INDEX

1) Introduction to Media: 10 questions
2) Media consumption audit
3) Semiotics blog tasks - English analysis and Icon, Index, Symbol
4) Language: Reading an image - advert analyses
5) Reception theory - advert analyses part 2
6) Genre: Factsheets and genre study questions
7) Blog feedback and learner response
8) Narrative: Factsheet questions
9) Audience: classification - psychographics presentation notes
10) October assessment learner response
11) Audience theory 1 - Hypodermic needle/Two-step flow/U&G
12) Audience theory 2 - The effects debate - Bandura, Cohen
13) Industries: Ownership and Control
14) Industries: Hesmondhalgh - The Cultural Industries
15) Industries: Public Service Broadcasting
16) Industries: Regulation

Industries: Regulation

Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet 128: Contemporary Media Regulation. Our Media Factsheet archive can be found at M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets

Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks:

1) What is regulation and why do media industries need to be regulated?

Systems of regulation are required to provide rules and regulations to ensure that organisations operate fairly.

2) What is OFCOM responsible for?

Broadcast media (TV and Radio) are regulated by OFCOM.

3) Look at the section on the OFCOM broadcasting code. Which do you think are the three most important sections of the broadcasting code and why?

Sections 2, 5 and 6. For sections 5 and 6, impartiality in politics is incredibly important to democracy and for section 2, media that could cause harm and offence is needed in order to not cause outrage and spread hate.

4) Do you agree with OFCOM that Channel 4 was wrong to broadcast 'Wolverine' at 6.55pm on a Sunday evening? Why?

Yes, as it goes against section 1 of the broadcasting code. Viewers would not have expected a violent film at this time slot as, previously, family friendly films were broadcast at similar time slots.

5) List five of the sections in the old Press Complaints Commission's Code of Practice. ) Why was the Press Complaints Commission criticised?

Section 1: Accuracy. Section 2: Opportunity to Reply. Section 3: Privacy. Section 4: Harassment. Section 5: Intrusion Into Grief and Shock

7) What was the Leveson enquiry and why was it set up?

An inquiry into the “culture, practice and ethics of the press” was held throughout 2011 and 2012 mainly due to a phone hacking scandal where phone calls connected to the royal family were illegally intercepted.

8) What was the PCC replaced with in 2014?

On 8th September 2014, the PCC was replaced by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). This new body (like the PCC) has been set up by the newspaper industry itself and it’s code of practice is essentially the same as the code administered by the PCC.

9) What is your opinion on press regulation? Is a free press an important part of living in a democracy or should newspapers face statutory regulation like TV and radio?

I believe that freedom of speech is integral in society, however newspapers are a largely trusted and consumed piece of media that could cause an outcry if it were to showcase violent hate speech for instance. Too much regulation could be considered dangerous as well, as it can lead to silencing freedom of speech and even propaganda. 

10) Why is the internet so difficult to regulate?

Because the internet is under the ownership of one single country and so it's impossible for governments to enforce the rules of a single government upon it. Also, huge internet conglomerates like Amazon and Google are larger than any single government.

Public service broadcasting

Ofcom report

Read the first few pages of this Ofcom report into Public Service Broadcasting in 2017.

1) How does the report suggest that TV viewing is changing?

People are viewing content in a larger variety of ways, including both the television other devices. The amount of PSB content being viewed is substantially less for young adults and, up to the age of 45, television behavioural patterns are changing.

2) What differences are highlighted between younger and older viewers?

In 2016, viewers aged 65+ watched an average of 5 hours 44 minutes of TV on a TV set, and 16-24 year olds watched an average of 1 hour 54 minutes. These figures are 3 minutes less than 2012 for viewers ages 65+, and 43 minutes less for 16-24 year olds. In conclusion, younger viewers are watching much less broadcast TV.

3) Does the report suggest audiences are satisfied with public service broadcasting TV channels?

Yes, as overall, 78% of regular or occasional viewers of any PSB channel claim to be satisfied with PSB broadcasting, significantly higher than in 2015 (73%).

4) Public service broadcasting channels are a major aspect of the UK cultural industries. How much money did PSB channels spend on UK-originated content in 2016? 

The PSB channels spent a total of £2.6bn on first-run UK-originated content in 2016.

Goldsmiths report

Read this report from Goldsmiths University - A future for public service television: content and platforms in a digital world.

1) What does the report state has changed in the UK television market in the last 20 years?

The television sector has undergone huge changes over the past generation as new technology has facilitated on-demand access to television content, and created new services and platforms, while consumer behaviour has started to change rapidly, particularly among the young.

2) Look at page 4. What are the principles that the report suggests need to be embedded in regulation of public service broadcasting in future?

Retransmission fees should be paid by pay-TV platforms to public service television operators to address the current undervaluation of public service content by these distributors.
Ofcom should continue to monitor the independent production sector and take action.

3) What does the report say about the BBC?

The BBC is the most important part of the television ecology, but the model of universality underpinning its public service credentials is under threat. 

4) According to the report, how should the BBC be funded in future?

