Lecture 03 | Relationship between Media and Social Movements

Since protest events are not in resonance with certain amount of newsworthiness in the eyes of media workers and organisations, they do not come with a certain amount of predetermined  newsworthiness. This is how attitude of media towards social movements is often justified by news workers. Studies on social movements show that only one feature is successful in gaining media coverage and that is size of demonstration. More the number of demonstrators/protestors, more coverage is obtained by social movements. Apart from this no other features of help social movements in obtaining media attention.  

Studies throughout the world have indicated towards limited capacity of social movements to influence mass media and gaining coverage. The main reasons behind this attitude of mainstream media towards social movement are: (1) media's selection and descriptive bias while covering protest; (2) news-making routines and journalistic news values; (3) news workers' reliance on dramatic and visible events and ; (4) journalists' reliance on authoritative sources. 

Now we are going to discuss these aspects individually.

Firstly, in the past media was considered to be the mirror of society, however a considerable number of studies showed that media presents news selectively. Descriptive bias refers to media organisation's differing definitions of news in terms of their ideology, political and social leanings. In summary, we can say that media organisation decide what is and what not a news. 

Secondly, news-making routines and journalistic news values play a greater role in determining newsworthiness of a protest event. Firstly, news workers have a set routine which can only be disturbed in case of emergency or a great disaster in a country. If a journalist comes to know another important incident has happened while covering the protest, he will most likely leave protest and cover another event/incident. Secondly, journalistic news values often focus on authoritarian sources for information, magnitude of an incident/event etc. A greater body of studies also show that under-privileged sources are often ignored or given less space and time in the mass media. 

Thirdly, news workers invariably rely on visible or dramatic events and authoritative sources. Since social movements are serious phenomenon, very rarely they produce any dramatic event which may succeed in gaining media attention. 

Finally, as already stated, social movements present an alternative world view which is why movement actors are always against the authorities and no authorities are found in their support or with them. These two are also main reasons behind lack of coverage of social movement by mainstream media. In line with this, an amount of competition between different media organisations also play a greater role in ignoring social movements. 

In summary, the connection or relationship between mainstream media and social movements is often called and considered asymmetrical by media as well as social movements scholars. Activists need to be visible in the mass media and, quite contrarily, mass media do not rely on social movements for production of news. 

Lecture 02 | Media, social Movements & Politics

Being a media student, we are fully aware that every one needs a forum for getting heard and reaching to the desired audience. Mass media invariably provide a platform for discursive opportunity structure to social movement actors. It also constitutes essential opportunities and constraints for social movements. It may always be kept in mind that social movement actors always act in what Ferree et al. (2002) have aptly described “media master forum” which highly receives greater influence from political actors. Politicians always have a greater sway on mass media. For instance, trivial activities or misspellings of political actors succeed in making news on media channels. If citizens of an area launch a movement in any areas of Sindh for provision of safe drinking water, proper medical facilities etc, they will be considered to be a competitor by local political actors.

Political organizations succeed in organizing their voters and party workers in any event. On the other hand movement actors propose their discourses and put forth their demands to gain attention, support and sympathy from a wide range of publics on “media master forum”. Social movement actors need as greater support as possible because they movements are not based on any organizational level. In this way, political spectrum and public opinion is the target of attention of movement actors.

When movement actors in gaining attention of media, public and politicians, they come in direct competition with more institutionalized political actors. When movement actors propose their discourses on local environmental, economic, cultural issues of community and movement finally come to a logical conclusion, they become competitors of mainstream political actors. Political actors feel threatened by the movement actors. This competition is not violent but based on discourses.

At this stage it becomes utmost important for movement actors to frame their beliefs, demands and objectives which is in resonance with greatly and widely held societal beliefs. This framing helps movements to get greater support from a wide range of public. Moreover, such framing of discourses in such a way will also be essential for gaining symbolic power which eventually becomes fundamental for political mobilization. If the discourse is framed otherwise, it will directly affect the movement itself. 

