Group Project 2

Social Formation

Power, Class, and Media

     In Group Project 2, we begin to look at the Social Formation: the social and historical framework in which all social life takes place, and in which social problems are framed. When we look at the social formation, we must consider the structure of power, the ways that money and politics intersect to influence the laws and policies of a society. Power also significantly influences which social problems get recognized and addressed. Although control of the mass media gives elites predominance in this influence over social problem framing, it isn't just the elite that frames social problems. People who are not members of the elite have some room to frame problems through social movements, and they can  work through coalitions to try to influence policy. In this group project, we will consider the structure of power, its relationship with class, and its influence over "the media" -- or more precisely, the corporate owned mass media -- as well as the media's role in framing the social problems that gain the most attention and prominence.

    For your review, here is the diagram that we use to represent our model of analysis:

    Recall that in this diagram, the Social Formation (social structure, or A in Heiner's model) is the social-historical context in which we live and in which social problems are framed.  It is important to remember, that we, as observers and analysts, are as embedded in the social formation as the rest of these components. The social problem has been framed by the Framing Group, which has applied a value judgment in framing the issue as bad. The framing group has defined the issue as a problem, suggested what the causes of the problem are, and provided evidence to support its assertions. It has thus constructed a Problem Frame. Finally, having framed the problem in specific way, the framing group proposes a set of more or less feasible policies or social changes that will remedy, or solve the problem. In this group project, we will consider how powerful interests ("elites") frame many of the issues our society considers social problems.

    In the Fall of 2005, the week that Hurricane Katrina hit, my Social Problems students were reading "The Promise," an excerpt from C. Wright Mills' book, The Sociological Imagination. That event was such an immense catastrophe that it seems impossible to get a sense of its significance in the social formation as a whole. Many of us can relate to the troubles that individuals and families were experiencing, but we have difficulty connecting those with the bigger picture of social relations in the larger society at this point in history, and the social conflicts that are involved. (To be sure, some people can see this right away, but that is often because they are in a position in society that has forced them to confront basic social contradictions.) So it is worth reviewing some of the main points of that reading now, as Mills provides a strong argument for why we need to understand the social and historical context (the social formation) in order to get a grip on our private troubles, and the public issues from which they spring.

    Mills begins "The Promise" with the observation that people today "often feel that their private lives are a series of traps" (1; all page numbers refer to the Intersections version, published 2008, compiled by Stuart Shafer). Certainly, the hurricane victims left behind in New Orleans were trapped in a very real sense, and many of us outside of that area felt trapped and helpless as conditions deteriorated and spun out of control. We also may think that the feeling of being "trapped" was more common in 1950s America, when Mills' book was written, but similar feelings of helplessness or powerlessness are widespread today. Mills goes on to argue that underlying these feelings "are seemingly impersonal changes in the very structure of continent-wide societies" (ibid).

    Again, relating those feelings to our current time period, we can think of the globalization of the economy, the great shift in jobs that has left many people unemployed and impoverished. Many more are employed in low-paying service work, like the hotels and casinos of New Orleans, and living in poverty even while working full time. Add the long term effects of poverty and racism, and the high crime rates, drug abuse, and predatory personalities that often arise in such conditions, and you have some of the components of the recent disaster. Historical events happen at such breakneck speed that "history now outpaces the ability of men [people] to orient themselves in accordance with cherished values" (3). In fact, Mills notes, we even have to question "which values" we are supposed to orient ourselves to. The current political scene provides more examples of this search for values and meaning. While one part of the voting population seeks solace and solutions in what it holds as "moral values," other groups take moral stances against what they consider injustices in the economy, in relations of race, class, and gender, in war, in the environment, and so on.

    According to Mills, "the sociological imagination enables its possessor to understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the inner life and the external career of a variety of individuals" (ibid). That is, an individual with a sociological imagination can understand his/her personal troubles only "by locating himself [herself] within his [her] period" (4). This way, we not only gain an understanding of others in similar situations, but also understand that the "personal troubles" we experience in our immediate environment are connected with "the public issues of social structure" (6). We understand not only how the social structure and historical context (the social formation) affect and shape our personal lives, but also that we contribute, "however minutely, to the shaping of this society and to the course of its history" (4).

