Mass Media
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Transcript of Mass Media
Mass Media
8 aspects to consider in our course this semester
The eight aspects are...
• Their importance
• Primary Mass Media
• Media Models
• Economics
• Demassification
• Conglomeration
• Globalization
• Media Melding
Their importance
• “Studying the media gives people the tools to know whether the media are living up to their potential as facilitators of democracy.”
Importance of Mass Media
• 1. Pervasiveness
• 2. Citizenship
• 3. Information source
• 4. Entertainment source
• 5. Persuasion
• 6. Binding influence
Primary Media
– Newspapers
– Books
– Magazines
• Radio
• Television
• Computers
• WWW combines text, audio, still and moving visuals.
Chemical Media
• Film
– “silver halide” most efficient as storage medium and can be projected effectively.
Mass Communication Models
• Marshall Mc Luhan--Canada, 1950s
• “Hot” media require thinking, involvement– Newspapers, books, magazines
• “Cool” media require little effort– TV, radio
Models continued
• Entertainment -information model
• A dichotomy
• All media can entertain, inform and persuade
Elitist Populist Model
• Elitist-Populist Model
Elitist-Populist Model
• Elitist– media have obli-
gation to improve, better raise public consciousness
– educate, uplift, refine culture.
– Responsibility: pro- vide cultural & intellectual leadership
• Populist– marketplace decides– give people what
they want
Push-Pull Model
• Push media
• Active
• Thrust messages at you; beepers, ad banners
• Receivers are on
• Pull Media
• Passive
• You steer them
• TV, Radio
Economics of Mass Media
• Two ways to sell media products:
• 1. Advertising support– advertisers pay for access to customers– movie makers use “product placement to
pick up advertising directly– direct payment
• 2. Circulation revenue– Direct audience payment--HBO, subs– Audience donations– Private support– Government subsidies– Auxiliary enterprises--A newspaper may
sell newsprint from its paper factories in Canada.
“Economic Imperative”
• Means that you must make money
• The principle at work when TV shows are cancelled due to low ratings.
• Promotions
Upside and downside
• Free press
• Independent press
• Hard to get certain themes on air
• Media won’t investigate their co’s
• Who owns the “free” press?
US Media Landscape
• 12, 227 radio stations– Average is 5 per household
• 1,564 TV stations• $40.8 billion in Adv revenues
– 70% to TV; 30% to radio• 84% have VCR’s• $123.4 billion total stock market value of Fox,
(News Corp) Walt Disney and CBS
Factoids about Cable
• 11,800 cable systems.• Time Warner cable the largest.• Telecom Inc is largest MSO.• 67.4% US HH subscribe to cable.• 50% of cable wired HH have >30 chs.• Cable costs average $27.43 a month• HBO first satellite channel--1975• Industry revenues about $29 billion.
Some thoughts about kids and TV
• TV is on 7 hours 9 minutes a day.• Children 2-17 watch TV 3 hours a day• 1,392 crime stories on ABC/CBS/NBC eve.
news in 1998.• From 1996-1998 in Prime Time
– 5% increase in violence– 30% increase in foul language– 42%increase in sexual content
The Internet
• 35% of US population use Internet
• 57 % Internet users are men
• 71% purchasing online by men.
• $1.3 billion spent by teens and kids to buy goods online in 2002 (projection)
• $128.4 billion total stock market value of American Online, Inc., May 1999
Media Demassification
• No longer seek mass audiences
• Radio began to demassify in 50s
• Now target segments of market share
• Use demographics, psychographics
Effects of Demassification
• Advertisers bypass mass media to reach audiences.
• Alternative media--narrowly focused adv– Direct mail– Point of purchase TV commercials– Grocery stores– Place-based media– Doctor’s offices– Telemarketing
Consequences
• Tendency
– Revenue base will change.
– Mass media will lose advertising support.
– Did you see Blair Witch.com?
Media Conglomeration
• Big advantage--stability through rough periods
• Media ownership changing
• Business mgmt. “experts” run media enterprise; quality of media suffers
• Mergers, acquisitions, buyouts, corporate ownership
Top Six US Media Companies
• Time Warner
• News Corps
• Telecommunication, Inc.
• GE-NBC
• Disney ABC
• Microsoft
Media Monopoly or Not?
• Monopolies
– Justice Dept Needs evidence of “collusion” to fix prices
– Microsoft investigation
Dubious Effects of Conglomeration
• Potential for self serving inherent
• Agenda is profits! Not ideology.
• Negative impact on diversity: sameness
• Quality suffers: fewer people do more work. People are laid off.
• Newsgathering suffers
Positive Effects of Conglomeration
• US book industry financially stronger
• Builder-entrepreneurs committed to media and its traditions
Media Globalization
• “Globalization”--international conglomerate acquisition for media holdings
• 1. Transnational ownership• 2. “anonymous superpowers” which
threaten US cultural autonomy• 3. Can adopt local strategy and respect
national character and cultural tradition.
Media Melding--8 primary media in transition
• Digitization--process that compresses, stores and transmits data:--text, sound, video…
• Intracorporate Synergy--TV networks that rely on one another’s productions; joint ventures between Hollywood film studios and TV networks. Partners, not competitors.
Final Thoughts on Chapter One
• Correlation between media use, education and prosperity key to development
The First Amendment
• “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”