Discuss the role of media studies in making sense of the political, economic and cultural meaning of everyday life.

Politics refers to the science and art of government, political affairs or life (Oxford Dictionary, 1976, p.855). Media studies assists in making sense of the political world by allowing ways to interpret political events, media messages and the everyday political world. The media, especially television, is used in the modern political world to distorts “the way in which we see the world around us” (Ward, 1997, p.208). For example in 1990 the Australian Labor Party (ALP) ( T., 22 March 2004) reported spending $14.8 Million in a Federal government campaign, including $8.5 million on television advertising, which was aimed at influencing voters to choose the ALP (Ward, 1997, p.222). Media sources, such as television, have “allowed for marketing and advertising to entirely transform the way in which electoral campaigning is carried out” (Ward, 1997, p.209). Every political leader must make a personal decision about how and when to adapt to the needs of the media (Wolfsfeld, 1998) as new channels are opened for political leaders to communicate with a large number of voters (Ward, 1997, p.208). With the average Australian watching 23 hours of television a week (Ward, 1997, p.208), the media is seen as a powerful source of information. However Severin and Tankard (1988) claim, “researchers have not yet come up with a unified theory that will explain the effects of mass communication” (Ward, 1997, p.208). Political issues can also extend to political social issues such as women and advertising. Researchers have shown that ads, which feature attractive models, portray that beauty is a desirable female attribute (Ward, 1997, p. 230). Through this example it could be said that media advertising can be linked to the rise of eating disorder cases among young women and men, in their hope of achieving such “perfection”. It is important to study the media’s influence so we can understand how issues in the media are presented, often in a way that may not provide an accurate representation of everyday life.

Economic refers to the science of how money is used (Macquarie Junior Dictionary 2000). Sinclair (2002) outlines Marxism views, which claim that the economic structure of society, ultimately determines both its political and cultural life, meaning they are all ‘relative’ to each other (Sinclair: Cunningham, 2000). Media ownership, which is a multi-billion dollar industry, can affect the way in which messages are being sent to the audience and how it is interpreted. For example Billionaire businessman Kerry Packer runs Australia's top rating television group, the Nine network, and owns a stable of magazine titles. His publicly listed company, Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd, also co-owns one of Australia's leading internet sites, ninemsn.com, with Microsoft (Holloway, G., 8 January 2004). Packer’s media ownership raises questions as to what media messages are portrayed for economic benefit. This debate has been fuelled by the impact of new media technologies, a number of inquiries proposing regulatory changes, and the self-interest of those media organisations that report the controversy (Wolfsfeld, 1998). In addition, the Government is another economic and political body, which has power over censership in the media (Ferguson, 1997, p.104). Media studies educates us as to which information we should process from various mediums, what information can be absent from texts, and how it is influenced my mass ownership. Cunningham and Turner (2003) believe the “programming strategies of media bodies derive from the quest for profits through securing advertising, which depends on the size and composition of the audiences, and their relative standing in the three-sided competition between the commercial networks”. A recent theory of communication, called the “Agenda Setting Function Theory” proposes the media has the power to ‘set agenda’ to determine the subjects of reference, by playing a ‘gatekeeping’ role, allowing certain issues to be discussed while preventing others. This theory then suggests that Kerry Packer has some form of control over which media issues are given to the public. Media owners, such as Packer, have a personal interest in what media messages are sent out. For example one of Packers major magazines would not publish an article regarding poor ratings for Channel Nine, as it could result in loss of financial revenue. For this reason media ownership is a controversial issue.  Douglas Kellnew (Ferguson, 1997) argues that economic analysis can complement and enrich cultural studies’ readings and that textual analysis and political economy are therefore not opposing. Media Studies allows for individuals to be aware of mass media ownership and create an understanding of how this may adversely affect messages presented to the audience and the economic meaning of everyday life.

“ There are obviously strong connections between the kinds of social, political, economic and cultural details that characterize groups of people, and the kinds of practices (from eating habits to movie preferences) that such groups engage in, but we are still in need of some specific theoretical concepts that will allow us to ‘fill out’ our generalizations” (Schirato, 2000). The study of media assists in creating, analyzing and deconstructing media message so we can make sense of everyday life. Media studies educates us on how to understand the different forms of media in terms of how stories are presented and why a number of stories or texts are covered in the media, and other left out. Media Studies provides a guideline as to how media institutions approach major issues. With an understanding of various elements of texts and textual analysis, we are able to decode messages, interpret and analyse the messages and create our own ideas about the real meaning of everyday life.

Reference List

1. Cunningham, S., Turner, G. (2002) The Media and Communications in Australia. Allen and Unwin: NSW. pp. 3.
2. Ferguson, M., Golding, P.(1997) Cultural Studies in Question. SAGE Publications: London. pp. 104.
3. Ferrington, G. <.> Media Education. Kids Doing the Media. hhtp://.  Spring / Summer 2001. [Accessed 19 March 2004].
4.  T. <.> Australian Labor Party. Opportunity for All. . 30 March 2004. [Accessed 22 March 2004].
5. Scannell, P. (1996). Radio Television and Modern Life. Blackwell Publishers: USA. pp. 160,176.
6. Schirato, T., Yell, S. (2000) Communication and Cultural Literacy – An Introduction. 2nd Ed. Allen and Unwin: St. Leonards. pp.3.
7. Sinclair, J. “Media and Communications: Theoretical Traditions” in S. Cunningham and G. Turner (2000) (eds), The Media & Communications in Australia. Allen & Unwin: Sydney. pp.23-34.
8. Ward, I. (1997) Politics of the Media. Macmillan: Australia. p. 208-209, 222.
9. Wolfsfeld, G. (1998) Media and Political Conflict. Cambridge University Press: Great Britain.
10. Holloway, G. <> Packer shuffles Media Managers. 8 January 2004. [Accessed 24 March 2004].