)

Sonia Livingstone argues that the way regulations police the media depends on whether they think
of audiences as citizens or consumers. Among civil society groups, there is growing concern that the
citizen interest is becoming marginalized as the consumer discourse becomes more widespread.
Key concept two: The idea that the increasing power of global media corporations, together with the
rise of convergent media technologies and transformations in the production, distribution and
marketing of digital media, have placed traditional approaches to media regulation risk. Livingstone
argues that quality of traditional media output has been affected by the digital revolution.

Citizen Interests: Cultural focus, wider community, broadcast content, the quality of things, content
board

Consumer Interests: Economic focus, network services, individuals, consumer panel

(Newspapers are finding it difficult to appeal to both categories) They also don’t really apply to
online media due to difficulties of regulation on the internet and don’t apply to newspapers due to
press freedom.

Hesmondhalgh- Media Institutions

Key concept one: The idea that cultural industry companies try to minimise risk and maximise
audiences through vertical and horizontal integration, and by formatting their cultural products (e.g.
through use of stars, genres and serials)

Key concept two: The largest companies or conglomerates now operate across a number of different
cultural industries.

Application to print newspapers: The idea of the cultural industries draws attention to newspapers
as an industry- its forms and effects of ownership and control, the working practices of journalists
and other creators, and issues of risk and profitability. It also applies particularly to the response of
newspapers to competition for readers and advertising revenue from the new media.

Limitations: In prioritising the effects of ownership and control on the content of newspapers this
theory may not aid in understanding how ideologies, audience choice, or media language
conventions may determine media content.

Applications to online newspapers: Same as print except it also corrects over-optimistic views of the
internet as an arena for freedom and unlimited creativity.

Limitations: Same as print

Cultivation Theory- Audience Theory

Gradual long-term effects, small and over time, reinforces the norms, reinforces the people’s
opinion rather than changing it. TV and other mass media are shown to influence people’s behaviour
and views over time; however, some people think it’s too simplistic as it doesn’t take into account
peoples backgrounds etc. that may also affect their opinion. Someone who doesn’t like immigrants
may deliberately seek out a newspaper that supports their opinion and can then develop a
reinforced and distorted opinion of this, therefore it can be partly the audience’s choices and
intentions that effect how they are influenced.

Baudrillard: Hyper Reality-“Some texts are difficult to distinguish in terms of the representation of
reality from a simulation of reality (e.g. Big Brother) the boundaries are blurred as codes and
conventions create a set of signifiers which we understand but in fact the representation is a copy of
a copy.”

Judith Butler: Queer Theory- “Gender is what you do, not who you are.” With the theory contesting
the categorization of gender and sexuality- identifies are not fixed and they cannot be labelled.
Gender performativity- gender roles are a performance which people can copy, but this does not
need to be the case as gender is a social construct.

Stuart Hall: Dominant, oppositional Negotiated Readings of Representation: “Stuart Hall’s Theory is
also useful in understanding how some representations reflect the dominant culture e.g. patriarchy,
women in The Sun and in Men’s Magazines like FHM. However, some representations can be
negotiated or even misunderstood (oppositional) as in Four Lions which was accused of being a
racist text due to its representation of British Pakistani Muslims.”

Laura Mulvey: Male Gaze/Female Gaze- “Women on the front cover of FHM are sexualised or
objectified for the male audience while the same can be said for male models in perfume adverts,
sexualised for a female demographic.” However, the theory also mentions how men tend to be
demonstrated more as powerful and dominant showing their muscles etc. whilst women are more
commonly portrayed as vulnerable.

Levi- Strauss: Binary Oppositions and Subordinate Groups: ‘Levi-Struss’ theory is a way of
understanding how representation are deliberately placed in binary opposition to ensure the
dominant culture is maintained and the minority representations is seen as subordinate and
marginalized.

In Game of Thrones southern regional identity is often seen as the preferred culture through
representation within the mise-en-scene. There is more money in the south, the southern king
speaks with elaborated language code, the buildings have cleaner lines, dress code is smarter and
there is significant daytime shooting.

(Also binary opposites like in star wars- red lightsabre for evil and blue or green for good)