Revision Mapping Mass Media

While the recently-posted Research Methods Revision Maps have a certain timeless and transcendental quality(?) when it comes to being reasonably up-to-date and applicable to a wide range of sociology specifications, the same probably can’t be said of this batch of Media Revision Maps. They were created for the AQA Spec around about the time my second AQA textbook was published, around 2006, so be aware that:

a. They’re rather dated in terms of content (there’s not a massive amount about new media, for example).

b. The Specification has changed over the years, making some of the stuff covered by the Maps a little redundant. The Maps were also produced when Media was an AS / A1 Unit, as opposed to the A2 Unit it subsequently became…

Having duly noted this, the actual content of the Maps isn’t necessarily the most important element (although, having said that, it probably helps if it’s reasonably current and relevant…) and it’s not like it was written before the invention of the printing press, television or even the Internet.

In addition, the majority of the theoretical and conceptual material should be broadly okay – basic stuff on things like media effects and audiences, for example, is still covered in most Specs. and, if nothing else, provides a basic introduction that can be updated as-and-if required – but stuff like statistical data will invariably need to be updated with newer material.

However, the main takeaway here is the notion of creating the Maps themselves, as a revision aid that focuses student attention on the key ideas and connections in whatever content they’re covering.

1. Different explanations of the relationship between ownership and control of the mass media

2. Different explanations of the relationship between the mass media and ideology

3. Different explanations of the processes of selection and presentation of media content

4. The role of the mass media in representations of age, social class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and disability