The government should replace the licence fee as soon as is practically possible with a more progressive funding mechanism such as a tiered platform-neutral household fee, a supplement to Council Tax or funding via general taxation with appropriate parliamentary safeguards. 

5) What does the report say about Channel 4?

Channel 4 occupies a critical place in the public service ecology – supporting the independent production sector and airing content aimed specifically at diverse audiences. 

6) How should Channel 4 operate in future?

Channel 4 should not be privatised – neither in full or in part.

7) Look at page 10 - new kids on the block. What does the report say about new digital content providers and their link to public service broadcasting?

Digital content providers should be boosted by public intervention.

Final questions - your opinion on public service  broadcasting

1) Should the BBC retain its position as the UK’s public service broadcaster?

I think that the BBC is important due to it's focus on public affairs. Echoing James Curran, the British public are more well informed than america's market driven entertainment and so there is benefit in keeping the BBC.

2) Is there a role for the BBC in the 21st century digital world?

The BBC is severely threatened by online streaming services. I agree with Hesmondhalgh's view that the BBC will struggle next to tech companies due to aspects such as budgets being much higher for tech companies than Public service broadcasters. Promotion and publicity holds huge power in the media landscape. However the BBC is important in a biased digital landscape where news stories aren't guaranteed to be truthful. I think the BBC holds an importance in being an unbiased news broadcaster.

3) Should the BBC funding model (license fee) change? How?

The public is going to become unwilling to pay for it due to the rise of streaming services, and so it seems like the funding model should change. The Goldsmiths report suggests ."The government should replace the licence fee as soon as is practically possible with a more progressive funding mechanism such as a tiered platform-neutral household fee, a supplement to Council Tax or funding via general taxation with appropriate parliamentary safeguards."

Industries: Ownership and control

Media conglomerate research

1) Type up your research notes from the lesson - what did you find out about your allocated media conglomerate? Selection of companies: Alphabet, The Walt Disney Company, Comcast, 21st Century Fox, Facebook, Viacom, News Corp, Time Warner. If you were absent or don't have the notes, research any of the companies above and find examples of all the terminology outlined in the notes at the start of this blogpost.

News Corp:

• Is owned by Rupert Murdoch, an Australian billionare.
• News corp has acquired companies such as Twentieth century fox, HarperCollins, and the Wall Street Journal.
• Other companies it parents are Fox news, Sky, New York Post, national geographic, the Sun and the Australian.
• News companies owned by Murdoch are known to be partisan; for example politically siding with Trump.
• Recently, Murdoch attempted to takeover Sky by 21st Century Fox which caused the CMA to get involved.

2) Do you agree that governments should prevent media conglomerates from becoming too dominant? Write an argument that looks at both sides of this debate.

There is a danger to letting conglomerates become too dominant, as huge conglomerates are impossible to regulate due to being so powerful. Once conglomerates get too powerful, they are impossible to govern to make sure they are abiding by laws, and so I think governments should prevent that from happening.

Media Magazine reading and questions

Media Magazine 52 has a good feature on the changing relationship between audiences and institutions in the digital age. Go to our Media Magazine archive, click on MM52 and scroll to page 9 to read the article 'Two Key Concepts: The Relationship Between Audience and Institution'.

1) Briefly describe the production, promotion and distribution process for media companies.

The production process provides audiences with the media products they want. The promotion process researches and identifies the target audience for the product. The distribution process gets the product to the audience.

2) What are the different funding models for media institutions?

The BBC relies on a licence fee paid for by the public.
The ITV relies on income generated by advertisers.
Sky One's income is generated by subscription fees and advertising revenue.

3) The article gives a lot of examples of major media brands and companies. Choose three examples from the article and summarise what the writer is saying about each of them. 

Disney: Its brand is built on it's reputation for animation, known as a family-friendly brand focusing on children's entertainment.
Marvel: Its brand is built on superhero movies that are known for their action and violence but also reinforce mainstream values around duty, sacrifice, personal responsibility and the need for the strong to protect the weak. Their movies are un-risky which has allowed the studio to thrive.

4) What examples are provided of the new business models media companies have had to adopt due to changes in technology and distribution?

2010's introduction of online streaming services to keep up with the new digital age.
In the mid 2000s, Spotify offered an online music service in an attempt to counter free download culture.

5) Re-read the section on 'The Future'. What examples are discussed of technology companies becoming major media institutions?

• Google now owns YouTube, and has revolutionised the way we access music and moving-image entertainment and information.
• Amazon, Netflix and Yahoo now create, produce and ‘broadcast’ their own TV shows, such as Transparent, Orange is the New Black and Community.
• Facebook has bought the virtual reality technology Oculus Rift; one potential benefit for audiences is that it allows users to ‘attend’ and ‘experience’ events without leaving their own homes.

6) Do you agree with the view that traditional media institutions are struggling to survive?

Yes somewhat, due to the new digital age. TV programming cinema is steadily being dominated by streaming services, however older audiences will be more likely to watch TV than to stream. Tech companies such as google and amazon have higher budgets to market their series and thus would be expected to gain more publicity than a TV series.

