COMM 345 Exam 2 Study Guide

Be able to describe how the newspaper business model changed in the U.S. from around 1800 to 1830.

It started in the late 1700s as something for the educated (elite/higher class) and mainly just political info but then around the mid 1800s it changed, it went into mass printing on cheaper material, and realized they could sell more if they instead marketed and made it available to everyone.

what is a single media good

going to watch a movie (you buy a ticket and you can only watch the move ONCE) if you want to watch it again you have to buy a ticket again

• Most of them are paid by industrial transaction (like buying a ticket)

What is a continuous good?

constantly refreshing material like newspapers because you get a new one everyday with new updated information everyday.

• Constituent goods are often substitution based and paid for by continuous transactions 

• Another Example TV show like friends because there are multiple episode

what is Development costs:

• :The costs sustained from planning a project 

• EX: fees a movie studio pays to secure a script 

• Or TV studios producing a “pilot”

• These costs are often risky :

• Many media products that are “ developed” are never “created”

what is Production cost?

• Costs associated with the actual making of the Media product

• Salaries to actors/ directors 

• Cost of technicians , Caterers

• Cost of Material ( Costumes, set design/ construction )

what is Marketing & Distribution Cost?

• The money paid to advertise/ Promote a media product 

• In 2009, average cost to promote a new movie was between $30 and $50 million

What is Overhead cost:

• The cost required to maintain media institutions that manage and finance the product

• Cost for supporting the media infrastructure (the conglomerate)

• The employees

•  Lawyers

• Office supplies 

• Real state

All the people you pay to keep your business running (your a boss you have to pay your employees), Also include mortgage, or anything else that keeps the business running 

describe how costs are funded in the following media industries: independent films, video games, and TV shows.

The producer is the one usually keeping it running, and if it is their first film they have investors (who will get their money back and some extra future profit if they end up being successful).

Why are gaming consoles, relatively speaking, fairly affordable? 

Consumers such as Xbox or Play station are "reasonably priced” because Sony and Microsoft want the majority of people to have the console. They could charge more so consumers can afford it  and additionally buy more games to play with the station.

Where do console creators like Sony and Microsoft make their money in the gaming industry?

They make the majority of their profit off the video games, they don't create it but they take 30% of all the games which adds up to a lot. Also to ensure that the games are inclusive to the game console you have. (a xbox game can only br played on a xbox not on a playstation, not interchangeable)

how much the average video game costs to develop?

• A average development of video game cost around $20 million dollars 

What is a tentpole game?  Why do these tentpole games cost so much more to develop?

• “Tentpole” games are those developers believe will be sure-fire hits even before release 

• The average ten-pole game is hundred of millions of dollars, this being possible because of licensing fees for people or brands 

 Popular franchises of games, spend a lot of money creating and also the ones that are most successful and have to pay for licencing right from NBA, FIFA or NFL

How does “deficit financing” work in the TV industry?. 

1. Producers pitch a show idea to a network

• If the network likes the idea, they give producers money to write script (30% of what it cost)

• Does the network like the script?

• If “yes”, then network pays producer to shoot a pilot

• Does the network like the pilot episode?

• If “yes”, and the network has a place for it in their schedule, then….

• The network will pay a licensing fee 

• Gives the network the right to air the show a few times ( original airing and reruns)

2. The licensing fee the networks does not usually cover the full cost of production (maybe 70%)

• The production studio covers the rest of the cost (the deficit)

• Studio, therefor, loses money

• At least for the term of the original networks license 

3. Secondary Marketing 

• Local TV stations (syndication/reruns)

• Cable channels 

• Networks outside U.S.

• DVDS

• Streaming services like netflix

• Studios can cover deficits by selling successful shows to these secondary markets 

• But most shows are not successful (barely get through one season if they make it past the pilot).

1. How do “secondary markets” help a studio make up for the money it  loses in the production of a TV show?

It helps by selling the rights from the studos to local stations or cable networks, other things that help studios is international audnaces, such as how the show could do in other countries. 

what is cost-plus system?

• Network pays the studio the cost of production, plus a fee for the producer.

• Network effectively “owns” the show now

• Network reaps any feature reword from the show’s licensing  

Where does the idea of real and constructed audiences come from?

• from Havens & Lotz 

What is a “real audiance"

the people who actually go to the theaters or watch the movie on streaming (actually consume the media)

What is “constructed auaidnces”

imaged by media creators (the likes,dislikes and characteristics of the average consumer for that product)

What is a dual-revenue stream?

The two revenues that play a dual in dual revenue stream is advertisement and Ads/subscriptions, which usually depend more on advertising dollars, with time some online publications make more in subscriptions than from ads.

What is Utopianism?

think that it is great and will bring about a better/perfect society and that technology will make our lives easier.

What is Dystopanism

The idea that technology will ruin us and be the end of us, that robots/ Ai will ruin everything.

