Industries: Ownership and control blog tasks

 Media conglomerate research

1) Type up your research notes from the lesson - what did you find out about your allocated media conglomerate? Selection of companies: Alphabet, The Walt Disney Company, National Amusements, Meta, News Corp, Time Warner, Comcast. If you were absent or didn't have time in the lesson to make these notes, research any one of the companies above and find examples of all the terminology outlined in the notes at the start of this blogpost.

The conglomerate that i researched was Disney 

Vertical integration

Owning production studios and talent to control content, and controlling distribution channels to reach consumers directly, and also creating its own distribution arm called Buena Vista distribution and launching its own streaming service called Disney+ plus

Horizontal integration

Some of the horizontal integration examples that I have researched are the Pixar in 2006, Marvel Entertainment and Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox in 2001

Convergence

Some of the examples are using social media like Instagram, TikTok and other social media platforms. This is to engage with fans and show them live content in that they have created.Furthermore more stuff like Disney+ Plus bundle contents has created an entertainment hub

Synergy

one of the examples of synergy is brand leverage. Using the stron,g universally strong Disney brand to launch new products and launch new markets which target a wider audience

Diversification

An example of the diversificvation is Theme parks and resorts and this shows leveraging animated characters and film settings to create physical and immersive entertainment experiences

2) Do you agree that governments should prevent media conglomerates from becoming too dominant? Write an argument that looks at both sides of this debate.

In my opinion, i think that the government should stop preventing media conglomerates from becoming too dominant because as they become very powerful, it can actually cause harm to the audiences. However ,maybe media conglomerates can keep creating media products that can allow our audience to have a wide variety of content in which they can enjoy.

Media Magazine reading and questions

Media Magazine 52 has a good feature on the changing relationship between audiences and institutions in the digital age. Go to our Media Magazine archive, click on MM52 and scroll to page 9 to read the article 'Two Key Concepts: The Relationship Between Audience and Institution'.

1) Briefly describe the production, promotion, and distribution process for media companies.

The production process provides audiences with the media products they want. It needs to consider the audience's desire and should provide gratification

The promotion process researches and identifies the target audience for the product and uses advertising and marketing strategies to inform and persuade them

The distribution process uses the most appropriate methods for getting the product to the auidence and making it as easy as possible for them to access it.

2) What are the different funding models for media institutions?

The different funding models are creating a band image, and this helps them to market their products to the audience

3) The article gives a lot of examples of major media brands and companies. Choose three examples from the article and summarise what the writer is saying about each of them. 

Disney is known as a family-friendly brand that focuses on child entertainment and has built his orginal reputation for animation created in the early 20th century through the construction of an universe

Marvel is inexorably associated with the superhero genre as the film production studio was developed from its hugely popular original comic book expectations, and Marvel superhero films may create alot of violence but will also reinforce mainstream values

ITV relies on their income generated by advertisers and they apeal to a larger audience

4) What examples are provided of the new business models media companies have had to adopt due to changes in technology and distribution?

The music industry can no longer generate most of its profits through the sale of its music itself so other ways of money have been sought.Sponsorship and merchandise are the main ways of generating income

5) Re-read the section on 'The Future'. What examples are discussed of technology companies becoming major media institutions?

Technology companies like Amazon Facebook, Google and yayhoo are by nature are at the very front of change and they have now also become media institutions

6) Do you agree with the view that traditional media institutions are struggling to survive?

I agree with the view that traditional media institutions are struggling to survive because they dont have enough help. Many of them rely on older business models like scheduled TV viewing and advertising.Audiences now expect instant on-demand content, and most people get their news and entertainment on social media and streamimng platforms. Traditional institutions often dont have enough financial support or digital skills to keep up with these changes.

7) How might diversification or vertical integration help companies to survive and thrive in a rapidly changing media landscape? 

Diversification can help media companies survive because it allows them to spread out into different types of content and platforms instead of on;lyu relying on only one type of product. For example, a company may produce podcasts and live events which attract different audiences and create more income resources, and this makes the company feel a lot more stable

8) How do YOU see the relationship between audience and institution in the future? Will audiences gain increasing power, or will the major global media conglomerates maintain their control?

In the future, I think the relationship between audiences and media institutions will become more balanced as audiences are gaining more power because digital technology allows them to choose exactly what they want to watch, and social media gives people a direct voice in shaping trends and promoting content