Consumption and Production - homework essay

The development of new/digital media means the audience is more powerful in terms of consumption and production. Discuss the arguments for and against this view.

Points- 

• Marxism, Pluralism + Hegemony 
• Citizen Journalism + USG
• News Values 
• Paywalls + decline of newspaper industry = Google and Facebook
• Hyper reality + Alain de Botton
• Ofcom + new consumption in the UK (social media etc.)

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Technology has been creating new ways and abilities for information to travel around such as news and journalism. These abilities through production being created audience are able to consume it changing the audiences capabilities but changes in society which have  led to "Technological blossoming of the culture of freedom, individual innovation and entrepreneurialism" (Castells, 199). The audience have being given more power from when listening to radio was the only from of information, to now, where being able to view news has improved greatly due to the power of the internet, User Generated Content and the decline in the print medium. However, the  power in the audience through the changing platforms is there to an extent as we can argue that beliefs in pluralism, Marxism and hegemony can both reinforce these ideas but also disregard the statement made. 

Firstly, the establishment of the internet has given news institutions the means to broaden the platforms they are on which allow them to make their news accessible. Most of the apps created have news, of some sought, to offer their users example would be Facebook and Snapchat- the reason for he convergence in phones and apps is due to the news industry realising the importance and advantages of technology amongst  younger demographics and the opportunity to circulate news to everyone on established platforms in these apps than on their website which are less likely to be accessed. 
Six in ten (59%) UK adults aged 16-24 say they use the internet or apps for news, compared to just under a quarter (23%) of those aged 55+(Ofcom). Thus, the growth of online and news made specifically for audiences on apps like Facbook would suggest audiences have a more power in their consumption- they choose what news they want to read and when. Also, thsi will show the effect of digital media and how those 

The establishment of the internet had become the beginning of of allowing audiences potential to submit their opinions and ideologies online. There have been the advancements of social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook have given their users the ability to post and share their opinions on topics they deem interesting for people to view, like/dislike and share their opinion. User generated sites such as Youtube also allow it;s audiences, who use it, to produce their own content that maybe viewed by others but also partake in the actual producing of their content. Another form of USG would be a feature of Facebook called Facebook live where users are able to livestream themselves to all their followers who watch them live. The ability of livestream on Facebook has been used a lot for news coverage on situations such as Police brutality, the Telegraph ran a story about a livestream of a black woman filming her husband who had been shot by a police man brought upon "ethical and legal question".  This use of UGC for users and used by news shows how audience have the ability to produce, livestream, and consume, many liked and shared video bringing up the on going debate on police brutality, their own content being used and viable for prime time news; allowing people to focus on police brutality against African-Americans, who were often targeted.

Due to this development of new and digital media, has enabled us the platform to form interpersonal relationships(Katz and Blumler) amongst each other but also allowed opinions to be created which is a pluralist idea as audiences being able to form own opinions is a freedom that was because of the development of news and digital media being established. 

To continue, the power between audience and institutions, in a Pluralist perspective, would lie to the audience and the idea would be in fact they are greatly powerful in their consumption and production made. Unlike Marxism, pluralist belief wold state that society is dominated by an array of varying social classes and cultures. This  will reinforce the idea that audiences have more power in production and consumption. Highly evident in Krotoski's statement noted that the "information revolution" was a "paradigm shift-on par with the printing press.", which goes on to say the idea of the rapid change in the growth has moved consumption and production of power from institution to audience. Gurevitch has said also that the audience is able to “conform, accommodate or reject” and the information being consumed by audiences, which shows the power held by the audience and large institutions gate keeping and mediating has little effects on audiences. 

Moreover, from recent events such as the ability of social media from petitions about the Libyan slave auctions to be written by people does hold the pluralist ideal of power amongst audiences to challenge institutions (governments) on treatments about human trafficking also suggesting that dominant hegemonic ideologies are being challenged, which is an indication of the audience’s new found power within the development of digital media. However, a Marxist  perspective would state that though awareness on matters are being made there is never any real difference or friction put upon corrupt governments from petitions or sharing and liking a post reinforcing the idea that social media does have it's disadvantages on making audiences believe their power is real but represents the idea audience power is but an illusion to make audiences believe they do something but in fact no real effect is made against the institutions. 

To conclude, Marxist and Pluralist views argue the extent of freedom giving to audience is at an extent. However we are still able to see that development of new and digital media has been able to empower audiences due to platforms such as social media offering a greater influence to allow audiences to express their views and opinions with freedom.