Cultural Studies

                                  


               Thinking activity on Cultural studies:Power and Media 


  

 The first of all we have to wisdom about culture.So which is Culture ? It is almost impossible to define Cultural Studies in definite terms. It is difficult because the concept of Culture itself has been made shadowy.Culture is all about power, or culture is produced. Cultural studies focuses on mass or popular culture.

Power :-

 

 

         

Power  is the intelligence to make others do what you would have them perform. It can be family, work place, relationship.The dynamics of power are never stable. Power is not like evil, from which we have feel some anxiety, but it's like a fire.
                

                   Cultural studies is interested in the process by which power relations between and within group of human beings organize cultural artefact and their meaning.
                 

                 The study of cultural study is not perfect without the study of power.Meaning are governed by power relations.Power since each artefact practice receive validity and value. Cultural issues and theme are mediated through questions of economy and politics.Culture is therefore about power.
              

                

 Media :-

The propaganda model seeks to explain media behavior by examining the institutional pressures that constrain and influence news content within a capitalist system. It flies in the face of theories that argue that journalism is by its nature adversarial to established power. The propaganda model predicts that corporate-owned media will consistently produce news content that serves the interests of established power and money.

       The five filters are as follows :-

Ownership

Corporate media firms share common interests with other sectors of the economy. They therefore, have a stake in maintaining an economic and political climate conducive to the profitability of all their arms. They are unlikely to be critical of political policies that directly benefit them.

Advertising

Advertising is a primary source of income for modern news media. To remain profitable, media must rely on advertising dollars for the bulk of their revenue. So, it is against the interest of the news media to produce content that might antagonize advertisers.

Sourcing

Elite news media companies have the resources to facilitate the news-gathering process by sending correspondents to far-off places, provide photo-ops, new conferences, press releases, etc… Largely, these canned news pieces take advantage of the news media’s need for continuous and cheap news content (you have to fill the 24/7 news cycles somehow). Business leaders, politicians, and government officials are viewed as credible and unbiased sources in this system and fact-checking or otherly costly research is therefore cast aside.

“The mass media are drawn into a symbiotic relationship with powerful sources of information by economic necessity and reciprocity of interest.”

Flak

Flak refers to the negative commentary to a new story or journalist that can work to police and discipline news agencies and those working for them. Stray too far from consensus and flak will get you. Flak includes lawsuits, complaints, petitions, and government sanctions.

Anti-Communism and Fear

This heading can be boiled down to; an external enemy or threat. Manifesting as anti-communism during the Cold War period when Manufacturing Consent was published, this filter still operates. In the post-9/11 political climate, this filter can be better assigned to fear of Muslims and a continuation of fear of Mexicans. This filter mobilizes the population against a common enemy (terrorism, energy insecurity, an entire people) while demonizing opponents as insufficiently patriotic or in league with the enemy.