2021 PAST PAPER

Evaluate the effectiveness of one of the following theories in understanding how newspapers are produced: 

EITHER • Curran and Seaton on power and media industries OR • Hesmondhalgh on cultural industries

TAKEN FROM THE MARK SCHEME

Curran and Seaton: 

• Curran and Seaton offered a “political economy” approach to the media – arguing that patterns of ownership and control are the most significant factors in how the media operate. In these terms, newspaper production could be seen as an aspect of how media industries follow the normal capitalist pattern of increasing concentration of ownership in fewer and fewer hands leading to a narrowing of the range of opinions represented and a pursuit of profit at the expense of quality or creativity. This is demonstrated by the gradual shrinkage of newspaper owners (e.g. the purchase of The i by DMGT in 2019) and thus fundamental shifts in newspaper production/ jobs. 

• Curran and Seaton suggested that the internet does not represent a break with the past in that it does not offer a level playing field for diverse voices to be heard. They consider that it is constrained by nationalism and state censorship which in itself could be seen as a critical element of newspaper production, depending upon geographic location. Although this is true to some extent (for example in China) it is perhaps not as true for the West, where press freedoms are generally enshrined in law; therefore, the theory could be said to be somewhat invalid on a national level (although it might explain self-censorship by some newspapers on a global level). 

 • Curran and Seaton note that news is still controlled by powerful news organisations, which have successfully defended their oligarchy; in this case, it could be argued that there is some usefulness in understanding that this might explain why newspaper production is dominated by a comparatively small number of titles/ organisations. 

• The theory draws attention to issues such as forms and effects of ownership and control and the working practices of journalists and other creators, all of which are significant factors in newspaper production. 

• It also takes into account issues of risk and profitability (see notes about economy). These are fundamental to the success (or otherwise) of newspapers and so are endemic to understanding why newspapers are produced in the ways they are. 

• The theory applies primarily to the long history of ‘press barons’ owning newspapers in order to achieve status and wield political power – many of the arguments about the content of newspapers, particularly those raised by Leveson in 2012, link to this point. 

Follow this link for info on - Leveson Inquiry - Wikipedia

• In prioritising the effects of ownership and control on the content of newspapers this theory may not aid in understanding how ideologies, audience choice or media language conventions may determine content.

Hesmondhalgh: 

• The concept of the cultural industries draws attention to newspapers as an industry – its forms and effects of ownership and control, the working practices of journalists and other creators, and issues of risk and profitability. All of these elements are influenced by regulatory concerns (making sure that IPSO’s Editors’ Code is followed, maintaining the line between content and invasion of privacy/ inaccuracy etc.) although these concerns may not directly impact on profit or growth.

 • The theory applies particularly to the response of newspapers to competition for readers and advertising revenue from the ‘new’ media and may explain why some newspapers are willing to include ethically-dubious content (particularly MailOnline) in order to maintain or extend audience share (for example, publishing stories which are sensationalist or inaccurate in order to achieve an audience boost). 

• It could also be argued that, with regard to the online presence of news organisations, the theory corrects over-optimistic views of the internet as an arena for freedom and unlimited creativity since (for those organisations regulated by IPSO and IMPRESS) there are some limitations for what might be published, although Hesmondhalgh is more concerned with the general growth of a small number of organisations. 

• Hesmondhalgh suggests that cultural industries follow normal capitalist pattern of increasing concentration and integration – newspaper production is owned and controlled by a few conglomerates who integrate across a range of media to reduce risk – recent years have seen several mergers/ changes of ownership (purchase of The I by DMGT). 

• Since risk is particularly high in the cultural industries because of the difficulty in predicting success, high production costs, low reproduction costs and the fact that media products are ‘public goods’ (they are not destroyed on consumption but can be further reproduced) it could be argued that the theory explains both why news organisations are willing to take risks with content (see note above) but why they are so keen to protect their own content from being shared online. 

• Hesmondhalgh notes that the cultural industries rely on “tentpole products” to cover the costs of failure leading to industry reliance on repetition to sell formats to audiences, then industries and governments try to impose scarcity, especially through copyright laws – a key element of newspaper production and the dissemination of news. 

• The internet has created new powerful IT corporations and has not transformed cultural production in a liberating and empowering way – digital technology has sped up work, commercialised leisure time and increased surveillance by government and companies – this might explain the shift of newspaper production online. 

• The concept of risk and the internet is also useful in understanding how newspapers are produced as online news platforms have reduced risk for owners as a way to offset falling print circulation sales 

• A limitation to this theory might be that, since it prioritises the effects of ownership and control on the content of newspapers, it might not really provide much of an insight into the deeper ideological issues of why news organisations produce content or how conventions of media language are influenced.