AQA A-level Sociology (7192): Paper 2 – The media – Study Guide

This guide covers The Media for AQA A-level Sociology (7192), using the AQA AS and A-level Sociology (7191, 7192) specification, Version 1.2 (14 October 2021). The content is printed in section 4.2.7 The Media, which the specification’s at-a-glance list shows as 3.2.7. It is an A-level option only, and it is assessed in Paper 2: Topics in Sociology, a 2 hour written exam worth 80 marks and 33.3% of the A-level.

The specification prints the Paper 2 option rules like this: “Section A: one from option 1: 4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3 or 4.2.4” and “Section B: one from option 2: 4.2.5, 4.2.6, 4.2.7 or 4.2.8”. The Media (4.2.7) is in option 2, so you answer it in Section B, which the specification describes as “extended writing, 40 marks”. It does not print individual question tariffs; your teacher will confirm the question styles.

Use this guide with the revision notes and the practice questions. Track your progress on the AQA A-level Sociology hub and the AQA A-level Sociology checklist.

Coverage table

Syllabus reference	What you must know or be able to do (from the document)	Where assessed
4.2.7	Sociological explanations of the new media and their significance for an understanding of the role of the media in contemporary society	Paper 2, Section B
4.2.7	The relationship between ownership and control of the media	Paper 2, Section B
4.2.7	The media, globalisation and popular culture	Paper 2, Section B
4.2.7	The processes of selection and presentation of the content of the news	Paper 2, Section B
4.2.7	Media representations of age, social class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and disability	Paper 2, Section B
4.2.7	The relationship between the media, their content and presentation, and audiences	Paper 2, Section B
4.2	Both “the evidence of and the sociological explanations for” the content; links to the two core themes (socialisation, culture and identity; social differentiation, power and stratification)	All Paper 2 answers
5.2	AO1 knowledge, AO2 application, AO3 analysis and evaluation	All Paper 2 answers

The specification also asks you to understand “conflict and consensus, social structure and social action, and the role of values”, and to focus on “UK society today” within its globalised context.

The new media and their role in contemporary society

Key terms

• New media: digital, interactive forms such as social media, streaming and search.
• Digitalisation: turning all content into code that any device can carry.
• Convergence: different media (TV, phone, newspaper) merging on one platform.
• Digital divide: unequal access to, and skill with, new media by class, age and place.
• Citizen journalism: ordinary users producing news content.

Explanations. Cultural optimists see new media as democratic. Henry Jenkins, in Convergence Culture (2006), describes a participatory culture in which audiences make, remix and share content. Manuel Castells’ The Rise of the Network Society (1996) describes a society organised around information networks. Cultural pessimists disagree. Andrew Keen’s The Cult of the Amateur (2007) argues that amateur content lowers quality and undermines professional journalism. Evgeny Morozov’s The Net Delusion (2011) criticises “slacktivism”, where clicking replaces real political action. Marxists add that a few corporations still control the platforms. Shoshana Zuboff’s The Age of Surveillance Capitalism (2019) argues that platforms profit by turning users’ data into predictions. Eli Pariser’s The Filter Bubble (2011) suggests algorithms show people more of what they already agree with.

Evaluation. Optimists can point to real examples of users bypassing traditional gatekeepers. But the digital divide means participation is unequal, so the benefits are not evenly shared. Pessimists may overstate passivity. The filter bubble idea is also debated.

Worked paragraph. Cultural optimists such as Jenkins argue that new media give audiences power to produce content (K). For example, a teenager can upload a video that reaches more viewers than a local TV news bulletin (Ap). This suggests that the gatekeeping power of traditional editors has weakened (An). However, Marxists reply that the platforms are owned by a few corporations whose algorithms decide what is seen, so control has moved rather than disappeared (Ev).

Ownership and control of the media

Key terms

• Concentration of ownership: fewer companies owning more of the media.
• Conglomerate: a company owning businesses across several industries.
• Horizontal integration: owning several firms in the same media sector.
• Vertical integration: owning each stage, from production to distribution.
• Hegemony: ruling-class ideas becoming accepted as common sense (Gramsci).

Explanations.

• Instrumentalist Marxism. Ralph Miliband’s The State in Capitalist Society (1969) argues the media help keep the ruling class in power. Owners use the media to spread ideology and shape what is reported. Supporters cite Harold Evans, who left the editorship of The Times in 1982 after Rupert Murdoch bought it and later described clashes over editorial independence.
• Neo-Marxism (hegemonic view). Journalists are not usually told what to write. But most share a middle-class, mainstream outlook and work under commercial pressure, so coverage reflects dominant ideas. The Glasgow University Media Group’s Bad News (1976) is often used here.
• Propaganda model. Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky’s Manufacturing Consent (1988) identifies five filters that shape news: ownership, advertising, reliance on official sources, “flak” (organised criticism) and anti-communism, later recast as fear of an enemy.
• Pluralism. Media compete for audiences, so content follows consumer demand. Owners cannot ignore what readers want. The state also regulates: Ofcom regulates broadcasting, and the BBC has a public service remit to stay impartial.

