Critically evaluate the role of the mass media in contemporary British society.

Critically evaluate the role of the mass media in contemporary British society. The mass media within Britain consists of newspapers, television, radio, magazines, films, books and the Internet. "Mass communications comprise the institutions and techniques by which specialised groups employ technological devices to disseminate symbolic content to large, heterogeneous, and widely dispersed audiences." (Janowitz, 1968). Available to the masses these forms of media have the potential to influence the population and establish, reinforce and reflect values, …

…will have been established well before the media had a place in influencing behaviour. Bibliography Gurevitch, M., Bennett, T., Curran, J. and Woollacott, J. (1982) Culture, Society and the Media, London, Methuen, 1982. Durham, M.G and Kellner, D.M (2001) Media and Cultural Studies Keyworks, Oxford, Blackwells, 2001. Larsen, O. N. (1968) Violence and the Mass Media, New York, Harper and Row, 1968. Kieran, M. (1998) Media Ethics, London, Routledge, 1998. http://www.theory.org.uk http://www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk