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The Power of Journalism, Essay Example

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Bourdieu’s successful demonstration of television posing a major threat to democracy

In On Television, Bourdieu raises the question of whether the institution of journalistic television imperils the very tenets which had been established by the founding fathers of the French republic in the late 1800s. These tenets were that the goal of education is not only restricted to the lecture, scriptural and mathematical concepts which are proposed by education, the goal of education is to manufacture the manner by which one of the participating citizens can be a member of society. The tenets of democracy as they had been established by the founding fathers require that the institutions which enable democracy must be perpetuated. [1] The question which will be explored in this essay is: does Bourdieu successfully show that television poses a major threat to democracy?

Bourdieu’s seminal endeavor addresses the assumptions and attitudes which have been aspects of the field of journalistic television in the French republic. Bourdieu stated that the context of independence which is experienced by a journalistic televised news program is assessed by the quantity of income which it is able to generate by means of attracting advertising sponsors and state subsidized programs. These advertising characteristics are evaluated in addition to the quantity of advertisers which desire to be program sponsors.[2]

The aspect of the solitary journalist independence is reliant upon the market rank which is maintained by the newspaper for which he endeavors in the general market. [3] Consequently, the journalists’ position which is demonstrated within the journalistic organization is the primary attributes for the benefits which are realized by the journalist.

The role which should be performed by journalism is to objectively relate the facts to the public and to allow the public to assimilate those facts.[4]

Journalism is conventionally applied in order to manipulate and change public opinion. An example of the power of journalism to change public opinion can be explained in the story of Karine. Karina was a young girl who resided in the southern part of France who had been the victim of a homicide. The journalistic televised media repeatedly televised the details and the authorities became concerned that the public would try to exercise justice by taking the law into their own hands. Consequently, as a result of the journalistic pressure applied by the media, the penalty of lifelong incarceration was reinstated in the French republic.[5]

Bourdieu perceives that the invisible mechanisms by which censorship operates in television in order to cause it to be an instrument for the political and economic values of the day are the manners by which the intellectuals apply the force of the television media in order to enhance the value of their perspectives. [6] Any journalist who wishes to gain public influence must have a television program. [7] Consequently, television journalists will apply the ability to use the televised media as a persuasive force in order to increase the popularity of their programs. This is frequently conducted in a predatory manner by publicly exposing a view which is held by a leading intellectual as being non – popular or errant. [8]

Notwithstanding, in parallel to the economic and political fields, more so than the juridical, literary, artistic and scientific disciplines, the discipline of journalism is perpetually subjected to evaluation by the market forces. This evaluation may be explicit of implicit by means of the ratings which are given by the polls taken of the television audiences. In addition, the journalists are obligated to consider the audience rating aspects in the production of the television programs. As a result, the younger generation of journalists has a greater inclination to apply the marketing principles of the journalistic media profession in comparison to the more conservative perspectives of the elder generation of journalists.[9]

Bourdieu perceives that the search for originality and exclusivity conclude in the journalistic televised media achieving homogeneity and banality. In the journalistic televised media, the goal is to take advantage of the competitors’ shortcomings by not duplicating their errors and to react to the successes which are experienced by the competitors by using the subjects of their success. These subjects may be particular topic which must be addressed, literary reviews which have been prohibited and other assorted subjects which must receive media coverage.[10]

In a discipline which is directed at the development of a product which has a limited shelf life such as current events, the competition for increased market segments takes place as having the capacity of presenting the latest news. This is the circumstance as one approaches the central aspect of the market. The pressures of the market are applied by the influence of the discipline, an elevated ratio of news bytes which are fervently sought in the competition for market share and increased market segment.[11]

The aspect of recognition of the contribution of current event goods is almost consistently a feature on the aspect of the cultural goods. These goods have their future with assistance from the media on the popularity lists of the public. The characteristic is that this phenomenon has to reinforce the excellent reputation of those who provide validation. This quality infers that even if the current event elements have influences on the individuals it is the formation of the journalistic discipline which is the determinant of the magnitude and the direction of the mechanisms in addition to their influences in other disciplines. In this manner the progresses in the discipline which are produced by the independent nature of the discipline and its propensity of resisting social pressures can be imperiled. [12]

In every discipline, the effect of the journalistic discipline has the tendency of favoring the actors and the concerns which are more proximate to the markets. This attribute is more intense in the disciplines which have attached in a more dominant aspect to the marketing models in addition to the direction that the discipline of journalism is oriented toward with regards to other disciplines on the cultural development. Notwithstanding, it can be observed today that the internal penalties are dissipating in their symbolic strength and that the journalists who are serious and the current event delivery concerns are dissipating their reserves as an outcome of the tensions which are required to make compromises to the market, to the marketing strategies which are presented by the advertising segments of the televised media and to the new theories of viability which are founded on the nature of visibility and ratings. [13]

These items, with regards to the aspects of media transparency and marketing evolve into being the more democratic option for the internal criteria by which the particular disciplines evaluate the current event and political outcomes and those who produce them. There are specific reviewers on the televised media who can attribute their well-being to the journalistic discipline, particularly those who have the most vulnerability to the outcomes of the audience popularity ratings to the premise that a democratic identification with the market example by expressing in a political context of what appears to be the challenge of diffusion and cultural production. [14]

Consequently, the enhanced influence of the journalistic discipline is subjected to the effects of the market example which imperils the peripheral fields of cultural event development. This is accomplished by providing support to the elements which are at the center of these disciplines which have the susceptibility of giving in to the allure of the material gains due to their attribute of possessing a decreased intellectual capital which is particular to the discipline and consequently less guaranteed of the directed compensations in an area in order to provide long term or short term assurances. [15]

