MI: Ownership Effects - Curran And Seaton Flashcards
What are the benefits of Horizontal integration
- Production costs can be minimised
- Sharing resources
- Controlling the market
Disney is a good example of a vertically intergrated company in that it owns subsidiary organisations that fulfill the following aspects of the production process
- Production division: Owns film production studios and television production divisions (e.g. ABC)
- Distribution services: able to globally distribute their filmic and television content without the need to employ external partners
- Subsidary support - owning specialist support subsidiaries allows Disney to manage project effectivley
What are the benefits of Vertical integration
- Capturing upstream and downstream profits: Producing and distributing products internally creates substantial cost savings
- Control over all aspects of the production chain: Can release products internally creates substantial ways that maximise profits - allows companies to release or schedule products so that they do not compete with one another
- Restricting access to competitors: By controlling key distribution outlets, Disney can prevent rivals from dominating broadcast schedules
- Cross-media ownership synergies: E.g. star-wars can be recycled into gaming products
Proprietor power
- Direct control: Curran suggests proprietor owners censor new content that conflicts with their political views
- Indirect control - hiring editors who are sympathetic to a specific worldview
What causes proprietor power
Media concentration
Commercial media
An organisation that makes or distributes products for economic gain.
Commercial media usually make products for entertainment purposes
Horizontal integration
Ownership of subsidiaries that produce similar types of products
Hysterical news values
Sensationalist news content used to drive mass market sales
Mass Market news
News designed to appeal to huge readerships often critiqued for its lack of analysis or entertainment-driven values. Also known as news depoliticisation
Media concentration/ media convergence
A term used to describe the reduction in the number of media organisations that produce products
Media pluralism
A media landscape with a healthy balance of products made by different media company types. typically these company types include public service broadcasters, commercial media and citizen generated media
Public service broadcasting
A media producer who is not reliant on advertising or fund production or does not make products for commercial gain. Public service broadcasting usually seek to inform and educate their audiences as well entertain
Vertical integration
Ownership of subsidiaries that enable a media producer to produce, promote and distribute products
