What is media hegemony? It is the perception that certain values and perceptions promoted through the mass media becomes dominant in popular culture. It’s most commonly found in third-world countries, particularly those experiencing political turmoil or major economic crises. It’s also looked at through international perspective. What are some of the effects that media domination has on societies?
Media is essentially “the people’s media,” so to speak. All forms of communication including print, broadcast, and online media are influenced by public opinion. Media influence has a significant impact on individual citizens’ lifestyles. For instance, a story that highlights a child abuse case on a prominent network would likely spark widespread social discussion about the way in which child abuse is dealt with and the societal factors that allow powerful institutions to perpetrate such acts. The same story played out on another network and in a different setting, would likely result in very different outcomes.
So, what is media hegemony? Power tends to corrupt and what happens when one portion of the population gains an undue amount of influence over the other portion is that normally those with the majority viewpoint lose their sense of reality. In terms of human history, usually those who are more economically privileged tend to have an inflated sense of their self worth, when it comes to the value of their lives and abilities. Consequently, they believe that they are entitled to more and this justifies the acquisition of more power. This has been shown time and again in history, but in this era it has reached unprecedented levels.
There are two effects of media dominance; one is that it shapes the information that is available to the public. Through popular culture, media outlets become gateways for distribution and this therefore shapes the way information is communicated. For instance, the stories and information disseminated by major media outlets are heavily focused on entertainment and are geared more towards entertaining the masses. Conversely, the alternative media which consists of small independent media outlets and independent filmmakers tend to be more critical of the social structure of contemporary society and are much more in-depth in their analysis.
Therefore, the question “what is media hegemony?” is also as important, if not more so, as the definition of it. When the definition of this is defined in this manner, it becomes apparent that it is controlled by the elite and the wealthy and, therefore, not open for broad-spectrum assessment. However, it should be noted that most journalists work for mainstream media outlets and that they may not necessarily be progressive in their political leanings. Additionally, corporate ownership of media outlets has increased since the advent of the Internet and there is little protection for the press today than there was 20 years ago due to the advent of “fake news”.
Therefore, the question “what is media?” can only be answered in a comprehensive manner when one looks into the larger context of contemporary society and the nature of power and influence. For instance, popular culture is based on mass communication and advertising, both of which are highly localized. The Internet, on the other hand, provides a platform for widespread communication across national, cultural, and even geographic boundaries. In this sense, the Internet forms the basis of what is popular in a generalized sense and the medium of choice is the Internet.
Consequently, the pressing question “what is media hegemony?” cannot be answered in a simple matter of opinion or personal preference. One would need to look at all of the various forms of popular culture and analyze each one on its own merits. Furthermore, the definition of what is popular might also change depending on the specific medium of communication being used.
A perfect example would be political talk shows which dominate the airwaves today and which almost always include some form of advertising or promotion, as well as ratings and awards which highlight the popularity of the programs and host. Similarly, in films, television is often the dominant medium and there are many different formats such as film, reality television, game shows, music videos and theatre plays, which are all part of what is media dominance. There are also efforts by businesses to shape the public’s perception of their products through the creation of commercial media, which are often heavily promoted by the media outlets themselves. This type of what is media hegemony can also be seen during election campaigns when political pundits give media interviews in order to promote particular candidates and increase their political clout. Ultimately, what is media hegemony is the overall dominance of the media in our everyday lives and any changes to this would inevitably impact the way we live.