7) How might diversification or vertical integration help companies to survive and thrive in a rapidly changing media landscape?

Diversification allows companies to keep up with changes in the market, allowing them to maintain an audience. Vertical integration reduces cost and maximises profit and reducing the inherent risk of the media landscape.

8) How do YOU see the relationship between audience and institution in the future? Will audiences gain increasing power or will the major global media conglomerates maintain their control?

I believe that the major global media conglomerates will continue to diversify and use tactics that will allow them to maintain an audience, thus maintaining their control.

MIGRAIN: Hesmondhalgh - The Cultural Industries

Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet 168: David Hesmondhalgh’s ‘The Cultural Industries’. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets

Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks:

1) What does the term 'Cultural Industries' actually refer to?

The term ‘cultural industry’ refers to the creation, production, and distribution of products of a cultural or artistic nature.

2) What does Hesmondhalgh identify regarding the societies in which the cultural industries are highly profitable?

They tend to be societies that support the conditions where large companies, and their political allies, make money. These conditions being: constant demand for new products; minimal regulation outside of general competition law; relative political and economic stability; workforces that are willing to work hard.

3) Why do some media products offer ideologies that challenge capitalism or inequalities in society?

Companies try to outdo each other to try and satisfy audience desires for the shocking, profane or rebellious in order to secure audience members when competing with eachother.

4) Look at page 2 of the factsheet. What are the problems that Hesmondhalgh identifies with regards to the cultural industries?

• Risky business
• Creativity versus commerce
• High production costs and low reproduction costs
• Semi-public goods; the need to create scarcity

5) Why are so many cultural industries a 'risky business' for the companies involved?

> Audiences are unpredictable
> It's impossible to predict how well a product will do, partly due to the fact companies cannot completely control the publicity a product will receive. Judgements and reactions of audiences, critics and journalists etc. cannot accurately be predicted.

6) What is your opinion on the creativity v commerce debate? Should the media be all about profit or are media products a form of artistic expression that play an important role in society?

I believe that media products that aim to be creatively stimulating over profitable are important to the diversity of media products. It's essential for products to be unique and artistic as there needs to be an artistic freedom in society that should be reflected in our media. Not only this, they could perhaps also bring in a large audience and become profitable due to the nature of the cultural industries as unpredictable.

7) How do cultural industry companies minimise their risks and maximise their profits? (Clue: your work on Industries - Ownership and control will help here) 

Conglomerate ownership is a way of offsetting risk. Vertical integration and diversification is used in order to spread the risk and maximise profit; however if the parent company isn't experienced in certain areas or lacks expertise, it may not be as successful. Diversification means companies can keep up with a constantly changing and evolving industry and not fall behind due to new competition. For example, due to the rise of the digital age, media companies have had to diversify into streaming and other internet driven distribution.

8) Do you agree that the way the cultural industries operate reflects the inequalities and injustices of wider society? Should the content creators, the creative minds behind media products, be better rewarded for their work?

I do believe that the creative minds behind media products are essential in creating diverse and entertaining products in the media, and so they should be better rewarded.

9) Listen and read the transcript to the opening 9 minutes of the Freakonomics podcast - No Hollywood Ending for the Visual-Effects Industry. Why has the visual effects industry suffered despite the huge budgets for most Hollywood movies?

Not much money goes to the visual effects company because visual effects companies are locked into an amount after bidding for jobs no matter what actually happens in the production.

10) What is commodification? 

The transforming of objects and services into commodities.

11) Do you agree with the argument that while there are a huge number of media texts created, they fail to reflect the diversity of people or opinion in wider society?

I believe that there has been an improvement in attempting to reflect the diversity of society in media texts in recent years. For instance, more TV shows have POC and WOC leads and there is a larger acceptance for LGBT characters. 

12) How does Hesmondhalgh suggest the cultural industries have changed? Identify the three most significant developments and explain why you think they are the most important.

• Digitalisation, the internet and mobile phones have multiplied the ways audience can gain access to cultural content. This has made small scale production much easier for millions of people (think self-representation + prosumers).
• Powerful IT and technology companies now work with cultural industries to understand and produce cultural production &consumption. These companies (e.g. Apple, Microsoft, Google,Amazon) are now as powerful and influential in cultural industries as traditional companies such as News Corporation, Time Warner or Sony.
• Huge increase in the amount companies spend on advertising which has helped to fuel the growth of the cultural industries.

Audience Classification

Structure

The psychographic group you are researching: Reformers

Names: Hope and Wisdom

Where they work/study: They're studying at university.

Activities in their spare time: They listen to podcasts, plant trees and do yoga

Media consumption:

Newspapers/magazines they read: They read the independent and the guardian and do so digitally

TV programmes/channels they watch: They listen to independent podcasts over TV

Technology they own: Ipads and macbooks

Social media they use: Tumblr and Pintrest

My psychographic group:

I think I would be a mainstreamer, mostly due to the fact that I am very much a part of the mass when it comes to the brands I consume. Although I have fairly niche interests when it comes to certain media products like TV shows, everything else I'm very mainstream.