ownership effects: james curran and seaton

• Concept 1: the media is controlled by a small number of companies that make products to create profit

Globalisation has concentrated media ownership into the hands of a few companies

Media conglomerates are horizontally and vertically integrated to maximise profits

Large scale media producers rely on advertising to generate income

Advertising drives media companies to produce products that have mass audience appeal

Concept 2:media concentration adversely affects media content

• Business function of media industry takes precedence over its creative/ public service capacity’s

• Profit-driven media is softened to create mass audience appeal

• Minority interest content is pushed to the margins of broadcast schedules

• Free market competitions produces format driven products

Concept 3: diverse ownership creates

• Curran and season highlight the damage that free market ideologies have had on the media landscape

• Public service broadcasting provides impartial news, serves minority audiences and champions national unity by offering inclusive rather that exclusive content

Commercial media

An organisation that makes or distributes products for economic gain. Commercial media usually makes products for entertainment

Horizontal integration

Ownership of subsidedies that produce similar type 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

Term used to describe reduction in number of media organisations that produce products

Media pluralism

Media landscape with a healthy balance of products made by different media company types. These company types include public service broadcasters, commercial media and citizen-generated media

Public service broadcasting

Media producer who is not reliant on advertising to fund production or does not make products for commercial gain. Public service broadcasting products usually seek to inform and educate their audiences as well entertain

Vertical integration

Ownerships of subsidiaries that enable a media producer to produce, promote and distribute products