Chapter 1 Notions of Power “Power” refers 0, the ability of an entity (ea, compan individual, social group, etc.) to make change, or com ly, to maintain things as they are. (In discussing the power of language, we need to consider two distinct uses of language: : : the language used in the public print media, television and — ‘The public institutions of our society have powers of control the flow of information: ts into the press, n mediais ry means of shaping public opinion: | Ean change (or strengthen the power strc hat exit ce Rae 1). Faelogh 2 1 if one can convince the people to accept your right to act,1 . ‘These institutions include legally defined entities such as governments, political ies, etc, For instance, if a political party holds some control over a newspaper television station, then they can control, to some extent, the content delivered ‘medium, and also, how that content is expressed) Here in Spain, the government controls television channels, and the 2 major parties own ‘newspapers and radio stations. ‘Companies also can be seen to exert ‘power’ through the media. Firstly, in ing, 4 company expresses a message directly to potential consumers. They their language carefully to persuade readers to buy theit product. Less directly, companies influence the conten, of news media ~ the owners of a paper of television station do not like to offend their larger advertisers, and so choose carefully what news they publish, and how it is expressed. For instance, a paper in which McDonalds frequently advertises might ignore reports of food- poisoning in McDonalds, or else place the article in position of low prominence, and lessen the impact of the article by mitigating strategies (c.g., blaming the provider of raw materials instead), More covertly, since the amount a newspaper can make from advertising depends on how many copies it sells, papers aim to sell as many papers as possible. (There is thus a process of selection in what they print they print what the readership wants to read. Unpopular news will not appear. Similarly for television.) ; Powerful” institutions and individuals often. interact to support_each other, building power structures. Power structures use public discourse to strengthen their own control, and to weaken the power of other groups.)For example, the World Bank and the IMF are not totally independent, But swayed by their major contributors ((ypically US-based multinationals and larger western governments) such that Toans to poorer countries are tied with conditions that favour_the contributors, e.g., that the recipient must increase their trade with the contributing countries. Also among. these power-wielding institutions, we need to include more vaguely defined groupings. We often_talk_about_groups_such_as_Envitonmentalisis, the Socialists, the Conservatives, Islamic Fundamentalists, Feminists, eté, Here we have groupings of people and institutions Which have no legal incorporation. The memt are a only because they share a common ideology. That is, they share common beliefs, common goals, and cofimon practices to achieve those goals, Within each group there may be variation as to beliefs, ‘goals and practices, but there is a general commonality) ‘The members of these ‘movements’ do not actively join the movement (although they may join legally defined groups within the movement). Rather, the movement is an alliance of individuals and institutions, typically acting independently, typically acting for their own self-interest. For example, when one individual writes an article on recycling paper, he draws upon arguments developed by like-minded people, but may have no formal affiliation with them, On another level, an individual avoids a particular brand because they don’t like the brand valves it pushes. For instance, a cigarette brand which pushes macho lifestyle (e.g., horse-riding cowboys) may fail to attract female smokers. See chapter 7 below. The production of news is controlled at several levels by ideology. The owners of the media have their own ideologies (left or right, strongly catholic or non-religious, etc.). They also respect the j ideologies of their advertisers. On another level also, the advertising revenue is based on their readership/viewing levels, so they also want to the sir potential readers/viewers. They may press these views upon the Editors of the news, who in tum may control the writers themselves. Writers soon learn write a story to improve its chances of being accepted. Editors also change what the writer originally wrote to fit ‘house style’. Writers themselves have ideologies, and choose the types of news they chase, and the Way they perceive that news (which ‘story’ they find within the complex. they. observe), keeping in ‘mind that they want their articles printed, and to keep thei j‘So, the news we read or hear is we ‘Wins is typi ‘that of the owners or the advertis ‘Whichever ideology control, the result is that the news we recei expressed in such a way as to sway us towards their way of looking at events, and thus to share their ideology. One aim of this course is to make you aware of the strategies used in public media to shape opinion, and thus to ‘immunize’ you from their force. 2 Power in Interpersonal Communication {A second sense of ‘power’ is more personal, referring to interactions with others: all individuals to be more achieve their personal goals, of the power of an individual. js personal, st jowing when to speak (and when not to. ‘our say, but not being sure when to of wanting to have silent and feeling powerless. And we have seen those if someone else said the same thing five minutes questions as well as interaction, and answering their well a setting (eg. at a social gathering), then we might inte uals, "3 ‘stems from the social relationships we b they trust us or not? (credibility), do they like us? to us and allow us to influence them depends on the listening to, then whenever one Power also. 3 Summaliof language and power is two sided: effectively (be more powerful), and secondly, be used ise power strategies in text and writing, then you can avoid being infl 4 Readings Talbot et al (2003) Introduction; pp. Talbot et al (2003) Chapter 1: Language & the Media; pp. 9-13. Fairclough, N. (2001) Language and Power. Introduction (pp. 1-5); Fairclough, N. (1995a) Media Discourse “The economics of media” (pp. 42-44) Goatly, Andrew (2000), Critical Reading & Writing: pp. 245-259. Fowler, R. (1985) “Power”. Optional Readings Fairclough, N. (1989) Language and Power: Chapter 2 and ‘Fairclough, N. (1995a) Media Discourse: “The politics of * Martin, IR. 1992 English Texts: system and structure. Benj Wikipedia “Power (sociology)”. See: http://en. wikipedia.org)