MDST 2020 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: National Post, Monopolistic Competition, Oligopoly
Week Three
Economics of Mass Media
It is a business designed to make a profit
Media can be capital and labour intensive
Importance of advertising
The implications of Demassification
Direct payments
We pay directly for books, music, etc.
We as consumers ‘speak’ out preferences immediately
Financing media directly
Indirect payments
Media is supported by advertisers (ie. Radio, TV)
Media works for advertisers, not consumer because advertiser is who pays
media
Advertising in Canada
Commercial strategies
Price (at what price would you stop getting say Netflix?)
Length, frequency, tolerance (how long should an ad run?)
Data mining and privacy
Regulation
Definitions of Political Economy
Approach to take to study media
The Study of the social relations, particularly the power relations that mutual
constitute the production, distribution, and consumption of resources
The study of control and survival in social life
Explains how the media are determined by a combination of economic, social
and political factors, particularly ownership and control of the media
Three Eras of Cultural Production
Patronage
System in place from middle ages to 19th century
Aristocrats who support artists, poets, etc. (because rich people buy them)
Before mass media
Market Professionalism
Artistic practices for sale
Cultural production revolves around marketplace
“middleman” (ie. Publishing house)
artists get paid in form of royalties
Corporate
Expands dramatically post WWII (50s)
People become direct employees of media companies
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
New media technology (ie. Ads, TV, radio, etc.)
Not an artist, per say (ie. Graphic designer, journalist, etc.)
Who is in Charge
Allocative Control
Consists of power to define overall goals and scope of enterprise and determine
general way it deploys resources
You are the person who makes the budget so you have the power to set overall
goals
Operational Control
Confined to decisions about effective use of resources already allocated
You are the manager who spends within a budget set by someone else
You work in a set budget so you make decisions based on budget already given
Convergence
Media convergence refers to manner in which digital technologies alter the traditional
distinctions between print and broadcasting
Convergence of ownership
Control of different types of media coming under one owner
Positive impact of convergence
Ability to be content producers
Access to information in many different platforms
More accessible information
Reduced price for certain things
Convenience (ie. Smart phones)
Negative impact of convergence
Hard to compete in field
Ownership and Organization
Increasing presence of large corporations
What is role of corporations and what are their interests?
Conglomeration/integration
Ownership and Organization in Cultural Industries
Conglomerate
Concentration of ownership
Involves a process of mergers and acquisitions that consolidates ownership of
media into fewer and fewer companies
Consequences
Synergy: two elements might work together in a way that would be bigger than
the sum of their parts
Market Concentration
Structure
Horizontal Ownership
oOwning same outlets in same industry
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
It is a business designed to make a profit. Media can be capital and labour intensive. We pay directly for books, music, etc. We as consumers speak" out preferences immediately. Media is supported by advertisers (ie. radio, tv) Media works for advertisers, not consumer because advertiser is who pays media. Price (at what price would you stop getting say netflix?) Length, frequency, tolerance (how long should an ad run?) The study of the social relations, particularly the power relations that mutual constitute the production, distribution, and consumption of resources. The study of control and survival in social life. Explains how the media are determined by a combination of economic, social and political factors, particularly ownership and control of the media. System in place from middle ages to 19th century. Aristocrats who support artists, poets, etc. (because rich people buy them) Artists get paid in form of royalties. People become direct employees of media companies.
