Industry theories

David Hesmondhalgh’s cultural industries theory:

• Media products are bought once and continually used – they never wear out.

• Therefore, companies have to make a lot of money out of their products initially, because they don’t often resell the same product repeatedly. ​

Curran and Seaton power and media industries theory:

• Media industries follow the normal capitalist pattern of increasing concentration of ownership in fewer and fewer hands.

• This leads to a narrowing of the range of opinions represented and a pursuit of profit at the expense of quality or creativity.​

Livingstone and Lunt’s regulation theory:

• They ask, does regulation hinder or support creativity?​

• Example: Stranger Things producers removing swearing and gore for wider audience spread

BONUS Q: When do I use theory?

Paper 1 - Section A - News and Online media

Paper 2 - Section B - Long Form TV Drama