Friday 20 November 2015

Marxism & Pluralism: Alain de Botton on the news

1) To what extent do you agree with Alain de Botton's views on the News?

I agree with him to a certain extent, because not all corporations are that objective and not all journalists are out there to inject you with their ideologies. however it may be argued that some are agenda biased and transfer some views and values into the audience. 

2) How can you link Marxism and Hegemony to de Botton's criticisms of the News?

he has very critical Marxists approach towards the media, Alain de Botton's argues that too much information has an indistinguishable notion too as having an excess of information forcing us to accept the status quo too, it also influences people to the social expectations that are promoted in a way that forcing the public to conform to the norms of the elite and powerful through big media conglomerates. Alain also says that in the media 'neutrality is impossible' in some media corporations and some journalists created the 'best kinds of bias' though a 'woefully limited agenda'. People who question the norms will be labelled a 'radical', so how is this any different to oppressing the public from knowledge about the world or how their country is run. 

3) How could you use Pluralism and new technology to challenge de Botton's views on the News? 
 Pluralist would proclaim that ‘the internet in an empowering tool.. and exciting and revolutionary prospect’ (Al Gore) which amplifies how digital media has become more engaging and collaborative through the years, accentuating the notion that it is an absolute necessity for our society to improve as a diverse classless and ultimately equal society. The fact that the ‘top 5% of all websites accounted for almost 75% of user volume’ (Lin and Welsh 2012) strengthens the argument of new and digital media empowering its audiences, as they are the ones inputting there perspective, experiences and thoughts into the World Wide Web.  

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