In this context we may take example of recent Women Movement in Pakistan which started in 2018. Indeed those movement actors were strongly criticized for forming slogans like “Khana mein garam kar lun gi, bistar khud garam kar lena”, “Agar dupatta itna pasand hai to aankhon per baandh lo” and few other slogans on sanitary pads etc. Such slogans did not expand scope of the movement and turned it subject to criticism. On the other hand, in 2019 the slogans were much better like “Mere jahez ki naheen meri taleem ki fikr karo”. No portion of society will go against this demand because in a traditional society like ours such slogans are more acceptable.

In these circumstances of discursive competition between movement actors and political actors, focus of both the actors remain at gaining ability to affect mass media for obtaining symbolic power for two purposes: (1) mobilising masses politically and; (2) becoming and establish themselves autonomous sources of conflict. 

 

Lecture 01 | Social Movements Defined

Social movements are (a) mostly informal networks of interaction, based on (b) shared beliefs and solidarity, mobilized around (c) contentious themes through (d) the frequent use of various forms of protest (Dellaporta & Mattoni, 2016).

(a)   Informal Network of Interaction

When one reads this definition deeply, he/she can realise that factor of communication holds a vital and central role in all those four definitional aspects of social movements. Let's see how. 

Social movements are informal networks of relations. Participants, sympathisers, supporters of movements are composed of heterogeneous population. They belong to various class, race, gender, lingual group, nationality and ethnicity. Participants are scattered and most often weakly connected because social movements are not organisations. Although they are some times organized by organisations but most of the time they are not organisations. They are networks of relation of diverse actors. However, movements are more or less structured from an organizational point of view. Social movements are composed of weekly connected and scattered individuals who feel they are part of a collective effort.

Thus, in this situation communication becomes vital and equally significant. Movement actors are engaged in the flux of information and exchange of ideas which must be structured and restructured in accordance with changing characteristics of the network. The narrative of movement must be intensified in times of visibility and fragmented in times of abeyance.

(b)   Shared Beliefs and Solidarity

Collective ideologies are constantly constructed and reconstructed within a social movement and, again, communication is of utmost importance in this process. Above mentioned networks of relations constitute a social movement when their members share a common belief and solidarity. Shared belief nourishes solidarity and collective awareness. Collectively social movements produce an alternative world vision or narrative which challenges the already existing dominant vision or narrative.

Social movements are considered as an agent of social change; therefore, they can not afford to limit their vision within movement. They have to spread their vision to outside: protest targets, public, sympathizers, supporters, potential allies, bystanders, spectators and even opponents. Their primary should be to reach and influence public opinion as well as policy decision-makers. In this regard, communication strategies become essential to address strategic dilemmas in order to gain visibility as well as support from concerned quarters.

(c) Contentious Themes

Movement actors are mobilized around the definition of conflict. Many scholars of social movements have defined them as actors in new conflicts. Communication within social movements has an essential role in shaping and framing contentious issues on which movement is based. Those issues are called contentious because of participation of heterogeneous population ranging from diverse backgrounds, cultures and indoctrinations.

That communication becomes more important while mobilising a population which is based on diverse actors belonging to different languages, culture, racial groups, social positions, political culture and economic conditions. Here we feel a dire need of communicating effectively for elaborating common frames around the definition of conflict. Movement actors are responsible for framing issues in a way which keep all movement participants intact. When movement actors start considering media platforms – freedom of information and communication rights –as a relevant field for discursive struggle, communication becomes essential.

(d) Protest

The fourth and final definitional aspect of social movements is frequent use of protests by social movements. Indeed this one aspect characterises social movements and makes movement actors distinct from other political actors in terms of exercising pressure over authorities, so view many social movement scholars. Protest is defined as a non-conventional form of action that interrupts daily routine. Everyday routine is an instrument of communication and by disrupting it social movement actors attract attention of the public. Such performances always provide a platform to protest organisers and protest targets. The interaction between organisers and targets facilitates passage of information and holds strong communicative elements which are targeted at opening various channels of communication with diverse public, decision-makers, sympathisers and supporters.

For instance, public concern do not reach decision-makers until public perform some protests order to get heard. Authorities notice concern of public when protests are held. Here again communication becomes essential in terms of choosing an appropriate form of communication for propagation of message of the social movement.