Industries: Ownership and control

 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, National Amusements, Meta, News Corp, Time Warner, Comcast. If you were absent or didn't have time in the lesson to make these notes, research any one of the companies above and find examples of all the terminology outlined in the notes at the start of this blogpost.

META

They were fined because of privacy reasons

They own instagram and whatsapp

They made meta glasses

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.

Yes - if one media company is very dominant then nobody will challenge them so they wont have any new ideas and the only new things will come from the same company so it wont be very different and they can control what we think is good to an extent

No - they might like this idea because it means everything comes from the same monopoly so it is reliable and trusted

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 - considers audiences desires and provides them with what they want

The promotion process - researches target audiences and tried to target them through marketing

The distribution process - gets the product to the target audience is a suitable way making it as easy as possible for them to access

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

+

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. 

BBC - Tv license 

ITV - Programme sponsorship

Sky one - Subscription fees and advertising revenue

Sony - Sales of games , merch , Cds

The mail online - advertising space , sponsership

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

Disney

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

Amazon 

Facebook

Google

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

yes

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

Helps them still make money if one part of it fails minimising risk

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 the audience will have more power because they decide what they want to consume