This post is due by Tuesday, March 18 @ midnight for full credit.
Email late posts to rob.williamsATmadriver.com for partial credit.
Read our MEDIA@SOCIETY book, assigned chapter above.
In a SINGLE blog post below, provide for the chapter:
1. A single sentence, IYOW, that captures the chapter's THESIS (main argument).
2. THREE specific pieces of supporting documentation - ideas, concepts, stats, data - to bolster your thesis for the chapter. (Use 2 - 3 sentences for each.)
3. A single PERSONAL story of 3-4 sentences that connects the chapter directly with your own personal media experiences.
4. A SINGLE specific question you have after reading and blogging on the chapter.
Game on,
Dr. W
1. It is important to understand the effects of Media in our society, both economically and socially.
ReplyDelete2.
- Media corporations are broken down into three types: monopoly, oligopoly, and competition. Today, the most popular and powerful mass media type of is oligopoly. An oligopoly industry is one that is dominated by several big corporations (166-167).
-Branding, is a marketing strategy corporations use to separate themselves from other companies. "a firm may strive to win the hearts and minds of consumers by developing a distinct image for their entire product line- ensuring that the firm's identity or logo becomes synonymous with quality" (179). Companies will couple their media product with a brand to further their success, knowing that if viewers recognize their brand the product be a hit.
- An MSO ( multiple system operator) is where several cable programs are owned by the same corporations. For example, "Comcast and Time Warner, cover half the United States and together take advantage of significant economies of operation"(182). These MSO's make it difficult for smaller franchises to succeed financially. These larger franchises could potentially run the smaller companies out of business like "Standard Oil (Rockefeller) did in the early 1900's.
3. Branding is a commonality among advertisements. I have noticed branding while watching shows like the Bachelor. During commercials an m&m commercial may appear with the Bachelor himself in the ad. I have always noticed this as a viewer and feel a sense of forcefulness and have wondered if other viewers recognize this or are simply oblivious.
4. When larger industries expand what happen to the smaller franchises?
1. Economic control influences the media that a culture receives.
ReplyDelete2.- A Marxist analysis of an economy offers the concept of ideology. As explained by Terry Eagleton, “the function of ideology…is to legitimize the power of the ruling class in society” (167). The media oligopoly in the United States is evidence of which companies are most powerful. The companies that control the media are the “ruling class.”
-Product diversity often comes from a single media conglomerate. “But these choices all emerge from decisions made by a handful of corporate managers reporting to a corporate chief operating officer” (p. 169). Media may appear diverse, but in reality, all media come from the same conglomerate.
-“Fourth, media corporations ought to protect and maintain cultural quality and offer diversity of opinion” (p. 174). When a media oligopoly is present, there is no diversity of opinion. Thus, a culture suffers because it is only receiving media that express one opinion.
3. I remember one day years ago drinking a bottle of Dasani water when I noticed the Coca-Cola logo on the packaging. I was confused and so I did some research. I found out that Coca-Cola owns several brands that are marketed as their own product. Candy, food, and other soft drinks were all products of the Coca-Cola company. It was the first time that I noticed that one company can own such a vast amount of products, yet market them as their own product.
4. If the press is protected under the Constitution, are media conglomerates able to produce television news/news media?
The economy behind mass media is complex, but can be broken down and analyzed effectively and objectively.
ReplyDelete-Most media industries are defined by their technology , i.e. the music, broadcast television, and film industries (166). This distorts our understanding of the function of the companies themselves, so we must rearrange them by their "industry structures" (167).
- By examining companies as part of monopolies, oligopolies, or competition industries, we can better understand their purposes within society.
-It is important to have explicit criteria by which to evaluate how corporations are performing within our society, economy, and culture. (171) This is important for understanding corporate involvement in democracy.
As an extensive consumer within the media market, I see the importance of understanding the inner workings of the corporations that provide my iPhone, TV, internet, radio, news, etc. Previously, my understanding of the economic side of the media industry consisted of seeing the massive inflation in prices for all media, but now I have a full picture.
