1.
How are the three basics structures of mass
media organizations – monopoly, oligopoly, and limited competition – differ
from one another?
A monopoly occurs when a single firm
dominates production and distribution in a particular industry, either
nationally or locally. On the local level, monopoly situations have been more
plentiful, occurring in any city that has only one newspaper or one cable
company, however many individual local media monopolies have been purchased by
national and international firms. In an oligopoly, just a few forms dominate an
industry. For example, book-publishing and feature-film businesses are both
oligopolies. Sometimes called monopolistic competition, limited competition
characterizes a media market with many producers and sellers but only a few
products within a particular category.
2.
What are some of society’s key expectations of
its media organizations?
Some key expectations of media
organizations include introducing new technologies to the market place, making
media products and services available to people of all economic classes,
facilitating free expression and robust political discussion, acting as public
watchdogs over wrongdoing, monitoring society in times of crisis, playing a
positive role in education, and maintaining the quality of culture.
3.
Why has the federal government emphasized
deregulation at a time when so many media companies are growing so large?
Although the administration of President
Carter actually initiated deregulation, under President Reagan most controls on
business were drastically weekend. Deregulation led to easier mergers,
corporate diversifications, and increased tendencies in some sectors toward
oligopolies (especially in airlines, energy, communications, and finance).
4.
How do global and specialized markets factor
into the new media economy? How are regular workers affected?
The new globalism coincided with the rise
of specialization. Beyond specialization, what really distinguishes current
media economics is the extension of synergy to international levels. This
typically refers to the promotion and sales of different versions of a media
product across the various subsidiaries of a media conglomerate. Regular
workers were affected by finally being able to afford what they could not
before.
5.
Using Disney as an example, what is the role of
synergy in the current climate of media mergers?
Disney came to epitomize the synergistic
possibilities of media consolidation. It can produce an animated feature for
both theatrical release and DVD distribution. With its ABC network, it can
promote Disney movies and television shows on programs like Good Morning America. A book version can
be released through Disney’s publishing arms, Hyperion, and “the-making-of”
versions can appear on cable’s Disney Channel of ABC Family. Characters can
become attractions and Disney’s theme parks, which themselves have spawned
Hollywood movies such as the lucrative Pirates
of the Caribbean franchise.
6.
Why have Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and
Microsoft emerges as the leading corporations of the digital era?
Each company has become powerful for
different reasons. Amazon’s entrée is that it has grown into the largest e-commerce
site in the world, shifting to distributing more digital products. Apple’s strength
has been creating the technology and the infrastructure to bring any media
content to user’s fingertips. Facebook’s strength has been the ability to
become central to communication and social media. Google draws its huge numbers
of users through its search function, has much more successfully translated
those users into an advertising business. Microsoft is making the transition
from being the top software company to competing in the digital media world
with its being search engine and successful devices.
7.
What is cultural imperialism, and what does it
have to do with the United States?
Cultural imperialism is a process where
American styles in fashion and food, as well as media fare dominate the global
market. Today, many international observers contend that the idea of consumer
control or input is even more remote in countries inundated by American movies,
music, television, and images of beauty. For example, consumer product giant
Unilever sells Dove soap with its “Campaign for Real Beauty” in the United
States, but markets Fair & Lovely products – a skin-lightener line – to poor
women in India.
8.
What do critics and activists fear most about
the concentration of media ownership? How do media managers and executives
respond to these fears?
The pressing concern is the impact of mergers
on news operations, particularly the influence of large corporations on their
news subsidiaries. Because of the growing consolidation of mass media, it has
become increasingly difficult to sustain a public debate on economic issues. Media
reform groups are forming usually united by geographic ties, common political
backgrounds, or shared concerns about the state of the media.
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