With media dominating every aspect of our lives, we must have media pluralism. In the age of new media, we may find ourselves gaining our news from a growing range of platforms, it is increasingly important that there is a plurality of voices and opinions within the news we receive. However, more often than not, we are met with the same elitist ideas, no matter which news outlet we get our news from.
A statistic is often shared online that “five billionaires own 80% of the UK media”. Rupert Murdoch (owner of News International) owns a significant amount of media not only in the UK, but also countries such as the USA and Australia. Editorial independence doesn’t exist within the newspapers controlled by these billionaires. The owners can do (and interfere) with what is published in their newspapers, can control which editors and journalists are promoted or fired, and can control which political parties the newspapers support. Owners manipulate media content as it keeps capitalist ideology and promotes their values, which is dangerous. The owners have the power to spread elitist values and ideas, and governments allow this to happen as long as their elitist ideas match their views.
The economic system of modern capitalist countries (such as the United Kingdom) is characterised by great inequalities in wealth and income which have been brought about by the exploitation of the labour power of the working classes. To reproduce this system of inequality, the bourgeoisie uses its cultural power to dominate the mass media and transmit elitist ideology. The role of the media is to shape how we think about the world we live in, but audiences are rarely informed about important issues such as why poverty is rising. Similarly, capitalism is rarely criticised or challenged within the media, because owners shape media content so that only the elitist ideals are heard. Governments are no longer interested in controlling the activities of media owners because they need their support to gain and maintain power.
Recently in the media, Murdoch’s media outlets have been seen to have a very clear bias towards Donald Trump in the US election, but then switched to show support for Joe Biden in order to keep viewers. Not only do media owners such as Murdoch manipulate media content, but they also maintain their power by keeping everyone on their side. While these owners are not held accountable for their actions, they have the freedom to keep their content biased and reflect dominant ideologies. These owners threaten media plurality.
Owners embody elitist values, and represent the lack of diversity and choice in the media, and their dominant view represents white, upper-class males. Different studies also show the dominance of privately-educated and Oxbridge-educated elite at the top of UK journalism. If we continue to allow a lack of representation and choice, elitist values will continue to be pushed forwards by the media. While we have the choice to obtain our news from elsewhere if an outlet does not represent our views, the blatant lack of diversity and plurality means that we are simply moving from one set of elitist ideals to another. There is no escape. Everywhere in the media, the elitist ideals are represented - Not the views that reflect the audiences. It is the owners who must be held accountable for the lack of choice and diversity within the media, and it is up to the audiences to make a change. Otherwise, the dominant hegemony will continue to be reinforced and the media will never reflect the view of its audiences. This does not just apply to those who are working class, but other minorities who are also underrepresented by the media - women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disabled people amongst other groups.
Written by Ty
Artwork by Delicia P
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