This post is due by Tuesday, March 18 @ midnight for full credit.
Email late posts to rob.williamsATmadriver.com for partial credit.
Read our MEDIA@SOCIETY book, assigned chapter above.
In a SINGLE blog post below, provide for the chapter:
1. A single sentence, IYOW, that captures the chapter's THESIS (main argument).
2. THREE specific pieces of supporting documentation - ideas, concepts, stats, data - to bolster your thesis for the chapter. (Use 2 - 3 sentences for each.)
3. A single PERSONAL story of 3-4 sentences that connects the chapter directly with your own personal media experiences.
4. A SINGLE specific question you have after reading and blogging on the chapter.
Game on,
Dr. W
1. Economic control within the mass media industry has many implications for our society, ranging from corporations giving us only one side to how interconnected our society and culture is and how money is the backing force of this.
ReplyDelete2.
1. Due to economic forces, “over the past decade, mass media corporate power and influence have increased as fewer and fewer corporations face true competition; the most typical media market structure today is oligopoly” (Media in Society, 167). With this small amount of control, the content of media that society receives is becoming increasingly biased.
2. It is important to remember that, “the paramount goal of most corporations- profit maximization” (Media in Society, 175). Regardless of any attempts to diversify or serve the public, coming from an economic standpoint all these corporations are concerned about are making a profit.
3. There is a new shift now due to the emergence of the internet and corporations are “chasing” after what will make them money. “In fact, part of the problem in the decline of newspapers was how slow corporate executives and managers were to embrace the Internet and develop strategies that would have ensured a smoother transition into the Digital Age” (Media in Society, 175).
3. Recently my mom was telling me how she thought it was odd that the death of Phillip Seymour Hoffman was painted in a “tragic” sort of way when he was the one who overdosed on heroin. She was sort of confused how people on the street overdose every day and regardless of their lack of celebrity status, no sympathy is given to them. I told her how the reason the news was trying to almost blame the drug for killing the actor, rather than himself taking the heroin in the first place as the sole reason for his death. This shows how the news goes off of what will “sell” in terms of news and what will make people watch in order to gain profit.
Is there any possibility that our society can break free of this economic control in the media in order to better diversify our media experience?
1.) Chapter 7 is about how to successfully to run a media corporation successfully and it discusses the different ways of pulling that off.
ReplyDelete2.) In the chapter they break down the three most common types of industry structures and they are monopoly, oligopoly and competition. “The most common media market structure today is obligoly.” (167) One reason for this would be because monopolies are now illegal. The free- market economics is a good system because it will keep the successful business afloat and leave the others in the dust. “Smith made the key point that under the right conditions free markets will produce the greatest wealth for nations that enable them.” (169) The problem with this is when one company makes several different channels providing a variety of programs to rack in the cash. A certain part that can get tricky for these corporations would be free speech and political discussion. “A democracy needs freedom of expression to make it work.” (171) In the end our nation needs political discussion to help the public decided who they will vote for.
3.) Monopolies are funny in my mind because I noticed one each time I visited Disney World. We spent the week in a hotel that was roughly five miles from any of the parks. We practiced on fields that were ten minutes or so from our hotel. That entire week we only touched down in Disney owned areas. They had everything covered from metropolitan area, zoos, sports and even a futuristic land. Once you enter the Disney world there is no leaving it.
4.) Why do news corporations only focus on the negative stories?
Let's catch up here, colleagues. Connect to MISS REPRESENTATION! - Dr. W
ReplyDelete(1) This chapter analyzes the corporate umbrella that owns the media industry and the economic aspects that drive them to cover certain topics. The thesis is that these conglomerates are only interested in the highest profits, not necessarily the evenly distributed facts and opinions that help citizens make their own opinions on subjects.
ReplyDelete(2) Today, fewer and fewer corporations are buying out the media industry to have complete control. What once was competition is now an “oligopoly, domination by a few--usually four to seven--big corporations,” which means that these corporations are working together to produce content that benefits their own business model, not necessarily the welfare of the people (167). Another interesting take on the conglomerates is that they create a facade of “free market” where all different types of movies, books, radio stations, songs, etc. have a competition to see who will rise to the top and create the most profits. In reality, “this product diversity will often come from the same mass media conglomerate,” thereby giving the owners a sizeable profit no matter what (169). This creates a fake capitalistic market. What made this all possible? Corporate deregulation, which occurred in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The traditional laws and antitrust acts that preceded the modern business model slipped away as “tough government oversight began melting away as industry oligopolies and deregulation favored by free-market advocates became the business norm among many industries” (190). However, we need these regulation laws back in order for citizens to have access to different voices and opinions, rather than those controlled by the oligopolies.