Evaluation. Pluralists say the market gives choice. Marxists reply that the market itself favours large firms and advertisers. The Leveson Inquiry (2011 to 2012), set up after the phone-hacking scandal, showed public concern about press behaviour and power. New media optimists argue online sources make concentrated ownership matter less, though tech platforms are themselves highly concentrated.

Worked paragraph. Instrumentalist Marxists argue that owners directly control content (K). If a single conglomerate owns a national paper and a TV channel, it could promote the same favourable view of a takeover across both (Ap). This would narrow the range of views audiences meet (An). Pluralists counter that if readers disliked the coverage they would switch titles, so owners’ influence is limited by the market (Ev).

The media, globalisation and popular culture

Key terms

• Global culture: shared products and tastes across many societies.
• Popular culture: entertainment enjoyed by large numbers of people.
• Cultural imperialism: Western, mainly American, culture dominating other cultures.
• Hybridity (glocalisation): global and local forms mixing into something new.
• Contra-flow: media flowing from non-Western countries to the rest of the world.

Explanations. Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer of the Frankfurt School described a “culture industry” producing standardised entertainment that keeps people passive. Herbert Schiller’s Mass Communications and American Empire (1969) argued that global media spread American values and consumerism. Postmodernists see global media as offering more choice. Dominic Strinati’s An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture (1995) discusses the postmodern blurring of the line between high and popular culture. Daya Thussu’s edited collection Media on the Move (2007) describes “contra-flows”, such as Indian film, which travel outward from non-Western centres.

Evaluation. Cultural imperialism fits the global reach of US film and streaming. But it assumes audiences absorb foreign values passively, which reception studies challenge. Contra-flows and hybrid forms suggest a more complex picture. Neo-Marxists reply that hybrid culture is still sold by transnational corporations.

Worked paragraph. Schiller argued that global media spread American consumer values (K). A streaming service that offers mostly US-made series in a new market would fit this view (Ap), as local producers struggle to compete (An). However, the global success of non-Western music and drama suggests that flows now go in more than one direction, which weakens a simple imperialism argument (Ev).

Selection and presentation of the news

Key terms

• News values: criteria journalists use to judge what is newsworthy.
• Gatekeeping: deciding which stories get through.
• Agenda setting: shaping which issues the public thinks about.
• Framing: presenting a story from a particular angle.
• Hierarchy of credibility: giving more weight to the views of powerful people (Becker, 1967).

Explanations. Stanley Cohen and Jock Young’s The Manufacture of News (1973) argued that news is a social product, not a mirror of events. Johan Galtung and Mari Ruge (1965) listed news values such as negativity, unexpectedness, reference to elite nations and persons, and personalisation. Tony Harcup and Deirdre O’Neill (2001, revised 2017) updated these, adding values such as celebrity, entertainment and shareability. David Manning White’s “gatekeeper” study (1950) showed one wire editor’s personal choices shaping what was printed. Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw (1972) found that the issues voters ranked as important matched the issues the media emphasised. Practical factors also matter: deadlines, cost and reliance on press releases (the “churnalism” Nick Davies described in Flat Earth News, 2008). The Glasgow University Media Group’s content analyses argued that industrial disputes were often framed in ways that favoured management.

Evaluation. Marxists use these findings to show ideological bias. Pluralists reply that news values reflect audience interest, not class power. Postmodernists note that audiences now pick from many sources, which weakens any single agenda.

Worked paragraph. Galtung and Ruge argue that negativity is a key news value (K). A story about a hospital closure is more likely to lead a bulletin than a report that waiting times have fallen slightly (Ap). This means the news can give a more negative picture of public services than the evidence supports (An). However, pluralists would argue this reflects what audiences choose to watch, not a hidden ideology (Ev).

Media and crime, including moral panics, is also part of Paper 3: see the crime and deviance study guide.

Media representations

The specification names six groups: age, social class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and disability.

Key terms

• Stereotype: an oversimplified, generalised image of a group.
• Symbolic annihilation: a group being absent, trivialised or condemned (Tuchman, 1978).
• Male gaze: media framing women as objects for a male viewer (Mulvey, 1975).
• Heteronormativity: treating heterosexuality as the normal default.

Evidence and explanations.

