Who controls the media?

Trends in media ownership

Main trend- very concentrated, in the hands of a few companies, interested in making profits

New Tech Giants- New Media

• Apple- apple music, apple tv, devices on IOS

• Google- Chromebooks, Android devices, Youtube, Google apps

• Amazon- Kindle, Prime TV, Twitch

• Microsoft- Skype, Xbox

• Facebook- Instagram, Whatsapp

Example of ownership of media: News UK and News Corporation

News UK and News Corporation→ 32% share of UK national daily (excluding Sunday) newspaper circulation (May 2015)

• Sun, The Times, Sunday Times

• BUT they also own: 39% of Sky television, broadband and telephony, HarperCollins book publishers, wide range of websites

An example of traditional media changing into new media

Disney Channel→ Disney+

Who’s the key thinker of media ownership??

Bagdikan! (1989)

What did Bagdikan say?

• ‘Lord of the Global Village’- small number of powerful media corporations dominate the worlds mass media, shaping everything we see, read, hear

The 6 features of Media ownership:

1. Concentration of ownership

2. Media conglomerates

3. Horizontal + Vertical integration

4. Global ownership

5. Profit driven content

6. Political and ideological influence

Explanation of the first 3 features of media ownership:

1. Media is concentrated in the few very large companies

2. Companies that have diversity of interests in a wide variety of products e.g. virgin who have airlines trains, banks, phones

3. (H) Media owners invests in a range of media e.g. newspapers, magazines, book publishing (V) concentration of ownership is within a single medium such s one company owning several newspapers and owning the production

Explanation of the last 3 features of media ownership:

4. Companies own them worldwide, western views, spreading these beliefs internationally

5. Prioritising advertisement, entertainment

6. Shaping public opinions by promoting the companies own interests

Synergy is another feature of media ownership, explain it!

• Synergy is what happens when media companies produce, promote and sell a product in a variety of forms through all the various subsidiaries

Example of synergy

• a film shown in cinemas might be promoted by advertising sales of the book on which the film is based, then sold as a DVD, with music released

• Turned into a computer game, Further promoted by merchandising of toys, sweets etc

• Harry Potter, Star Wars franchise!!