What is Cultural determinism?

Will bring about the idea that humans hold control over technology, and that technology holds a lot of power but it can't happen without us.

• Ex: Google Glasses (tablet on your face, but did not become popular because it was not conventionally stylish to wear on the day to day)

What is Technological determanism?

Technology has power over us, do or die perspective.

• Ex: Phones, if you didn't have one you felt like an outcast in society, had control over how you felt about yourself. 

What are the 5 processes in the Circuit of Cultural production?

Representation, Identity, Production, Consumption and regulations

What is “representation” in the Circuit of Cultural?

The top things the product can do, what they want consumers to focus on when they're selling it to consumers.

What is “identity” in the Circuit of Cultural?

What that brands stand for, become part of consumers identity (what consumer wanted to say about themselves from the product they were buying)

• No matter what the manufacturer's original intent was

What is “Production” in the Circuit of Cultural?

 Consumers concern on how their products are being made, worry about child labor, or sweatshops

• EX: Apple getting canceled for the production they had in Taiwan, where the workers were injured, working in horrible conditions, and  

What is “Consumption” in the Circuit of Cultural?

• Who uses a product, and how do they use it:

• How did the "selfie" phenomenon cause Apple to change its production and representation? 

What is “Regulations” in the Circuit of Cultural?

Those enforced by the government and the self-regulations enforced by the company 

What is “remediation”?

When newer media popularity have an effect in the presentation of older media 

• TV on Newspapers

• Video games on TV

• EX: USA today machine (put in quarter, get out news paper)

The changes that have been made to attract younger audiences 

What are practices?

Practices are the roles of individual workers in the media industries

• EX: Can be “creative” or “non creative “ aka “craft”

What are “creative” practices?

Creative: (get paid up front, before they even do the job (sunk cost)

• Directors, writers, actors,... people with a particular visions 

• Also called “ above-the-line” workers

• Make a line on who would get payed with fix cost and the rest would get payed with sunk cost

• Fixed cost ( sunk cost)

What are “non-creative” practices?

(get paid per job) (behind the scenes) 

• Contriroppen, gaffers, crew manager, Caterers

• Variable cost (paid for each job they do on a set)

• “Below-the-line” workers

What was the studio system?

• Studio System: From 1920s to 1950s Studio Controlled all aspects of Movie-making  (studio controlled everything )

• Directors 

• Actors 

• Writers

Describe the star system that has since replaced the studio system?

• Star System (helped by the paramount decree that the supreme court stated that movie studios had much power)

• A Few established actors/ actresses/ directors are indispensable 

• Necessary for a Hit Movie 

• Mostly replaced the studio system

• Star System gave rise to the agent 

• Negotiates between actors, Director and studios

Who are the “creators”?  What influences how much power a studio gives to a creator?

• Creators: 

• Those responsible for creating the vision or content of a show 

• Executive Producers are often “creators”

• The Power isn’t absolute 

• Often negotiated with studio execs 

• The more success, the more power is given to creators 

• Some creators make “art-for-art sake”, it’s more about the movie than the box office returns 

• The power is measured by success for how much the creator gets

What kinds of jobs/roles do industry executives do?

• enable ot limit creativity 

• Responsible for institutional support 

• Development and circulation of media products 

• Negotiates with media creators 

What are the “standards and practices” people responsible for?

• Group of industry execs responsible for evaluating and assessing media 

• Determine if a particular show is “safe” for airing

• Standards and practices sometimes butt heads on what the writers want to keep in and what the standards and practices of the channel thing might ruin the culture or offend the audience 

What is a Nielsen family?  

• Is a research company  that collects and analyzes tv ratings 

How has Nielsen collected ratings for television shows over the years?

• Randomly goes house holds and asked them if they want to be a “nielsen family

• If they say yes they Puts black box that collects data from household television that sees which shows were watched at what times (this is how they collect ratings)

• From diaries to TV top box (audimeters)

• Used to measure elevation ratings (became the started for TV ratings)

What is “market research”?

• Any research conducted by a media industry before or during a product’s  development 

• Movies are screened for audience before release 

• Market research many interfere with creators; original intent 

EX: Movie studios will take a focus group and get their opinions on it such as each detail for what they liked and what they disliked and if needed that feedback will go back to the director and fix the movie before it is officially releases

How has “crowdfunding” changed practices involving artists and industry executives in the digital age?

Making a content of making it for love of making it instead of it being successful or profit (usually done for a good cause, as to raise awareness for it)

• EX: Gofund me 

What is casualization?

•  is a working practice so that regular workers are reemployed on casual or short term bases.

• When workers are hired for a specific period of time, also with a specific job 

Cons: long work hours, after done don’t know when next job will be 

Pros: will probably be doing a job you are very specialized in.

