Ideology

Ideology

Ideology refers to ideas and beliefs and, significantly, systems of belief.

An ideology must be seen as a coherent and recognisable set of beliefs.

1)The ideas concerned must be shared by a significant number of people;2)The ideas must form some kind of coherent system;3)The ideas must connect in some way to the use of power in society.

(Gregor McLennan, The Power of Ideology)

Ideology carries a negative or neutral meaning.

(Jorge Larrain, The Concept of Ideology)

The neutral meaning of ideology is associated with the 'world view' of a particular social class and, therefore, typifies consciousness.

The negative meaning is associated with the observations of Karl Marx (1818-1883) regarding 'false consciousness'.

In Marxist theory, false consciousness is:

“a failure to recognize the instruments of one's oppression or exploitation as one's own creation, as when members of an oppressed class unwittingly adopt views of the oppressor class.”

This theory is extended to theories surrounding the media – who are accused of being complicit in spreading messages on behalf of oppressors and spreading this 'false belief'.

Consider, however, what 'correct belief' and 'true belief' could be and where they would come from?

Many theorists accept that human behaviour is determined wholly by class interests or class position. However, there are a host of factors beyond class that also determine the way we see ourselves and the world – gender, geographic location, ethnicity, age, income, religion, etc.

So, where does ideology come from? Is it carried within us (internal) or is it found in society and then passed on to us (external)?

Francis Bacon suggested that we should discard our false ideas and false idols in Novum Organon (1630). He categorised these idols (images held in the mind) as:

Idols of the Tribe

Idols of the Cave

Idols of the Marketplace

Idols of the Theatre

Idols of the Tribe deceptive beliefs inherent in the mind of man, and therefore belonging to the whole of the human race. They are found in human nature and cannot be avoided. They are abstractions in error arising from common tendencies to exaggeration, distortion, and disproportion. Thus men gazing at the stars perceive the order of the world, but are not content merely to contemplate or record that which is seen. They extend their opinions, investing the starry heavens with innumerable imaginary qualities. In a short time these imaginings gain dignity and are mingled with the facts until the compounds become inseparable.

Idols of the Cave - those which arise within the mind of the individual, including character, education, personality etc. This mind is symbolically a cavern. The thoughts of the individual roam about in this dark cave and are variously modified by temperament, education, habit, environment, and accident. Thus an individual who dedicates his mind to some particular branch of learning becomes possessed by his own peculiar interest, and interprets all other learning according to the colours of his own devotion. The chemist sees chemistry in all things, and the courtier ever present at the rituals of the court unduly emphasizes the significance of kings and princes.

Idols of the Marketplace - errors arising from the false significance bestowed upon words, and in this classification Bacon anticipated the modern science of semantics. According to him it is the popular belief that men form their thoughts into words in order to communicate their opinions to others, but often words arise as substitutes for thoughts and men think they have won an argument because they have out talked their opponents. The constant impact of words variously used without attention to their true meaning only in turn condition the understanding and breed fallacies. Words often betray their own purpose, obscuring the very thoughts they are designed to express. More simply, we learn to understand linguistic signs for words through conversation, not through experience.

Idols of the Theatre - those which are due to sophistry and false learning; emphasising our dependence as human beings on systems of belief and ways of interpreting the world that are inherited from previous generations. These idols are built up in the field of theology, philosophy, and science, and because they are defended by learned groups are accepted without question by the masses. When false philosophies have been cultivated and have attained a wide sphere of dominion in the world of the intellect they are no longer questioned. False superstructures are raised on false foundations, and in the end systems barren of merit parade their grandeur on the stage of the world.

In short, there are shared understandings of what is 'real' and what is not because we can refer back to a common understanding of what things are. Therefore, we are constantly involved in a process of 're-presentation' of the world and, similarly, we re-present the representations that others have already made.

Discourse

Ideology operates through discourse, which can be

An utterance of greater size than the sentence

The utterance of language generally

The utterance of a specialised form of language (eg legalese)

As the spoken expression of ideologies, when it is used to achieve a form of power, rather than to get at 'the truth'.

The power of persuasion

Messages are, of course, also used to promote mutually beneficial outcomes and, in communication, a 'convergence process' takes place when the sender and receiver move closer together. The receivers of messages therefore assume that they are being provided with reliable information.

Persuasion is:

“...a successful intentional effort at influencing another's mental state through communication in a circumstance in which the persuadee has some measure of freedom.”

(O'Keefe, Persuasion: Theory and Research)

Does the world of journalism use persuasive techniques?

Human beings have three attributes to their personality that can be influenced:

Beliefs - an internal feeling that something is true, even though that belief may be unproven or irrational.

Values - a measure of the worth or importance a person attaches to something; our values are often reflected in the way we live our lives.

Attitude - the way a person expresses or applies their beliefs and values, expressed through words and behaviour.

Propaganda

Propaganda differs from persuasion:

“Propaganda is a form of communication that is different from persuasion because it attempts to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist...Persuasion is interactive and attempts to satisfy the needs of both persuader and persuadee.”

