British people watch a lot of television and also said to be the world’s most dedicated home-video users. This does not mean that they’ve given up reading. In Britain more papers are sold than in any other country in the world. There are about 130 daily and Sunday papers, 1800 weekly papers in the country, and the number of periodicals is over 7000. Papers fall into two broad category.
1. One type is the popular press, the so-called tabloids. These ones have a tabloid format and they are half the size of the quality papers. They are full of large illustrations, bold captions and they have a sensational prose style. Their aim is mass entertainment and as a result of it their news content is minimal, gossips, emotions and scandal are emphasized. Because of their limited vocabulary, they can be read quickly. Sex and scandal sell them.
2. The other type is the quality press or the broadsheets. Their size is much larger and their news content is high. These papers deal with political and economic analysis and also social and culture issues.
The British press is controlled by a few large publishing groups like News International and Mirror Group Newspapers.
National papers are available in every part of the country on the same day including Sunday. Many of them are delivered to homes directly. The national press is rather London based. The circulation of the papers rose rapidly in the 20th century but fell with arrival of mass television broadcasting.
The first papers appeared in the 18th century: The Times (1785), The Observer (1791) and The Sunday Times (1822). These were all quality papers read by a small, educated London-based elite. Then in the 19th century the first national papers were published on Sundays. The News of the World (1843) and the People (1881) aimed the increasingly literate working class, The Daily Mail targeted the lower middle class and The Daily Mirror again aimed the working class.
The early 20th c. marked the arrival of the mass circulation papers. The success of the early popular press was partly due to the growing literacy and partly because of the increased political awareness. Morning Herald, Daily Express, Daily Mail, The Sun and the Mirror were created this time. Among the new newspapers, the most important is The Independent, which give a politically independent general outlook. Its two main competitors are The Times and The Guardian.
There are also regional papers in Britain: the Evening Standard is sold in the greater London area. Scottish papers are The Scotsman and The Glasgow Herald.
Besides the newspapers several periodicals and magazines can be found in the country. Weekly journals are New Statesman and Society, The Economist and the Spectator. The Times also publishes some weeklies, The Times Educational Supplement, the Higher Education Supplement and the Literary Supplement. Punch and Private Eye are humorous magazines.
Radio and television broadcasting is also very important for the British. National radio broadcasting started in 1922 when the British Broadcasting Company was established. The television broadcasting started in 1936. The BBC’s reputation for impartiality and objectivity in new reporting is largely justified. It is independent of government and commercial interests, its duty is to inform, educate and entertain.
In 1954 law passed to introduce independent commercial broadcasting with the establishment of the independent television authority, the Independent Broadcasting Authority, later renamed as the Independent Television Commission. Broadcasting was then shared between the public services of the BBC and the commercial services of the ITC.
The BBC is based in London, in the Broadcasting House but it has local facilities as well. It is created by a Royal Charter. The Director-General is responsible for the daily operation, chosen by the board of governors and the PM. The chairman of the board of governors is appointed by the Crown on the advice of the government, responsible for the supervision of programme structures and suitability. BBC is now struggling to maintain its position as a traditional public-service broadcaster. It is funded by the license fee paid by anyone who owns or rents a TV set. It tries to be neutral, independent from political pressure. BBC is not controlled by the government, however the Home Secretary can intervene in the showing of programmes. It has two TV and 5 radio channels.
The ITC controls the activities of the independent television companies. It doesn’t make programs itself but issues licenses to the transmitting companies. ITC is funded by subscription and advertising charges and it has 3 TV and 62 radio channels.
Satellite and cable television are also present in the country, British Sky Broadcasting started in 1990.
All together, the mass media provide the ideas and images which help most people to understand the world they live in and their place in it. Media are given great power. They can set people’s minds against the political system as well as generate popular support for it.
On the one hand, media are part of the society. Their free institutions give the possibilities for free speech and unrestricted public debate. There’s no state control over the press and the broadcasting. Broadcasting is bound to be impartial, newspapers are not. On the other hand, media is a tool of the ruling class. It plays a much more creative role in shaping people’s ideas, attitudes, actions and beliefs. The media don’t only reflect public opinion but help to create it. This way it structures the complexities of the society and make it understandable to the public, so a ‘social production’ of the news is present in Britain. Mass media fails to reflect the values of society at large because the agenda is set up according to importance and consequences and because traditionally pro-Conservative views are expressed.
Private ownership affects the political viewpoint of most papers but press is also often criticised for being conformist and reflecting similar views. All media are actually independent from political parties and cater for a wide range of interests and perspectives.
There’s a danger of ‘tabloidisation’ of the mass media nowadays. Reducing the intellectual demands could increase the share of the market. The news started to became more ‘entertaining’ than ‘educating’ in the papers and on TV as well.
Mass media also have a political impact especially in election coverage.
The question of free expression in the media is a central concern in Britain. The freedom of the media, as of individuals, is not absolute. There are legal restraints on it:
1. Media may not publish comments on court proceedings while these are continuing, only facts.
2. The obtaining and publishing of state and official information is controlled by the Official Secrets Act and by D-notices. Any material obtained in unauthorised way from a government source would make a journalist liable to legal prosecution.
3. Between 1988 and 1993 the media was prohibited from broadcasting direct statements by representatives of Northern Irish terrorist organizations.
4. The media are also liable to court proceedings for libel and obscenity offence. They haven’t got enough freedom to pursue investigative journalism. There’s a campaign for a Freedom of Information Act. Media, however can act very irresponsibly by invading individuals’ privacy. Complaints regarding invasions of privacy are dealt with by the Press Complaints Commission, PCC, made up of newspaper owners. They of course try to protect the freedom and independence of the press.
In the British mass media, advertisers never had such a big influence on the contents of programmes as in America.
Megjegyzés küldése