This examines the 'domination hypothesis' of the critical/conflict theories, vis-a-vis the structural functional perspective. It tries to put the two perspectives side by side and show how they stand up to objective analysis, and/or are related to each other. It also draws attention to the time-honoured view of many communication scholars that analysis of the power of the mass media should not be predicated on the principle of "all or nothing", that the media are not all-dominating; neither are they all-liberating; that the media can be used for good or for evil, depending on the socio-political, economic and cultural environments in which they operate. This requires an examination of the relationship between economic and socio-political power structure and mass media utilization as well as the impact of this relationship on the effect of the media on the public.
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