Mass Media
Chapter 12  Key Themes

• Ideology refers to a set of ideas which constitute a perception of reality or a way of thinking which justifies or legitimates particular social arrangements as 'inevitable', 'natural', or 'right'. The power of ideologies to shape social behaviour is seen as an important aspect of social control. The concept of an ideology is most often associated with forms of Marxist thinking (see Chapter 17 The Foundations of Social Theory'). To explore the way ideology is deployed on a substantive basis, go to Chapter 7 'Race and Ethnicity'.
  
• Public/private sphere distinguishes between that aspect of individual lives which is 'domestic' (such as raising children, sexual activity or family interaction,) and the more 'external' dimension, presented by paid work, worship etc. The boundaries between the two are blurred and shifting, with private sphere activities having public sphere implications and vice versa. In the case of media, the main arena is the public sphere, but much consumption of the media content takes place in the private sphere. To see how this operates in another area of social life, go to Chapter 9 'Family Life' and for a more theoretical view, try the 'Gender Chapter' (Chapter 6). Chapter 2 ('Living in Modernity') discusses the origins of this distinction.
  
• Information society is used to denote that contemporary societies are engaged in the production and manipulation of knowledge as a productive process, as much as material goods. It is a term often associated with the rise of postmodernity and an interest in this theoretical basis for the concept can be pursued by reading Chapter 19 'Modernity, Postmodernity and Social Theory'. For an examination of the more practical impact of the information society on social formations, turn to Chapter 11 'Work and Non-work', where the effects of the growth of information on the labour process are explored.