Industries: Ownership and control

 

Media conglomerate research

Name of media conglomerate: News Corp

Brands and companies the conglomerate is best known for?

Wall Street Journal - (finacial news)

Times ans Sunday times- (uk newspaper)

Harper and Collins- (global book publisher)

Media Magazine reading and questions

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.

Governments should step in to stop media conglomerates from becoming too powerful because it helps protect diverse viewpoints and access to reliable information. However, over-regulations could slow innovation, so it’s about finding the right balance to keep media fair and open while allowing it to grow economically and within the public's interest.

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

• Production: provides audiences with the media products they want. It needs to consider the audience’s desires and should provide the gratifications the audience expects.
• Promotion: researches and identifies the target audience for the product, and uses advertising and marketing strategies to inform and persuade them of the value of the media product. 
• Distribution: uses the most appropriate methods for getting the product to the audience and making it as easy as possible for them to access it.

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

     BBC, Sky One, ITV, The MailOnline

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.

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

Because the BBC is funded by a licence fee and it has a public service remit, it is more likely to screen

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

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

Disney and Marvel

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

Amazon, Netflix and Yahoo now create, produce and ‘broadcast’ their own TV shows

Google now owns Youtube

Facebook has bought the virtual reality technology Oculus Rift

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

 I think yes as there is advanced technology to enhance new ways

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

Vertical integration can help in controlling production, while diversification will expand into multiple areas of entertainment

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 think that audiences might have more say in what gets produced, but big institutions will likely keep their control by adapting to technology.