Are the major "industries" in our 21st Century society functioning as they should by the criteria in this chapter?
IYOW: Media has created new platforms that allow for discussion and sharing of new information.
ReplyDelete1. One of the ways media promotes discussion is through free speech and political discussions. "A democracy needs freedom of expression to make it work, and both noncommercial and commercial media ought to be open enough to promote debate of all points of view." (171). Media lets people express themselves and talk freely, allowing for the use of the internet and other media platforms to be democratic.
2. Media needs to be able to maintain their standards and control their content. As much as they might promote freedom of speech, there is some content that may need censoring. "...media corporations ought to protect and maintain cultural quality and offer diversity of opinion. This raises the question of whether companies that depend on advertising-generated revenue can develop quality programming--and not simply dish up one more season of worn-out formulaic rip-offs and assortic pandering--and if the government should force them to raise their standards..."(174).
3. Technology should be brought forward to the consumers and users as soon as possible. "Economists have long recognized that monopolies resist the innovation of new technologies in order to protect their highly profitable status quo positions. In fact, part of the problem in the decline of newspapers was how slow corporate executives and managers were to embrace the Internet and develop strategies that would have ensured a smoother transition into the Digital Age" (175).
Story: I did a research paper on the country of Eritrea, which is right next to Ethiopia. They became democratic about 20 years ago, but unfortunately the president they elected turned into a dictator, banning press that was negative about him or the government, imprisoning political figures, things of this nature. It just makes me think of how the book is saying that we should have platforms that allow for these discussions, especially politics, when even mentioning the president in a bad light in Eritrea would either get you killed or imprisoned. It makes me think of how lucky we are to have this ability, even if it may be somewhat restricted.
Question: How free is US press in comparison to other countries?
1. When media companies serve their own interests instead of those of citizens, it undermines the representation of citizens' voices.
ReplyDelete2.
• As of 2012, Clear Channel owned 850 radio station which reached 90 million viewers. Because it is more profitable for Clear Channel to offer "soundalike formats and prepackaged digital programming", this content is played on the stations at the expense of showcasing local music (176). In this way, Clear Channel is robbing communities of their identity and ability to develop their own unique sound.
• In search of profit, some newspapers eliminate content that does not appeal to the audiences their advertisers are trying to reach. In 2007, the Louisville Courier-Journal eliminated its bureau coverage of poor mining counties in Kentucky to devote more coverage to topics relevant to wealthier readers (181). The issues relevant to less affluent citizens will not be discussed and thus they lose their clout in the community.
• However, government supported media that does not seek to make a profit, like NPR or PBS focus on storytelling and public information that is not necessarily profitable, but is important to democracy (177). This reveals that when media's interest is serving the people, all voices can be represented instead of just those who can pay.
3. In my five semesters of high school journalism, I got a small taste of the frustrations that professional journalists might be faced with in a profit-driven climate. Though we did not have to worry about the profitability of the paper because it was funded by the school, we had to be careful about how we approached certain topics so as not to offend administrators. We also accepted advertisements from local businesses to subsidize colored printing and as a result, we had to be careful to take a position of neutrality toward these business to avoid conflicts of interests. I learned that when a publication accepts funds from an outside source, it gives up the right to tell certain stories.
4. Are any legislators working on bills that could help to reverse the effect of the 1996 Telecommunications Act?
1. Resources invested in media strategy vary based on target audience and type of media employed.
ReplyDelete2.
Industrial economics: is how corporations maintain financial power and ward off competitors. Rather than a single television station independently creating a television program, a station such as ABC or NBC will help spread the costs around and “produce programs that air on 200-plus affiliated stations”(170).
Direct and indirect revenue stream appeal directly and indirectly to target audiences. Direct revenue measure what consumers prefer whereas indirect revenue focuses on what advertisers wants. “Advertisers, of course, prefer audiences who might by their products.”(178) This typically targets people who can continue to buy new products as they are released, and people who can afford to do so. This is why advertisements are not typically geared towards the elderly or very young people. Advertiser’s preferences also exclude the lower income population.
