Lecture 04 | Strategies of Movement Actors to Overcome Asymmetry

Here we have seen and discussed that the relationship between mainstream media and social movements is asymmetric one. We have also discussed the possible reasons who cause this asymmetry. In such situation, it becomes a great challenge for movement actors to overcome this imbalance. For it is necessary to do so if movement actors want themselves heard among public and policy-makers. According to Dieter Rucht (2004), a German sociologist, in such circumstances social movement actors usually adapt following different strategies to overcome such asymmetry: 

First, when movement actors see that they are not getting enough media attention they become frustrated with it and in order to overcome that asymmetry, they find new ways of communication. social movement actors abstain from interaction with mainstream media and focus instead on micro-communication. This communication is mainly aimed at the inner circles of social movement such as activists, supporters, and allies. In other words, the audience of such communication is near audience who are part of social movement. 

Second, when movement actors do not get media attention as desired by them, they start attacking mainstream media. Those attacks are not violent or physical but verbal and discursive. Hence mainstream media becomes protest target and is blamed for not paying enough attention to social movement. Major disadvantage of this action is diversion of movement actors from movement to media coverage.

Third, in above-mentioned situation, movement actors create alternative channels of communication in order to bypass mainstream media and reach their audiences.  Via these alternative channels movement actors strive to the reach their near as well as distant audiences, supporters, sympathisers and potential members. Thus they bypass mainstream media and those alternative channels are based on a different types of media logic such as blogs, facebook pages, twitter accounts etc. 

Finally, movement actors get frustrated with media attitude toward their movement and in order to get mainstream media coverage they adapt mainstream media requirements in terms of newsworthiness, timing and drama. This may result in increasing the possibility or likelihood of obtaining media coverage. 

The final strategy has many negative consequences for social movements and movement actors as well. We shall discuss those repercussions in the next lecture. 

Rucht, D. (2004).The quadruple “A”: Media strategies of protest movements since the 1960s. In W. B. H. J. van deDonk, B.D. Loader, P.G.Nixon, &D. Rucht (Eds.), Cyberprotest: Newmedia, citizens and social movements (pp. 25–48). London, UK: Routledge.