Sociology: The Impact Of Media On Mass Audiences

Sociology focuses on the impact of media on mass audiences. It is the scientific study of society and how structures in today’s society influence an individual. Auguste Comte, a French philosopher argued that the social world is based on a set of laws and these laws determined people’s actions and beliefs. As Ritzer discussed in ‘Introduction to Sociology’ sociology reveals that people are manipulated in society and by the media both locally and globally otherwise referred to the butterfly effect. Inevitably it is the owners and regulators of the media who determine what every society in the world is exposed to in terms of news, information, advertisements etc. These prosperous structures conceal and veil concepts and beliefs through the power

(Dad, 2012) Media such as the news and advertisements are dominated by the government and established institutions. The productions and information society are subject to depend on the ownership and control of these structures. ‘Top leaders in formal organisations are makers of policy, but they also must secure and maintain conformity to that policy at lower levels’ (Breed, 1955). Political biased is unavoidable in news media. This comes to the forefront in cases of partisanship, propaganda, unwitting bias and ideological. This differs in every country based on what news will sell to a particular culture, what the state regulation is and what the constitutions want the public to hear. It is the ‘gatekeeper’ who is in control what media is dispatched to the public. Dissemination of content is determined by gatekeeping to allocate particular information to the public through mediums such as advertisements, speeches etc. Gatekeepers want their media to sell above all else and will ensure everything is done to do so.
The agenda setting theory suggests that stories which receive maximum attention inevitably become embedded in the publics thinking. It is often used in political media, ‘the political agenda setting power of the media can therefore better be understood from a ‘power balance perspective’’ (Aelst, 2014). Powerful politicians utilise the media to publicise their work. The public subconsciously absorb this information

The utmost crucial example of the impact ownership and control has on the production and dissemination of media content is the use of media in China. The government is the primary regulator of media content, burying all aspects of reality. Undoubtedly the media in China is the most controversial structure in comparison to other countries. Similarly like BBC in the UK the media in China is state owned but can be differentiated in a multiple of ways. The public of China do not have any opportunity to free speech even though they believe they do. Media is used as a weapon to brainwash and influence the minds of the society. Unlike the majority of the rest of the world Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are all banned in China. The owners believe such websites will cause social unrest and despair. ‘Lasswell here reflects a view of mass communication as primarily the planned application of certain technologies for purposes of mass persuasion, information, or control’ (McQuail, 1985). The main control structure in China is the Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department who ensure only complimenting media which adhere to their culture are produced to the public. Another structure known as the Great Firewall filters media and block access to sites that do not fit in to the governments