Media monopolies like a local newspaper are dominated by single corporation who has both online and print audiences. They will often use the same ad in both editions. Unfortunately free online postings of newspapers are becoming rare, because most require paid subscriptions now. The days when small towns had multiple newspapers has come to an end and most towns only have one local paper that has been able to stay in business because of all of the first copy and fixed costs.
3. On the show One Tree Hill, they had a product placement for Sunkist soda and it got to the point where the characters were wearing Sunkist t-shirts and mentioning the brand’s name multiple times in one conversation. It was very annoying as a viewer. My sophomore year of highschool my mom and I vacationed in Wilmington NC where the show was filmed. During a film tour of Wilmington the tour guide told us how Sunkist actually had to call the producers and ask them to tone down the repetition because it was too obvious.
4. We expect Media information to be truthful, does the government do anything to protect society from false advertising?
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ReplyDeleteThesis: The economics throughout media has certain strategies that enable success for firms and media oligopolies to develop through competition
ReplyDeleteSupporting Documentation:
• Media corporations divide into 3 industry structures
1. Monopoly (domination by a single company)
2. Oligopoly (Domination by a few – usually four to seven – big corporations)
3. Competition (many companies vying in the marketplace)
• Not all revenues are the same. There is direct revenue which is paying directly for some products and services. “Direct Revenue measures directly what books, movies, or music customers prefer”(177). Indirect revenue is when a consumer sees a TV ad that influences their purchase of whatever the ad was selling, but part of the cost for the product is the cost for the company’s ad.
• Companies are always trying to get ahead of the competition to the point where it is monopoly. A way they do this is by a marketing strategy known as branding. “Beyond making desirable products, a firm may strive to win the hearts and minds of consumers by developing a distinct image for their entire product line –ensuring that the firm’s identity or logo becomes synonymous with quality”(179).
Personal Story
After a my Media Revolutions class where we talked about media oligopolies and the effects they have on society I started to think about if I’ve noticed any weird effects due to oligopolies. I found one last year with my Mom when we were listening to the radio. 92.1 was our favorite station in New Hampshire, but one day it was something completely different than the normal music it played. My mom later looked up the station online and realized it was bought out by a larger radio station which is now changing what is being played. It was sad because there weren’t any other stations that played similar music than the old radio 92.1. It made me realize how media oligopolies can affect the industry to the point where if more stations keep getting bought out, that radio music will not be very diverse ultimately influencing what music is bought and produced.
Will society put restrictions on firms regulating the amount of companies they can buy out or will this continue until there is only one or two firms owning all the media?
1. Through media we can begin to understand the economic control that corporate culture has over society.
ReplyDelete2. a. There are three types of media industry structures, monopoly, oligopoly and competition. Monopoly is an industry that is dominated by one company. An oligopoly is an industry a few big companies. Competition is when many companies are in the market of the industry.
b. Media conglomerates usually control their industries. They control everything that we see and read. They choose the products marketed and the media presented.
c. According to economists, new technologies is where there is innovation. With each failing medium, there is a new one starting. For example 8-tracks became tapes which became CD's and now we have MP3s for outlets of music.
3. Since I took Media Revolutions one thing that I never seem to get out of my head is the amount of advertisements that a single person sees in a day. I never noticed the little ads that are everywhere but since I took that class I see them everywhere. Even from a Nike logo on someones shoes or the North Face logo on backpacks or jackets. There are advertisements in places that I never noticed before. The corporate culture of businesses have their "free" advertising down.
4. How is the economic value of media going to change with the new "free" way to get things and information.
Let's catch up here, colleagues. - W
ReplyDelete1. The economics of media, including ownership and control, determine the democratic and cultural interests of society.
ReplyDelete2. The most common form of media industry structure has become the oligopoly, where a small number of companies own the majority of the market. While not as unfavorable to democracy as monopolies, oligopolies still do not compete on a level that embodies diversity of ideas and democratic thinking. As a result, when oligopolies compete there is “some experimentation, but all too often only…a numbing generic sameness where similar program genres…face off against each other” (186).
