Editing Media studies (section)

=== France ===
One prominent French media critic is the sociologist [[Pierre Bourdieu]], who wrote books like ''On Television'' (New Press, 1999). Bourdieu asserts that television provides far less autonomy (or freedom) than we think. From his perspective, the market (which creates a hunt for higher advertising revenue) not only imposes uniformity and banality, but also necessitates a form of invisible censorship. For example, television producers often "pre-interview" participants in news and public affairs programs to ensure that they will speak in simple, attention-grabbing terms. When the search for viewers leads to an emphasis on the sensational and the spectacular, people with complex or nuanced views are not allowed a hearing.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/08/02/reviews/980802.02sunstet.html?_r=2 Cass R. Sunstein, New York Times, ''Television, a French sociologist explains, dumbs itself down'', August 2, 1998.]</ref>

Bourdieu is also remembered in the discipline for his theory of the habitus. In his written work ''Outline of a Theory of Practice'' (Bourdieu, 1977), Bourdieu claims an audience's preference in media is shaped by their social context.<ref name=":2" /> How an individual interprets and engages with their surroundings, or their habitus, is defined by the lasting and transferable elements of character which structure their consumer preferences.<ref name=":2" /> Bourdieu explains that, though durable, the habitus is not set in stone; it instead acts as a “strategy-generating principle” allowing individuals to navigate new and unfamiliar situations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lizardo |first=Omar |date=21 December 2004 |title=The Cognitive Origins of Bourdieu's Habitus |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-5914.2004.00255.x |journal=Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour |language=en |volume=34 |issue=4 |pages=375–401 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-5914.2004.00255.x |issn=0021-8308}}</ref>

Bourdieu expanded on the theory of the habitus, introducing his famous term, cultural capital. According to the French sociologist, cultural capital signifies an individual’s socially or culturally valuable skills and knowledge.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Huang |first=Xiaowei |date=2019-08-07 |title=Understanding Bourdieu - Cultural Capital and Habitus |url=http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/res/article/view/0/40384 |journal=Review of European Studies |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=45 |doi=10.5539/res.v11n3p45 |issn=1918-7181 |s2cid=201388455 |doi-access=free}}</ref> He claims that these competencies are developed through one’s upbringing and access to education resources, and can be unconsciously shaped by their social environment.<ref name=":4" /> Bourdieu highlights this accumulation of competencies as a determining factor in one’s life chances. One’s cultural capital, such as a university degree, can lead them to be offered more opportunities, thus linking the concept to both economic and social capital.<ref name=":4" /> Bourdieu explains that it is through the content of the different capitals that the habitus will structure an individual's consumer taste.<ref name=":2" />