    In this group project, we are going to focus on the social formation in which social problems take place, and the ways that structures of power (and class) in the social formation influence what issues get counted as social problems. We'll take a closer look at the ways that elite interests play a large role in this process. Specifically, we will apply Domhoff's concept of the power elite and look at some of the ways that power is exercised in defining issues that are debated and policies that are formed in the political sphere, i.e. government. We will explore the information provided at the OpenSecrets website of to see who is setting the agenda for political campaigns and law-making through the power of campaign donations and lobbying.

    We must also consider the role of the media in this framing process. There are two features of media in the current period of major significance to the study of social problems. One, the major media, from which the majority of people get most or all their information about public issues, are owned and controlled by a very few large corporations. Two, those corporate owned media tend to present the issues within a relatively narrow framework.

    There is a third feature of the current period that has added a new dimension to the social formation and the framing of public issues: the internet. While the internet is dismissed by some analysts as a technology that is limited in availability, particularly to those outside the educated elite and middle class, its role and potential are just being assessed. And there are certainly some analysts who see the internet, particularly the "blogosphere," as playing an increasingly influential role in the framing and debate of social problems.

     For this group project, our attention is on elites and the media as the framing groups. We are going to consider the position of the major media in the social formation; how the power of large corporations influences the issues that are identified or recognized as social problems.

    A final note. There are other models of power available in the social sciences. Domhoff and Mills are clearly operating in the "conflict" or "critical" tradition of sociology. It is certainly a view that is not widely understood in American society, but critical sociologists point to that fact as a further indicator of the power of the elite to shape the ideological approaches that dominate American social life. The Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci's used the concept of "hegemony" as one way to understand this kind of control or influence on ideas. The media clearly shy away from this approach, and we will consider why that is. Finally, it is good to keep in mind Becker's admonition that we always take sides, no matter how we define the object of our studies. The key is to "avoid sentimentality," and apply our research and analytical tools rigorously. We are learning how to do just that through these projects.

The Assignment

1. Read this assignment carefully, and go through the Powerpoint presentations titled Power and Media on my website. Read the assigned chapter in Social Health and review last week's reading assignment.

2. Between Wednesday, September 17 and Saturday, September 20, discuss all the questions below first among members of your own small group in the Blackboard discussion page for this class.

3. In the Discussion board you will find a topic titled “Group Project 2 Summary.” Each member of your group will be responsible for presenting a brief summary of the group discussion of only one of the questions. You may be tempted to simply cut and paste from your group discussion. That will not be acceptable. The idea is to summarize your group's discussion, not simply repeat what you or someone else in your group already wrote. I will indicate which question each group should present in the first message in the group project 1 summary topic.  You should complete these summaries by Monday, September 22.

4. Finally, you may reply to at least one of these summaries from another class member for a “bonus” point.

5. Your scores for the group project will be based on the following scale:

            Comprehension of the reading assignment                                                  5 points

            Group dynamic (amount of discussion in your small group):                        5 points

            Critical analysis of the evidence in the articles (based on the readings):       5 points

            Report to the class in the summary discussion                                              5 points

            Bonus for replying during summary discussion                                             1 point

            Total possible points: 20

1. Domhoff suggests that Americans are uncomfortable with concepts like "power elite" and "dominant class". Why would we be uncomfortable with such concepts?

2. What is the power elite? What are its components at the national level? What are the local components? Can you name any members of this group at the national level? (Note: the names can be groups as well as individuals.) Can you name members of the local group in your community?

3. How does the power elite exercise power, according to Domhoff? Is everyone else excluded from any possibility of influence? Is this a conspiracy?

4. Explore the OpenSecrets website. What evidence of Domhoff's concepts do you find there? Look at the major donors to political campaigns and to lobbyists. Who donates to Republicans? to Democrats? to the leading candidates for each party? How much? Overall, which of the "coalitions" identified by Domhoff gives the most money?

5. Where do you access "the news?" When you watch the news or read a newspaper or magazine to get your news, which network or publication do you find yourself looking to most often? Who owns that network or publication? Did you realize that before you did this project? Have you ever noticed what issues are covered by the other outlets? Why do you think they are so similar? Have you ever seen or read a serious critique of corporate power in the media? Why do you think that is?

6. Having thought about the role of power in the media and in the framing of social problems, why do you think there is more information and data available on stock prices and interest rates than there is on the kinds of indicators about social problems affecting poor and middle class people, as discussed in Social Health?