Interdependence or dependency.

I. Read and translate the text.

Franklin notes that representatives of the media like to present the media as constituting the fourth estate “which subjects all aspects of political life to close scrutiny and is consequently a key mechanism for securing the accountability of politicians to the general public”. He points out, however, that these ‘watchdogs’ are viewed by those critical of British political culture as little more than ‘lapdogs’.

Unit III Media Management

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He notes that “Marxists identify the media as central agencies in the construction of a social and political consensus, encouraging the acquiescence of the public, by distributing and reinforcing the values and beliefs of the dominant social and political group within society”. Whilst it could be argued that the media are not necessarily dominated by politicians in any direct or conspiratorial way, the way in which the British political sphere is constructed and maintained by both the media and the politicians somewhat undermines any suggestion that the media constitute the fourth estate. Nevertheless it is sometimes claimed that there is a mutual interdependence of politicians and the media.

Bernard Ingham, Margaret Thatcher’s former Press Secretary, suggested that the relationship is “essentially cannibalistic. They feed off each other but no one knows who is next on the menu”. Ingham’s metaphor may seem outlandish but it is clear that the relationship between the media and politicians is in some senses a symbiotic one. Politicians in general, and government public relations specialists in particular, obviously rely on the media to communicate with the general public. But it must be said that broadcasters and journalists understand that without a degree of co-operation from politicians, political journalism would be difficult, if not impossible. However, other commentators would argue that with the advent of ‘media managers’ in Western democracies the politician–media relationship has been pushed beyond the state of mutual interdependence to one of media dependence on, and deference to, politicians.

Whether or not one agrees that the relationship is one of media dependency, a cursory look at media ownership in the UK would indicate that the media are not independent of powerful economic and political interests in British society (Negrine 1994). It is also obviously the case that ultimately broadcasting and press ‘freedoms’ are at the mercy of the legislative process. In Britain, as noted above, this relationship is epitomised by the Westminster ‘Lobby’ which, while it involves some degree of mutual interdependence, tends ultimately to allow government media managers a great deal of control in structuring news agendas. The situation in Britain obviously suits the government, but it does have a downside in that it leads to a level of mistrust and cynicism about the kind of information governments disseminate. There is an obvious tension between controlling the information flows for one’s own benefit and structuring news agendas to such an extent that everything you say is treated as ‘spin’. As we have seen, at the heart of this debate is the role of government public relations and it has been argued that governments and government public relations specialists in many Western democracies are practising a type of public relations which stifles ‘open’ government and leads to distrust amongst the electorate. It should be no surprise to students of public relations to find James Grunig arguing that in certain Western democracies, what he describes as ‘asymmetrical’ government communication activities need to be replaced by a symmetrical model.

(https://www.boundless.com/business/textbooks)

Unit III Media Management

II. Read and memorize the following words and phrases:

claim v. – утверждать, заявлять

cursory – беглый, поверхностный

deference – уважение, почтение, почтительность

distrust v.- не доверять; сомневаться

encourage v. – поощрять

estate – сословие

the fourth estate – шутл. пресса

interdependence - взаимозависимость, взаимная зависимость, взаимообу-

словленность

lapdog – комнатная собачка, болонкa

lobby – кулуары; ам. лицо или группа лиц, “обрабатывающих” членов

конгресса в пользу того или иного законороекта

obviously - очевидно

outlandish - диковинный

point out v. – отметить

push beyond v. - раздвинуть рамки

representative – представитель

scrutiny – внимательный осмотр; исследование

stifle v. – подавлять

tension – напряжение

ultimately - в конечном счёте

undermine v. - подорвать

watchdogs – сторожевые псы