• Gender. Gaye Tuchman (1978) applied “symbolic annihilation” to women’s media images. Laura Mulvey (1975) introduced the “male gaze” in film. Marjorie Ferguson’s Forever Feminine (1983) described a “cult of femininity” in women’s magazines. David Gauntlett’s Media, Gender and Identity (2002) argues representations have become more varied, giving people resources to build their own identities.
• Ethnicity. Teun van Dijk’s Racism and the Press (1991) found that minority ethnic groups were often linked in news to crime, conflict or problems.
• Social class. Owen Jones’ Chavs (2011) argues that the working class has been demonised in media and politics. Tracey Jensen (2014) discusses “poverty porn” television, which can frame poverty as individual failure.
• Age. Stanley Cohen’s Folk Devils and Moral Panics (1972) showed how mods and rockers were presented as a threat. Geoffrey Pearson’s Hooligan (1983) traces repeated fears about young people back over many generations.
• Sexuality. A content analysis of UK youth magazines and TV by Batchelor, Kitzinger and Burtney (2004) found useful sexual health material, but a lack of positive images of lesbian and gay teenagers.
• Disability. Colin Barnes’ Disabling Imagery and the Media (1992) identified recurring stereotypes, such as the disabled person as pitiable, as sinister, or as a “super cripple” who overcomes impairment.

Explanations of patterns. Marxists link negative images of the poor to ideology that justifies inequality. Feminists link gender images to patriarchy. Pluralists say representations follow audience demand and are changing. Postmodernists argue identity is now pick-and-mix, so no single image dominates.

Evaluation. Many studies are dated, so say so. Content analysis shows what is in the media, not what audiences take from it.

Worked paragraph. Barnes argues that disabled people are often shown through stereotypes such as the pitiable victim (K). A charity appeal that shows a disabled child only as an object of sympathy would fit this (Ap), and it may teach audiences to see disability as tragedy rather than as social exclusion (An). However, as more disabled presenters and actors appear in mainstream roles, the pattern may be weakening (Ev).

The media and audiences

Models of effects

• Hypodermic syringe model. Media “inject” messages into a passive audience. Albert Bandura’s Bobo doll experiments of the early 1960s found that children who watched an adult behave aggressively often copied it.
• Two-step flow. Elihu Katz and Paul Lazarsfeld’s Personal Influence (1955) argued messages pass through opinion leaders who interpret them for others.
• Uses and gratifications. Denis McQuail, Jay Blumler and J.R. Brown (1972) argued audiences use media to meet needs such as diversion, personal relationships, personal identity and surveillance (keeping informed).
• Cultivation. George Gerbner argued heavy TV viewing builds up a “mean world” view, with heavy viewers seeing the world as more dangerous.
• Cultural effects. Greg Philo’s Seeing and Believing (1990) found people could reproduce news themes about the 1984 to 1985 miners’ strike, and some believed them, though personal experience could lead people to reject the media version.
• Reception analysis. Stuart Hall (1973) argued messages are encoded by producers and decoded by audiences, giving dominant (preferred), negotiated or oppositional readings. David Morley’s The Nationwide Audience (1980) found that different social groups decoded the same programme in different ways.
• Postmodern view. John Fiske (1987) argued audiences actively create meanings, and Jean Baudrillard argued media images create a “hyperreality”.

Evaluation. Effects models are linked to methods: laboratory experiments lack ecological validity, while focus groups and interviews give rich, but less generalisable, data. The overall trend in the field has moved from passive to active views of the audience, but cultural effects researchers argue long-term influence still exists. See the methods in context study guide for method evaluation skills.

Worked paragraph. Hall argues audiences can decode the same text in different ways (K). Union members watching a report on a strike may take an oppositional reading if it blames the workers (Ap). This suggests media power depends on the audience’s social position (An). However, cultural effects researchers such as Philo argue that, where people lack direct experience, repeated media framing can still shape belief (Ev).

Common errors

• Writing “the media” as one thing. Name the type: tabloid, public service broadcaster, social media platform.
• Not separating instrumentalist and hegemonic Marxism.
• Treating Galtung and Ruge as current fact. Mention that Harcup and O’Neill updated the list.
• Covering only gender for representations. The specification names six groups.
• Quoting old content analyses as if they describe today’s media.
• Treating the hypodermic syringe model as the main view. It is mostly used as a contrast.
• Evaluating only by juxtaposition. Say why one view is stronger, then judge.

Next, use the revision notes, test yourself with the practice questions, and check how Paper 2 fits the course in the AQA A-level Sociology course structure.

Official syllabus

AQA AS and A-level Sociology (7191, 7192) specification, Version 1.2 (14 October 2021), section 4.2.7 The Media, with the Paper 2 assessment details in section 2.2 and the assessment objectives in section 5.2.