In this opening section of the unit, you will be expected to look at a specific media industry. In turn you will be expected to provide an analysis of the industry and how the industry is regulated with regard to content and ownership.
This opening section of the unit is broken down into 4 main areas which are listed below.
Students should use the information below as a guide to completing section 1.1, this section should be a minimum of 1500 words and a maximum of 3000 words.
When undertaking this unit, students are expected to present research results in a relevant format in addition to their essay. This may include graphs, charts, audio/visual recordings etc;
1. Different types of media organisations within the area chosen for study and the scope and objectives of their operations.
The Media is made up of many different industries, film, TV, music, new media, advertising and many others. Your job is to choose a media industry and investigate what types of companies make up that industry.
You should formulate an overview of your chosen industry, include charts, graphs etc and try and make the overview as detailed as possible.
The Big Six Media Organisations
Media Ownership
Television:
The TV industry in Britain
Public Service Broadcasting
British Television
The BBC
ITV
Channel 4
Channel 5
Sky TV
Film:
Hollywood Studios
Independent Film
Bollywood
Film Studios
Production Companies
Music:
The Music Industry
Future of the Music Industry
The Big Five
Labels and Publishers
New Media:
What is new media?
AOL
Yahoo
Does Google own the world?
2. Patterns of ownership - who owns what, how and why the patterns change and why it matters.
Does it matter who owns what?
Is ownership of the media something we should be concerned about?
These are the kind of questions you should be addressing in this section of your essay.
Most of the information you need on a daily basis, is supplied for you by the media. You may read a newspaper, watch the TV, listen to the radio or log on to find out what is happening in the world. There is so much happening in the world, who decides what is relevant? What is newsworthy?
This information is supplied to us by media companies, who make these decisions on our behalf, they can help create a window to the world but are they in control of what we see when we peer out of it.
British Media Ownership
Concentration of Media Ownership
Who owns our opinion?
Who controls what we watch?
Each industry is different but in recent times it appears that fewer companies are owning more media and this must have an effect on specific industries and the content they provide for us to consume.
Your task is to explain who owns what in your industry and why it matters....
Check out the selection of films below to find out more about cross ownership of the media the effect it can have......
The Murdoch effect....
The Music Industry....
The future of new media...
3. Regulating and governing ownership and content in the Media.
Each section of the media is regulated by a governing body but who are these organisations? How were they formed? What do they do? How do they regulate the industry?
In the last section we looked at who owns what in the Media and why it matters, is there anything being done to assess the nature of media mergers and challenge these oligopolies?
The competition commission replaced the board for monopolies and mergers and looks into possible mergers, seeking to ensure that industries in Britain remain vibrant and diverse.
The commision is currently looking BSKYB and their proposed acquisition of 17.9% of the shares in ITV plc. (See below)
Why do you think this proposal is being looked at?
In the US there is a similar organisation called the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC have been involved with a number of high profile media mergers over the years.
One of the biggest media mergers in recent years has been the Time Warner merger. This merger received an awful lot of bad press and many people believed that it should never have been allowed to happen. Find out more about this merger below.
The AOL Time Warner merger
FTC Approves Merger
Merger under fire
Regulation of Content:
Media texts are created to be seen or heard by society and can change, inspire, revolt, excite and shock people. It is important that industries are regulated so the public are protected, or is it?
Many industries have independent regulatory bodies:
Ofcom PCC BBFC FCC
Music is a little bit more complex. Music lyrics and album covers are not covered by Ofcom, like music on televison and music videos. The websites below will give you an insite.
http://njnj.essortment.com/musicindustryb_rccy.htm
http://www.nku.edu/~issues/music_censorship/laws.htm
http://website.lineone.net/~foxy282/censorship_of_music.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_of_music
Another complex industry when it comes to regulation is the US Film Industry. The industry self-regulates itself. With major companies not wanting to upset their audiences, major film studios tred very carefully. Often films are only released in certain states in the US, as these states are seen as being a little more liberal than others. Find out more below:
Film Censorship in the US
The Hays Code
The US Rating System
Regulation of the internet is the most complex of all. The internet is fast becoming the most popular form of media and we the public, are not only users but creators. The internet has become the new public space, so how can we regulate it?
The debate will go on!
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,1000000097,39146696,00.htm
http://www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk/MUHome/cshtml/index.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0144730220071102
AOL's advert very cleverly asks the viewer to consider if the internet is a good thing or bad thing. Could they lose customers by airing an advert like this? What do you think?
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