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.