(Jowlett and O'Donnell, Propaganda and Persuasion)

Propaganda is:

“...the deliberate and systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behaviour to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist.”

(Jowlett and O'Donnell, Propaganda and Persuasion)

Propaganda attempts to disguise itself as informative communication. It is not necessarily based on lies. Rather, it is about intervening in the way people make up their minds.

This can be influenced via the use of mass media, the timing of an event, how news is hidden and delayed, how negative information is offset by more positive information.

The mass media have been and continue to be responsible for passing on propaganda that originates from another source.

“Propaganda can be 'the truth', 'the whole truth' and 'nothing like the truth'.”

(Stuart Price, Media Studies)

Propaganda is the conscious use of a particular discourse that connects with the attitudes, values and beliefs of the audience in order to fulfil the intentions of the propagandist.

Leni Riefenstahl made documentaries for the Nazi party and Triumph of the Will (Triumph des Willens) (1935) is one of the best-known examples of propaganda in film history.

Earlier than this, Soviet propaganda had used posters to spread the communist ideology. “Come comrade, join us in the collective farm!"

On a less dramatic level, in the UK in recent years there has been a major growth in the number, frequency and scope of council newspapers. At the same time, local communities are seeing a decline in the number of local newspapers. Is news and information mediated and controlled by local authorities propaganda?

During times of war, the mass media are called on to support the ruling ideology. There are countless examples of this in the reporting that exists around the Second World War, two Gulf wars and the Falklands conflict. Certain 'myths' about the enemy are circulated. If the mass media doesn't show support then direct censorship is exerted.

Consider how terrorism is reported – it is actually framed as “a war of ideologies” which immediately affects how we consume the information we are provided with.

Propaganda is not always successful.

The mass media in the west is often held up as 'liberal' and a bastion of the truth. Is this true?

Noam Chomsky and others on 'the liberal media'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYlyb1Bx9Ic

Media Ownership

News International – British Newspaper Publisher (itself owned by News Corp.)

“We believe in the power of news. We're delivering more news, to more people, more often, in more ways than ever.”

News International Limited publishes The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun and News of the World.

“In terms of growth, share, circulation and reader engagement, the Company’s titles are among the world’s most successful. News Printers Group Ltd prints the national titles and operates as a contract printing subsidiary for the three state of the art printing plants. Further brands which are part of the group include the Times Literary Supplement and milkround.com. The News International group also has investments in fashion website BrandAlley.co.uk.

“In 2007, News International Ltd became the UK’s first carbon neutral newspaper publisher. This was achieved by increasing energy efficiency, switching to renewable energy and combined heat and power and purchasing high quality offsets.”

Newsquest (a subsidiary of Gannett Co. Inc.)

17 daily paid-for titles, more than 200 weekly newspapers, magazines and trade publications, and a network of award-winning Web sites

weekly readership of more than 13 million

weekly circulation of more than 10 million copies

digital portfolio of newspaper and online-only brands which attract more than 6 million unique users

more than 5,000 employees

six newspaper printing sites

a network of more than 180 local newspaper and portal websites

Northcliffe Media (division of DMGT)

portfolio of 115 newspapers including dailies, weeklies and frees

newspapers have 5.8 million readers in the UK

portfolio contains famous and established brands such as the Leicester Mercury, the Bristol Evening Post, the Essex Chronicle and the Derby Telegraph, to name just a few

Online, 150 local news, information, and classified websites under the 'thisis' brand, covering counties, cities and smaller local communities. The 'thisis' network has 4 million unique browsers every month

Johnston Press

Johnston Press plc is one of the top three largest local newspaper publishers in the UK and “a major force on the internet.”

“Our aim is to serve local communities across a variety of channels, providing access to local information. We have unique local content created by teams of local experts who believe that 'Content is King'. Our coverage of local stories and events is unrivalled across all media.”

18 daily newspapers, 253 weekly newspapers and a range of related specialist, locally focussed, print publications. 297 local websites. Together these reach a combined audience of about 18.3 million readers each month.

DMGT (Daily Mail Group Trust)

DMGT is a publicly listed company quoted on the London Stock Exchange.

Operating in over 40 countries with a diverse portfolio of market-leading companies, DMGT is “a true global growth business.”

DMGT delivers “high-quality content, information, analytics and events 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”

News Corporation

“Creating and distributing top-quality news, sports and entertainment around the world.

“We have more than 50,000 people around the globe committed to making a difference in media. At News Corporation, we think about the impact we have in the world all the time, from the way our ideas influence and inspire people to the impact we have on our planet and in our communities.”

Other big players:

Bertelsmann AG

Hollinger International, Inc.

Hearst

The Walt Disney Corporation

Time Warner

Vaicom

Pearson

Media Ownership – Further Information

Media Owners List which is compiled by the NUJ London Freelance Branch covering over 5,000 (mainly UK) media outlets.

http://media.gn.apc.org/owners/

Columbia Journalism Review's Who Owns What?

http://www.cjr.org/resources/index.php