(3) Personally, I thought the part that talked about the oligopolies was interesting because it reminded me a lot about Feed, which showed how everyone was aware of one powerful entity controlling the world yet no one really cared. I believe it’s a lot like how things are today, how everyone’s living their perfectly normal lives abiding by the rules of some government that we have just accepted as our ruler for some reason. By observing others and becoming brainwashed by the media, we have become oblivious to the fact that the number of people being controlled are exponentially bigger than those who are doing the controlling. Feed is one extreme example of how our American society will turn out if we fail to regulate the corporations that control our world.
(4) That being said, will there ever be regulation on these conglomerates again? Or will humans be eternally subject to the control of the powerful few?
Media corporations possess economic control in their industry and as a result spin biased stories to protect the interests of their company.
ReplyDeleteCorporations “power and influence have increased as fewer and fewer corporations face true competition,” (167) with today’s most typical media market being the oligopoly. This is the domination by a few big corporations, usually four to seven companies. Owing to the fact that, many of our channels are controlled by one major company, our media messages are partial to the best interests of the company. “Mass media are primarily organized as corporations” (176) therefore, the ultimately goal of these companies it to make a profit. Any commitment to the public comes second to maximizing profits. “As oligopolies have become the norm under capitalism, among the areas in which they are most effective are lobbying to protect their interests and supplying donations to help sympathetic lawmakers stay in power. (190)
I’ve been trying to get more into local news channels and less powerful television networks, just for the different programming. The IFC (Independent Film Channel) is a really good example of a station that has great shows and isn’t owned by the big six corporations.
Is there any chance corporations could not be biased and make a profit?
Chapter 7 focuses on how to successfully run a media corporation through the affects of economic control of the corporations.
ReplyDeleteOver the years we have seen large corporations taking over small businesses to gain more control over the oligopy media market. “Power and influence have increased as fewer and fewer corporations face true competition” (p.167). A few corporations own all of the media market and it is surprising to see. This is represented when, for example, you are looking for movies, music, or books online and we see that “this product diversity will often come from the same mass media conglomerate” (p.169). We see this happening because “the paramount goal of most corporations” is to gain money with “profit maximization” (175). The large corporations are more worried about making money off of their control than the affect that it may have on the small businesses.
When I was younger my family had a Cingular wireless plan for our phones. I saw first hand, Cingular be bought by AT&T and had my phones switched due to the overpowering corporation. Nowadays we see that AT&T has taken over many small phone companies to create their massive company.
How can small businesses regain their power to decline the offers of large corporation control?
1. Though the function of media should be to open ways of communication and the sharing of ideas, corporate conglomerates only allow for certain kinds of information to be shared with the public.
ReplyDelete2. “Marxists analysts stress the inevitable rise and continuation of giant corporations and how they seem to take over more mass media production, distribution, and use.” (168)
Very few companies own and control mass media outlets. This leads to a dearth of information that is available to the public. Also, the public cannot easily access additional information, both because they do not know they are missing out and because no channel can give them what they need.
“…media industries should facilitate free speech and political discussion. A democracy needs freedom of expression to make it work, and both noncommercial and commercial media ought to be open enough to promote debate of all points of view.” (171)
Unfortunately, our media channels do not give us all points of a view on various topics. Our current news stations are hooked on sensationalism, and follow the saying, “if it bleeds, it leads.” Even politics, a necessity to the functioning of society, is reduced to little more than a sporting event, as media companies care less about civic duty and more about ratings and profits.
“Older media industries like film and music are in the hands of a few corporations; this environment is defined as an oligopoly.” (184)
In an oligopoly, there is no competition. No competition leads to inflated prices and a lack of concern over public interest. This is extremely detrimental to society, as more people become mindless observers and consumers of unintelligent and stereotypical media.
3. When I was a sophomore in high school, I began to develop an interest in politics and social issues. My seventh grade teacher, a textbook oddball with solid convictions and opinions, recommended I read Democracy Now, as it was an unbiased news source with no political party affiliation. Until that time, I had only known Fox News, thanks to my family’s staunch Republicanism. It wasn’t until that moment I realized how little our news actually gives us, and how uneducated the general public truly is on many national and global issues.
4. Why did the FCC stop regulating conglomerates, and is there a way to persuade them to re-regulate our news media?
Chapter seven analyzes media corporations and their economic effects on the community and in the business.
ReplyDeleteThe chapter discusses the three types of industry structures: “Monopoly (domination by a single company), Oligopoly (Domination by a few big corporations), and competition (many companies vying in the marketplace)” (167). Oligopoly is the most typical structure, with local satellite companies in small communities. The book describes the theory of free-market economics, which is based on the thought that “the media products that costumers want will rise to the top while inferior products (and companies) will fail” (169). This goes along with the idea that no mass media company can force a product on consumers, and rather consumers pick what they want to view or read. The chapter also discusses how important it is to facilitate public order, “especially with regard to ward, violence, and crime” (174). It is imperative that news corporations show that violence and crime disrupt the common good.
While I do believe that no company can force you to watch something or read their magazine, advertisements definitely play a hand in what consumers consume. I know that when I go to the movies, if a producer does a good job of cutting a trailer, I’ll want to see that movie rather than one with a bad trailer, or one that has little to no outside advertisements like posters and commercials.