• Workers hired for a single project 

• When the project is over, workers are let go

• Allows for workers to thrive in “crunch time”

• Blur also allows for long stretches of down time 

Know the 4 elements of the structure of distribution and aggregation.

• Producer, Distributor, Aggregator, consumer

These is a chain of production and consumption, from those who makes media text and us the consumers

Mainly discuss distributors and aggregators, Distributors (very little contact with consumers) they buy the products from the creators(studios, producers) and then sells to aggregators (break and motor businesses, that display  or sell media to consumers) (movie theaters, netflix, hulu, best buy, target, sells movie)

Who are the distributors?  What is their primary role?

• The “middlemen”

• They buy the producer and distribute to the aggregator 

• Distribution can be either physical or technological (digital)

-Distributors have a little contact with the consumer 

-Large companies often have their own distribution divisions 

• Vertical Integration 

• Distributors have certain strategies to make sure aggregators buy their products 

• Bulk discounts 

• Covering cost of advertising/marketing 

• “Make -goods”: making up the revenue for a underperforming show/movie 

What is “selection”?  How is limiting a consumer’s options good for the aggregators?

Selection: Choosing which media products to carry (does this very strategically in a store or in a streaming platforms)

• Could be limited because of physical space 

• selection could be limited due to costs  

• EX: Barns and Nobales sets out tables of new books that are displayed as soon as consumers walk into the store. 

It is good for aggregators because:

• Selling more predictable, therefore, more profitable (limiting options is good for aggregators)

- Helps consumers make easier choices in a crowded media marketplace, and as consumers find what they want they are MORE likely to come back.

What is the Wholesale model?

• Publisher sets a recommended retail for a product (e.g., a book)

• Publisher sells that book to a retailer at “wholesale” price 

• This is usually about 50% of retail price 

• Retailer than changes whatever it likes 

• EX: Barnes and Noble buys books by from publisher at whole sale cost (what they buy the books for) (resail is how much they sell it for which is usually double what they got them from the publisher )

• If it does not sell well they will continue to lower price to make sure they get rid of it and still make their money back

What os the online Agency model?

• Publisher determines a retail price for a product (Ebook)

• Publisher makes deal with aggregator (Apple) to sell product at retail price

• Aggregators makes agreement with publisher to keep certain percentages of each sale (30% in Apple’s case)

• Apple made sure to attain “most favored nation” status in all publisher agreements 

• A publisher couldn’t make a deal with a competing aggregator for a lower wholesale price 

What is Predictable distribution market?

• Distributors have more control over what media an audience can choose.

• Ex: The old network days: CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox. Only four or five TV channels to choose from.

• Sic coms 

What is a complex distribution market?

•  Audience has more control over the media material they consume

• Ex: Independent distributors and distributors will be made able to meet the needs of a niche audience.

What is a surrogate consumer?  How do they “push” content?

• Aggregators make decisions for section and display based on what they believe consumers will want 

• Their role is to put themselves in consumers place to see what we would want  taking best educated guess based on research to push that content to see if we buy it as consumers)

• Aggregators “push” content on buyers by making it available and promptly displaying it (even at times making it cheaper)

How can online aggregators reach a more “niche” audience?

• nline aggregators

• Applications scan news sites for specific content 

• Then distributing that content to one central location 

• A website, your desktop/phone 

• Can customize these aggregators to fit your needs:

Sports news, business news, conservative or liberal media 

What is the strategies the distributors and aggregators use to maximize profits.

Overstocking; Differential promotion

What is Overstocking; Differential promotion?

It's a good thing as a distributor, this is because you don't know what will become a hit. Spend a lot of money up front, but you can make it back and more if one of them becomes a hit

Differential promotion: distribution company thinks something can be a hit so they put more advertising money to make a “buzz” for it 

What was the “payola” scandal on the radio?

Alex Freed (radio disc jockey), came up with the role Rock and roll, and the Payola scandal is when producers would pay bribes to districts in order to have their bands be played on the radio. By having it played multiple times it would help them become successful, after Alex was fired and never went back to radio. 

What is “platform release”:

You would release movies  in smaller theaters to see if it would be successful in order to get “buzz” if it did seem to be successful then you would release it to bigger theaters.

What is windowing?

the time period of when it was released from the beginning to the very end maybe even years later

What is “upstream windowing”

when media streams were first released such as a movies released in theaters (first place/platforms  consumers can view content such as movie) (also almost always the most expensive place to see this content)

What is “downstream” windowing?

After theaters what the decrease of what happens to media content such as movies 

EX:

• Then it will probably to go to streaming, such as netflix 

• Then DVD

• Then maybe cable or broadcast television (for free), which isn't until several years later 

What is disaggregation?

-during covid studios had to release their new movies in streaming platforms along the available theaters (both on the same release dates)

• Works for studios because consumers will still see their content 

• Actors and directors make more revenge on box office sales (theater sales) and in this case it limits their profit.