Assess the pluralist view of the mass media Pluralism is the belief that power is spread widely throughout the world

The first 200 words of this essay...

Hannah West 6ERW

Using Material from Item 3b and elsewhere, assess the pluralist view of the mass media

Pluralism is the belief that power is spread widely throughout the world. It is a belief that companies or powerful groups are competing, but within boundaries of consensus and compromise. The idea of pluralism descends from functionalism. Functionalism is the view that society is structured; every institution in society fulfils certain roles and functions. If there was a disruption in one of these institutions then it could affect the stability of society as a whole. Functionalists believe that if something didn't serve a purpose then it would not exist.

The pluralist view of the mass media is based on this simple belief. Pluralists believe that the reason some newspapers or other forms of media seem biased is because they "simply respond to demand." The public has the buying power and the media are simply trying to appeal to this. If they begin to put forward their own opinions or beliefs about certain issues, then they are only appealing to the people who share these ideas. If these ideas are extremely controversial then a very limited amount