MIGRAIN: 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 blog post.

Conglomerate Ownership
Owned by AT&T
They own HBO, Warner Bro, Time Inc, The CW

Vertical and Horizontal intergration
Vertical Integration -> lend cameras to other studio
Horizontal Intergration -> news channels
Synergy
Harry Potter- The Warner brother, the title screen changes
Diversification
HBO streaming, they use twitter
Cross-media regulation
They were fairly suspected in their vertical integration

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 agree that government should prevent media conglomerates from becoming too dominant because if they do then they may make the media quite biased and one sided which could influence the audience to believe/ think in a certain way. Also the media is always fluctuating with its views and the greater audience should have influence over this.

However the media can have an effect on the younger generations and if there is no control over the media then who knows how it influence the younger generations and the impacts it can have. Also uncontrollable media can chaos havoc because no one is able to change anything and some topic of media can be blown out proportion or the wrong information can be out there.

Media Magazine reading and questions

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

The production process provides audiences with the media products they want. It needs to consider the audience’s desires and should provide the gratifications the audience expects.
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The promotion process 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.
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The distribution process 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 are funded by licence fees and has public service remit therefore they are more likely to screen

ITV are funded mostly by advertisers therefore they are more likely to appeal to a large audience.
Sky have their income with subscribers so they need to invest in programmes which generate a loyal fandom

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.
Marvel is inextricably associated with the superhero genre as the film production studio developed from its
hugely popular original comic book publications.

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

In the 1980s, the development of VHS made access to Hollywood films easier and more convenient. To lure
viewers out of their homes and back into cinemas, film studios invested in multiplex cinemas which provided
more choice, and more glamour and luxury for cinemagoers.

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

Technology companies such as Amazon, Facebook, Google and Yahoo are, by their very nature, at the
forefront of change; they too have become ‘media institutions’.

6) Do you agree with the view that traditional media institutions are struggling to survive?
Yes because the struggle to respond quickly to the changes unlike newer media institutions.

7) How might diversification or vertical integration help companies to survive and thrive in a rapidly changing media landscape? 
Diversification helps companies to branch out into different range of area which makes it easier for it to change.

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 the audience now have more access and power to media however it maybe hard to over power global media conglomerates because of the money and power the hold.