Ownership and Control

Question 1

what does concentration of ownership mean?

Answer 1

who owns the media, how much they own and how do they own so much.

Question 2

what does control mean?

Answer 2

who has the power over media content, the owners, journalists or consumers?

Question 3

in US media, what did the ownership fall from and to in 1983 and 2004, and what does this show?

Answer 3

1983= 50 corporations
2004= 6 corporations
=this shows that the ownership has significantly decreased, with there only being a few corporations now owning the media

Question 4

what is media monopoly?

Answer 4

the amount of media corporations own has increased, and so their wealth and power has also increased, they have dominance over others

Question 5

who came up with the concept of media monopoly?

Answer 5

Bagdikian

Question 6

in the UK, how many newspapers are there compared to how many people dominate them?

Answer 6

newspapers= 1200
people dominating= 7

Question 7

describe some of Rupert Mudoch’s ownership?

Answer 7

-co-chairman of Fox Corporation and executive chairman of News Corp
-inherited chain of newspapers
-sold majority of 21st century fox entertainment assets to Walt Disney company for $71.3 billion

Question 8

what is the Marxist approach on ownership and control?

Answer 8

take a negative approach, they see this as damaging and detrimental to consumers and society

Question 9

what is the pluralist approach on ownership and control?

Answer 9

take a positive approach and see it as beneficial for both consumers and society as a whole

Question 10

what are the 5 ways in which marxists say the media concentration has occurred?

Answer 10

1- vertical integration
2- horizontal integration
3- transnational corporations
4- synergy
5- diversification

Question 11

what is vertical integration?

Answer 11

the process in which media company attempts to control every aspect of their industry

Question 12

what is horizontal integration?

Answer 12

process in which a company owns a wide range of different media platforms

Question 13

what is transnational corporations?

Answer 13

companies can operate in several countries with lack of regulation, with many companies becoming global conglomerates (dominate the global media market)

Question 14

what is synergy?

Answer 14

two-fold process, produce products to promote primary products, as well as using media outlets to promote and sell other media outlets

Question 15

what is diversification?

Answer 15

media company will diversify from media into other platforms in non-media markets

Question 16

what did Tunstall and Palmer say?

Answer 16

argued that governments and media owners offer each other ‘regulatory favours’
-‘you scratch my back, I will scratch yours.’

Question 17

what did the Leveson inquiry find after the news of the world scandal?

Answer 17

a range of links between media owners giving support to political parties in return for favourable policy

Question 18

what was the quote made by the sun after the conservative election of 1992?

Answer 18

‘it was the sun wot won it.’

Question 19

what is personalised style of management according to Curran and Seaton?

Answer 19

newspapers owners interfere with newspaper content.

Question 20

what did Murdoch say that links with personalised style of management?

Answer 20

‘I was hands on both economically and editorially in the production of my news.’

Question 21

what is predatory pricing?

Answer 21

global conglomerates have wealth and power to reduce price of products so that smaller and independent companies cannot compete, pushing them out of business

Question 22

what is an example of predatory pricing?

Answer 22

the sun’s 5p edition

Question 23

what did Ralph Milliband say about ideological control?

Answer 23

the media is a tool used by dominant group to control the masses and convince them that the widespread inequalities are inevitable

Question 24

what is another point that Milliband makes about ideological control?

Answer 24

‘new opium of the people’
= replaced the power of religion as the new drug of the people, controlling how they think and act

Question 25

who came up with what diet the media feeds the audience?

Answer 25

Milliband

Question 26

what diet does the media feed the audience?

Answer 26

a diet of undemanding, trivial tv content

Question 27

what does the tv content do to the audience according to Milliband?

Answer 27

‘dumbs us down’ making the audience passive

Question 28

what is candy-floss culture?

Answer 28

media entertainment that is sweet and enjoyable but has no substance

Question 29

what did Blondel say about the Pluralist view?

Answer 29

‘no single individual or group has a monopoly of power. The readers, viewers and listeners are the real power holders.’

Question 30

what is the link between less owners and quality?

Answer 30

less owners increases competition, which ensures better quality products, which further creates more choice for consumers at cheaper prices.

Question 31

what is purchase power according to pluralists?

Answer 31

consumers demand what they want to see and hear, in which the media must supply or risk a competitor gaining the business

Question 32

what is market mechanism according to pluralists?

Answer 32

the media must give the consumer what they want or they will simply not watch/read/listen and instead go to a competitor

Question 33

what is an example of market mechanism?

Answer 33

the sun was failing as a socialist newspaper and so Murdoch changed it to a tabloid in which it quickly became a top selling newspapers

Question 34

what is consumer choice to pluralists?

Answer 34

media professionals act with autonomy, with media produced that interests and attracts the most audience, it is about profit and satisfying the audience

Question 35

what are the 4 positives of the media according to pluralists?

Answer 35

-back by popular demand
-public service broadcasting
-global problems
-citizen journalism

Question 36

what does the point of back by popular demand mean?

Answer 36

if public demand increases, they will get it, media must respond to audience as they can ‘pick and mix.’
-eg= WISPA brought back

Question 37

what does public service broadcasting mean?

Answer 37

a significant share of UK markets are PSB, meaning they have a worldwide reputation for being impartial and diverse, must serve the needs of a diverse public

Question 38

what did Whale say about global problems?

Answer 38

media owners have global problems to deal with so they simply cannot concern themselves with the day to day running of the media content

Question 39

what is the pluralist argument of citizen journalism?

Answer 39

audience can now produce their own media, prosumerism