This collection of journalist intellectuals can rely on the support of the market that has the inclination to faulty assumptions by their proximity to the core of the cultural norms and by the auto directed tendency to obscure themselves from the parameters of their own abilities of estimation. This is conducted in accordance with the example of distortion which is conveyed by the members of the audience with regards to confirming the popularity of literature when they confirm the aspect of “this is a high level scientific journal that anybody can understand”. [16]

The extent that news coverage which is intended to provide details of the real world , instead concludes in creating the social worlds can be described by the aspect which the field of journalism applied influence on the other disciplines of cultural development. This holds true particularly in social sciences and philosophy. This aspect is achieved by the mediation of the cultural developers who are in a non-defined area which exists between the decline of journalism and the particular fields of specialization. The journalists who are oriented toward these particular intellectual fields apply their dual allegiances in order to circumvent the requisites which are inherent to each of the domains.[17]

These journalist intellectuals perform two important functions. The initial function is the presentation of novel forms of cultural development, which are located in a non-delineated area which exists between journalistic “exotericism” and academic “exotericism”. [18] The second aspect is that the critical evaluation causes the imposition of assessment principles which encourage the aspect of market restrictions. This is achieved by the delegation of intellectual authority to the journalist intellectual and the capacity to expose specific false assumptions which have been made. [19]

Televised journalism perpetuates the aspect of homogeneity and uniformity in the presentation of the news. This aspect can be confirmed by reviewing the articles of the important new magazines in addition to the television and radio programs which are directed at particular audiences. This extremely potent mechanism of uniformity has the influence of limiting the field of selection which is available to the consumer. Consequently, this aspect infers that all media production is directed toward conserving values which have been established over time.[20]

This conservative aspect can be perceived in the manner by which the occasional “hit parades” by which the journalist intellectual attempts to exert their perspective of particular fields can almost reinforce the structure of the journalistic field and enhance their own reputations while accomplishing this reinforcement. [21] In directing the options which are available to the media products which are the most cost avoidant and accessible, the aspect of the journalist intellectual enables the support of the ratings of the audiences of the review of the bestselling novel in the public acceptance of cultural products and finally, if not in an indirect manner on the cultural development.[22]

In addition, these journalist intellectuals can rely on the support of those who define objectivity as being a type of live and let live mindset while maintaining an objective view with all of the parties which are concerned. This group of journalistic intellectuals wields considerable cultural influence as they are able to define the products which are conventional and the products which are new. This is where the independence of the field of journalistic television is required. The question which is raised by Bourdieu in his 1998 treatise is does the authority which is delegated to the members of the journalistic televised media imperil the very foundations of the democracy which empowers it?

A definition of independence with regards to the journalist in televised media must be attained. Independence is attained by the formation of an ivory tower within which the members of the public evaluate critique and debate with the correct tools. These are the tools of evidence based practice. [23] The point which is to be made is that a verified discord or concordance has the requisite with regards to the foundations of the agreement or discordance and the methods which are applied for reaching a conclusion to the inquiry. Members of the public are frequently amazed to view that historical experts are not always in concordance. The members of the viewing public do not understand that the aspect of debate often unites individuals which have distinct perspectives.[24]

As a result of the selections which had been established by the French scribes during the Occupation, a more universal tenet can be established. The greater the context of independence of the cultural producer, which is defined by the expert credibility attained in a specific discipline, and the more restricted are the opposing views, the greater the potential becomes to provide resistance to accepting the expert’s point of view. [25] The limits of journalistic reflection and action have the capacity of being restricted. The concept of the ivory tower which is applicable to pluralistic thought may be abandoned in order to apply the values which had been developed within the ivory tower prior to its abandonment.[26]

This may have the outcome of the implementation of all of the available resources in the field of specialization. The field of specialization may be the sciences, literature or politics to attempt to impose on those who have not been participants in the previous pluralistic debate the with regards to the accomplishments and achievements which had been made feasible[27]

On the other hands, the greater the availability of experts in any given market, the more likely becomes the collaboration of the authorities which are the dominant political parties, the State and the Church. Consequently, it becomes more likely that the journalistic and televised media professional will concur with the consensus. [28]This tenet is applicable to the modern era. In the event of the members of the disciplines of literature, politics or science becoming imperiled by the media, it can be attributed to the presence of those who do not agree with one another in these fields. Those who are not in agreement have the risk and concern of being proven erroneous.[29]

It is perceived that enhanced access to the internet will have the capacity of counteracting this problem. This is attributed to the aspect that the information which is held by an expert in a discipline can be researched prior to a televised debate and the hypothesis can be proven or disproven prior to the appearance on the televised media. The aspect of the internet is a characteristic which increases the knowledge and accessibility to the bodies of knowledge in these disciplines. Bourdieu perceives the institution of journalism as being a quasi-fourth estate. The peril which is caused by journalism is to cause one of two potential mistakes in judgment. These mistakes are the Avant- garde and the status quo.[30]

Bibliography

Bourdieu, Pierre. “The Power of Journalism.” In Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson (Trans.). On Television, 46-78. New York: New Press, 1998.

[1] Pierre Bourdieu, “The Power of Journalism,” trans. Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson On Television, (New York: New Press, 1998), 64.

[2] Ibid, 57.

[3] Ibid, 69.

[4] Ibid, 63.

[5] Ibid, 63.

[6] Ibid, 57.

[7] Ibid, 50.

[8] Ibid, 58.

[9] Ibid, 73.

[10] Ibid, 72.