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? 

Alphabet:

-Subsidaries: Google, Waymo, Verily, Google Fiber. These are all examples of Vertical Integration as all of Alphabet's subsidiaries are linked to technology and the internet. Alphabet does have convergence as Google is practically on every device available. 

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.

I believe that the government should allow media conglomerates to have a sense of control behind them because other small media companies should also have a chance at being well known (For example, indie media companies produce great films with important messages for their audience and that media companies should have the recognition they deserve as they are promoting class work which could change people's views and opinions about the media).

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

The production process provides audiences with the media products they want, they need to consider the audience's desires and should provide the gratifications the audiences expects. The promotion process researches and identifies the target audience for the product, they use advertising and marketing strategies to persuade them of the value of the media product. The distribution process uses the most appropriate methods for getting the product to the audience and making it easy for them to access it. 

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

• BBC is funded by a licence fee and it has a public service remit, it is more likely to screen programmes with a regional interest than other broadcasters.

• ITV relies on income generated by advertisers. This means that appeal to a large audience are seen as more valuable than ones with smaller niche audiences

• Sky One needs an income from subscribers and may well invest in programming that attracts a loyal audience, who are more likely to invest in a long term subscription to guarantee early access to the shows they enjoy.

• The MailOnline receives more income the longer a reader stays on the site, so stories will feature lots of images and videos, and sensationalised or controversial headlines will be constructed to ‘tempt’ readers to ‘click through’.

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 is known as a family-friendly brand that focuses on children’s entertainment. It has built on its original reputation for animation, created early in the 20th century, through the construction of a ‘universe’ of merchandising and branded products, including Disneyland and the Disney Princess franchise. Parents can feel reassured that a Disney product will provide a wholesome form of entertainment appropriate for

children.

Marvel is inextricably associated with the superhero genre as the film production studio developed from its hugely popular original comic book publications. Marvel superhero films may well contain lots of violence; but they will also reinforce mainstream values around duty, sacrifice, personal responsibility and the need for the strong to protect the weak. Like Disney, the Marvel brand constructs a familiar and reassuring expectation for the audience. Going to see a Marvel superhero film is unlikely to offer many surprises, but it is precisely this familiarity that has enabled the studio to produce enormously successful films since the late 1990s.

In the mid 2000s, Spotify offered an online music service in an attempt to counter free download culture. People could either enjoy free music with ads, for a limited time, or pay a monthly subscription and get access to music without ads.

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

• The music industry can no longer generate most of its profits through the sale of music itself, so other ways to make money have been sought. Sponsorship, merchandising, and the income generated by live shows are some of the ways it seeks to recoup its investment.

• The movie industry has invested enormous sums of money into 3D technology, in order to encourage audiences into cinemas.

• The BBC is reconsidering its funding structure now on-demand viewing is becoming more popular.

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?

I do agree with this view as media is changing at rapid paces in this day and age, and these traditional media institutions need to adapt constantly otherwise audiences and people will fall out of love with them in favour for the bigger institutions.

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

Diversification can help companies survive in this new media landscape as it gives them an opportunity to slowly appear on the tabs of audiences. They'd also begin to widen their reach through the media and help rebuild their reputations. Examples of this being the fact that film companies will sometimes release their films onto streaming services like Amazon Prime in oder to revitalise the films name and rep.

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 in the future audiences can gain increasing power as they can boycott a company into doing something, for example: Consumers of Netflix were annoyed when they took off The Vampire Diaries of Netflix and Netflix gaining lots of criticism for this decision put back Vampire Diaries back on Netflix. However, global media conglomerates can maintain their control as they are giant, wealthy companies which easily can cover up their tracks if something happened.