There is a conflict between charging for advertising and promoting debate. Often, the only political candidates who receive air time to debate are the two largest candidates who can afford to pay for widespread advertising campaigns, and who are likely to draw the most viewers. Free debates would infringe on the traditional capitalistic model of media, and though these outlets do give “up profits at the expense of serving democracy” when they air debates, a range of voices are not heard, and this doesn’t truly achieve the democratic model (172).
Large media corporations like Disney have not only taken over other companies in the same industry, such as film, but have also bought radio stations, television stations, production companies, and more. One conglomeration can now control the media content viewers receive on multiple platforms; if we don’t like what we’re seeing on TV, changing the channel or choosing to watch a movie instead does not necessarily mean we are promoting one media company over another. Since “the average home still has a TV set on more than seven hours per day” the values that conglomerations promote can have a large impact on how we think and feel about ourselves, others and ideas (165-6). It is important that we know where the media we consume comes from and what values it is promoting.
3. When I took Media Revolutions last spring, I remember being surprised at the small number of companies that owned most of the media that I consume. I’ve noticed that a lot of the local radio stations are starting to sound the same, playing the same group of songs and not talking about or exploring music in depth. My favorite radio stations are those that are independent and play a variety of music, where I can find new artists and hear some favorite tunes. I think our exposure to different ideas and concepts, and thinking of music more as an art form, would really suffer if these independent stations were to disappear.
4. What can be done to ensure the survival of journalism and a return to stories with more of a watchdog mentality?
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ReplyDelete1. The economic aspect of media discussed in this chapter explains that a select few corporation are taking over the media currently in the United States, controlling and regulating the sources by which people receive information, get entertainment, and how they generally consume the digital and technological sources that are available to them.
ReplyDelete2. Three supporting facts:
a. Comcast, one of the most influential corporations in the United States, attempted to further consolidate their power over the media by offering $66 billion dollars in bids to obtain the Walt Disney Company.
b. Comcast today earns the bulk of media revenue for tv, internet, and smartphones services, with eighteen million subscribers to its internet and cable services (leaving the closest runner-up in the cable market, time warner cable, far outpaced).
c. Monopolies in the media market greatly limit the consumer options in the United States, consolidating what is available to be read, viewed, and listened to in whatever fashion they wish to expose them to the public.
3. I recently just wrote part of my paper on the "big six" corporations that control and regulate 90% of the media available in the United States as well as other regions of the world. In a way, I saw that the simplicity of looking to so few companies as an easier way to research and study the matter, but I also became concerned with the idea that because the great majority of Americans consume the same media data, the monopolies in this category may be able to set price and regulate with such great influence and pace that their owning of the media may become detrimental to the American society and economic system.
4. In a few years from now, will some of the major corporations in the media business have bought each other out, further consolidating and limiting the amount of objective news reported in the news and other media outlets?
1.The consolidation of media companies means that the power of distributing media lies in the hands of a few very powerful people, which means they have the control to affect cultural interests and beliefs in society.
ReplyDelete2.In order for a media company to fare well in the business, they need to have a foundation of core values. Those values are: Facilitating free speech and political discussion, not wasting resources, facilitating public order, protecting and maintain cultural quality, and promoting new technology. If a media company does not exercise all of these ideas, it will fall victim to one of the more powerful companies.
The profit for media companies lie in dominating its competitors. One of the biggest tools for doing so is branding, which is magnified by a concept called vertically integrating. While many media companies have been eaten up throughout the recent years, a true media monopoly is rare, because it limits consumer choice TOO much.
Today, oligopolies rule the media world. There are three major television networks (ABC,NBC, CBS), and the movie business is in the hand of six huge Hollywood studios (Disney, Time Warner, Sony, NBC Universal, Twentieth Century Fox, Viacom), and there are five major corps that control the music business (Viaom, Time Warner, EMI, Sony, BMG). If you think about all the control of what we consume as media being in the hands of these few companies, it's kind of frightening.
