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 the fact that more and more low brow news is emerging on some platforms but not all of them, some newspapers such as the guardian and the economist take much more serious political and economic stories and place them in the forefront of their work sometimes not even mentioning mediocre news stories that places such as the sun and twitter posts may pick up on. I do however nearly completely agree with his perspective that there is so much information that many people don't know what to make of it, what to do with it.
2) How can you link Marxism and Hegemony to de Botton's criticisms of the News?
Dumbbed down news is made to appeal to the mass and mindlessly drip them with alterior motive information disguised as pointless news, its just used to entertain the mass. This maintains the status quo as the mass aren't empowered and the powerful remain the ones in power.
3) How could you use Pluralism and new technology to challenge de Botton's views on the News?
Pluralism would argue that the new technology allows for a range of views and opinions to be shared and this increased information can be presented to an audience who get to actively choose what they do with the information and aren't mindlessly influenced and over wealmed by the information. This is because they would argue they are an active audience and not a passive one
4) Choose two news stories from the last six months - one that supports de Botton's views and one that challenges his belief that the News is used for social control.
Supports: Why do we still accept that governments collect and snoop on our data?
Against Request shows and rehabilitation: How prison radio changes the lives of inmates
I agree with the fact that more and more low brow news is emerging on some platforms but not all of them, some newspapers such as the guardian and the economist take much more serious political and economic stories and place them in the forefront of their work sometimes not even mentioning mediocre news stories that places such as the sun and twitter posts may pick up on. I do however nearly completely agree with his perspective that there is so much information that many people don't know what to make of it, what to do with it.
2) How can you link Marxism and Hegemony to de Botton's criticisms of the News?
Dumbbed down news is made to appeal to the mass and mindlessly drip them with alterior motive information disguised as pointless news, its just used to entertain the mass. This maintains the status quo as the mass aren't empowered and the powerful remain the ones in power.
3) How could you use Pluralism and new technology to challenge de Botton's views on the News?
Pluralism would argue that the new technology allows for a range of views and opinions to be shared and this increased information can be presented to an audience who get to actively choose what they do with the information and aren't mindlessly influenced and over wealmed by the information. This is because they would argue they are an active audience and not a passive one
4) Choose two news stories from the last six months - one that supports de Botton's views and one that challenges his belief that the News is used for social control.
Supports: Why do we still accept that governments collect and snoop on our data?
Against Request shows and rehabilitation: How prison radio changes the lives of inmates
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