J201 Lecture Mass media structure mass communication processes purposes mass media producers technologies products mass society effects audiences cultures one example of a model of media structure deFleur 1966 different kinds of arguments about media structure descriptive arguments How are the media organized in our society today historical arguments How did the media come to be organized in our society in this way analytical arguments How does this media organization affect our society and which social processes do they serve normative arguments How should the media be organized in our society and which social processes should they serve Ben Bagdikian The Media Monopoly 1983 edition 50 large global media conglomerates control most US media called alarmist 1992 edition 24 2000 edition 6 2004 edition 5 Time Warner Disney News Corporation Bertelsmann Viacom AdAge com 2008 revenue in million What does monopoly mean here What does monopoly mean here Elimination of all competing firms Ability to set prices Exclusive access to airwaves Exclusive reach to audiences Exclusive control over the marketplace of ideas Really oligopoly control over the supply of a commodity is in the hands of a small number of producers and each one can influence prices and affect competitors two normative ideals of media organizations and social structure collective publicly owned democratic decision making serve public interest capitalist privately owned free market decision making serve shareholder interest let s take each in turn collective publicy owned media means of production are publicly owned or funded goal is to serve public interest in their best interests must have a revenue stream taxes gifts state management more diverse low barrier to entry democratic accountability diverse public sphere wall between editorial and state censorship propaganda tendency toward elitist content capitalist privately owned media means of production are privately owned or licensed goal is to generate profit for owners shareholders must have a revenue stream advertising subscriptions market competition more efficient more innovative consumer accountability diverse marketplace of ideas wall between editorial and advertising product placement tendency toward least common denominator content Implications for the role of the audience audience as citizen decision maker audience as consumer of both media and products audience as product eyeballs sold to advertisers audience as labor doing work for advertisers two examples America Online Home Box Office HBO Cinemax HBO Films early 20th century Time magazine 1983 AOL founded 1990 Time acquired Warner Communications 1996 Time Warner acquired TBS including CNN 2003 AOL Time Warner 2000 AOL acquired Time Warner rebranded as Time Warner New Line Cinema Corp Time Inc People Sports Illustrated Time InStyle Essence Communications Essence Southern Progress Corp Southern Living Cooking Light Suns Time4 Media Golf Magazine Field Stream Time Warner Cable Time Warner Cable Road Runner Turner Broadcasting System CNN CNN com TBS TCM TNT Warner Bros Entertainment Castle Rock Entertainment Warner Bros Pictur Warner Bros Television Group Warner Bros Television Production WB TV Network Warner Home Video FactPack Advertising Age 33 Steve Case AOL Gerald Levin Time in 2000 MORE MEDIA COMPANIES BY SECTOR SECTOR 4 media revenue are U S only which advertising is a key elemary sources include BIA Audit Bureau of Circulations V REVENUE CHANGE 8 505 9 6 7 487 20 9 4 756 1 0 4 538 2 6 From 100 Leading Media Cos AA Aug 22 2005 TOP 3 INTERNET COMPANIES RANK MEDIA COMPANY NET INTERNET AD REVENUE CHANGE 1 Time Warner 2 Yahoo 2 653 95 8 3 Google 2 083 107 0 8 692 AdAge com 2006 TOP 3 OUTDOOR COMPANIES RANK MEDIA COMPANY 1 Clear Channel Communications 2 Viacom 1 1 NET OUTDOOR REVENUE CHANGE 2 447 12 5 1 880 7 5 Time Warner board interlocks 2001 Allstate American Express American International AMR Barksdale Group Catellus Development Chevron Citigroup Colgate Palmolive Community Health Systems Dell Computers Eagle River Exult Fannie Mae FedEx Forstmann Little Co Hills Co Hilton Hotels Interpublic Group Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers Lucent Morgan Stanley Dean Witter New York Stock Exchange Nextel Communications Oakwood Homes Corp Park Place Entertainment Pearson plc PepsiCo Pfizer Pharmacyclics Sears Sun Microsystems TCW Webvan Westfield America Corp XO Communications ZG Ventures Benefits of a Time Warner monopoly represents economic success in the marketplace and the collective desires of the consuming public allows the amassing of capital required for investments in new technologies and production of high quality content free from government control or censorship reap social benefits of digital convergence Dangers of a Time Warner monopoly eliminates the beneficial effects of economic competition resulting in an inferior media product at an inflated price works against media diversity resulting in homogenized mainstream viewpoints breaks down wall between editorial and advertising breaks down wall between editorial and the state currying favor no matter which party controls state since the mass media are so instrumental in providing the forum for debate over and regulation of the mass media themselves once concentrated the media owners will use their position to reproduce their position of power founded in 1969 as part of the Great Society supported but not controlled by the federal government scarcity of quality programming funds attacked in1970s 1980s 1990s and today for liberal bias owned operated by the nation s 350 public television stations 2 2 billion revenue in 2000 10 of Time Warner a few stations serve as production centers WNET New York WGBH Boston WETA Washington DC WTTW Chicago KCET Los Angeles PBS programming lives on in schools and libraries PBS FY 2005 revenue by source The PBS monopoly and its audience service revenue dilemma expected to produce programming of higher quality and less commercialism than that of the networks must pitch its programming to potential corporate underwriters who covet an upscale audience accused of unfair subsidized competition vs commercial networks accused of an audience simply made up of elite individuals The paradoxical dual attack on the PBS monopoly privatize PBS no longer necessary in age of commercial Web and cable regulate PBS achieve more balance by airing more conservative voices and topics each would impose new constraints on PBS the discipline of the
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