In an economics class I took in high school, we discussed oligopolies and how they seriously limit the accessibility of fresh, new ideas. For example, there are a few big giants in the running industry: Nike, Adidas, Asics. It is near impossible for any start-up to garner success because of the looming giants. If you apply that to media, and see that it is increasingly hard for new ideas (such as TV show proposals, indie songs, unorthodox writing) to get any sort of recognition, it's pretty disheartening--especially when you are a planning to major in MJD!
4. Is there any sort of law or policy that would or could stop the overwhelming power of media oligopolies?
1. Mass media are not controlled by societies, but controlled by economic.
ReplyDelete2.
a. The three most common types of industry structures of media corporations are monopoly, oligopoly, and competitions. And the most classic media market structure is oligopoly in 21th century.
b. There are three methods to analysis media business:
1) Marxist Analysis: Karl Marx’s give foundation of this conception. He suggested that people’s social being determined peoples consciousness. Besides, this foundation is quality of the social life of a people or nation is driven by their economic conditions. From his opinion, “social consciousness” is referred to as ideology.
2) Free-Market Economics: the early conception is from Adam Smith. In his book, he wrote that free markets would produce the greatest wealth for nations when the society under the right conditions.
3) Industrial Economics: It let people understand to make common judgments, from culture and society, about what roles are media corporations play in?
c. To Media corporations, the most important thing is not the competition, it is to best use their production and get the most profits.
3. I never know that ABC is belonging to The Walt Disney Company. The children who joined in the Jimmy Kimmel Live said that if Americans killed all the Chinese, American government did not to return money to China. Lots of Chinese who lived in or study in America begun to show a statement that require Chinese to resist all companies of The Walt Disney Company. The parade of this fair was not stop until that ABC Television Network apologize to audiences and claimed that to close “Kids table”.
4. Do monopoly and oligopoly of media outlets just bring the negative effects to our society?
Chapter 7 Media Economies
ReplyDeleteThesis: Media conglomerates who own the majority of media outlets complicate the industry because media is being owned by fewer and fewer people.
Support:
1) Comcast owns the majority of media outlets (Disney, 51% of NBC, etc.) The majority of people get their news from Comcast because it owns three major news stations (NBC, FOX, and ABC). (page 165)
2) Media conglomerates are “the hardest of the coorperations to analyze” (166). They own so much, and it is hard to bring anti-trust accusations because the lines are hard to read after the FCC has deregulated media. The current issue with Comcast acquiring Time Warner is because it may be seen as Comcast trying to create a media monopoly, and if this happened they would own CNN news.
3) Media conglomerates also own the medium that gets media into homes across America. One of the problems with Comcast acquiring Time Warner is that they would gain access into many more homes.
Story: The merger between Time Warner and Comcast was brought up in my microeconomics class while talking about anti-trust laws and oligopolies.
Question: Why does the Federal Communications Commission not regulate better, and possibly set stricter boundaries?
1. Major media corporations that influence our society are controlled by a few individuals, and the content is driven by economic profit.
ReplyDelete2. The majority of the media corporations are control by a handful of companies. “Over the past decade, mass media corporate power and influence have increased as fewer corporations face true competition; the most typical media market structure today is oligopoly” (page 167).
“Industrial analysis of the ownership and operation of media corporations requires us to develop criteria for how corporations are performing in our economy, society, and culture” (page 171).
“The journalism industry needs to reinvent itself and try new economic avenues that better balance seeking profit and serving democracy to ensure its future” (page 194).
3. As a college student that uses media on a daily basis, I was completely unaware of the fact that only a few companies control the media. It wasn’t until this course that I realized the extent to which a handful of people indirectly influence my life. This knowledge really makes me second-guess the information I learn from the media.
4. Would media corporations still thrive if there were more companies in competition for ownership? How would this competition setback the advancements media companies have made?