How does a company decide what is profitable and what isn’t?
Chapter 7 examines how the media corporations of the 21st century and the problems that arise from having an industry composed of just a few, powerful, influential corporations.
ReplyDeleteIn an oligopoly, only the best companies in the industry survive due to intense competition and specific nature of the business. Not just any small company can join the media business and survive. Due to the power each business holds, they can easily use their power to put out their personal views on news, politics, etc. without being contested.
“As oligopolies have become the norm under capitalism, among the areas in which they are most effective are lobbying to protect their interests and supplying donations to help sympathetic lawmakers stay in power” (p.190).
The center of the economic model for the media corporations is the institutional economic model. Our culture and society relies on these media corporations so greatly that they decide our culture by virtually brainwashing us. However, their motives are not pure and they often choose profitability over what is more socially moral.
“We begin by recognizing that mass media corporations are not simple firms reducible to equations but large and complicated social, cultural, and political institutions… Economic behavior and cultural actions are intertwined, and people are conditioned by culture and resist, change, or respond based in part upon actions of corporations” (p.178).
The problem with having an oligopoly is that you can never really get ahead of your competitors. They are essentially on an equal playing field, some own more than the other but that does not mean they are less influential on our society and culture.
“The best way to predict the behavior of an oligopoly is to recognize that its members to operate in reaction to one another. If these conglomerates were truly competitive, they could not acquire the information necessary to predict the behavior of their competitions… but an oligopoly is like a poker game with 5 or 6 players. Each player knows a great deal about what the others are up to but does not possess full knowledge” (p. 186).
In high school, I took a TV production class and our teacher would always bring up information on the media conglomerates and their influence on society. It was not clear to me how influential they were on our society until taking this class. I learned their influence on society and how the media can often create biases in which we buy into as truth because we do not know any better to question what the media says.
Does the media corporations have the largest influence on our culture naturally or is it society that puts the power of influence onto the media corporations front steps?
Media in Society (Chapter Seven)
ReplyDeleteIn the economy, we are told what characteristics are used to make up the mass media and how they structure a society.
“It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness” (167). This quote shows that people structure a society because we are the ones who corporations want to connect with. We are powerful individuals that have more power over mass media than any corporation or business. This is because corporations produce and publicize things that they know people will read about or buy; corporations spice up many stories to make them more appealing to the people.
Corporations go against each other to try to be the one who sells and publicizes the news the quickest and to the most amount of people. “Usually we see types of media corporations defined by their technology” (166). Since technology is now involved with corporations, it makes the fight to be the better corporation, even harder. This is because technology has allowed us to spread news fast and also to more people.
“The economic control over media production determines the type of media any society gets” (168). The amount of technology a corporation has is based off of the wealth of the society or country. Without enough money to have technology, it is hard for a corporation to go up against all other corporations with technology because they are not able to spread news as fast or to more people.
When watching or reading about the news, I have noticed that media corporations always fight to be the first one to publicize that news story. Media corporations want to add zing or a type of connection to the story to the point where the story stays true but people are more appealed to hearing the news story. Since the use of technology is increasing, there are more ways to share stories which helps media corporations with selling their story.
How much is a media corporation allowed to spice up a story for gains in advertising?
Over the past decade, the number of media corporations has decreased, causing a great deal of power to be distributed among the few and as a society we have to make sure they are following democratic priorities.
ReplyDeleteOne of the democratic priorities that we need to look out for is media “facilitating free speech and political discussion” (171). While their main goal is to make a profit, as citizens living in a democratic state, we deserve to get multiple perspectives and free debate. In today’s technologically advanced world, we also need media that promote new technology. However, monopolies have been known to “resist the innovation of new technologies in order to protect their highly profitable status quo positions” (175). Finally, fewer and fewer companies now own more of our media, as seen by Comcast, who “paid more than $13 billion to General Electric for a 51 percent interest in NBC Universal” (165). This is more harmful than helpful because a lack of competition and an increase of power could lead to large media corporations like Comcast to take advantage of us.
My project focused on some media economics and how news networks like CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News dominate on television. This prevents other outlets from introducing their own unbiased/different perspectives, which harms the viewers who consume what they’re given without question. Media oligopolies, and especially media monopolies, seem like something we should vehemently be opposing.
Shouldn’t we be trying to step away from media oligopolies because they don’t promote a great deal of competition, nor make room for democratic practices?
Chapter 7 Media in Society
ReplyDeleteChapter 7 focuses on how to run a media corporation successfully through the means of economic control.
The most typical media market structure today is oligopoly, where there is domination by a few big corporations. “Mass media and corporate power and influence have increased as fewer and fewer corporations face true competition.”(167) Only a few corporations own many segments of the media market, this reminded me of how only a few big name brands own most of the smaller name brands of food. Karl Marx’s analysis gives an example of “monopolist capitalism in which the economic control over media production determines the type of media any society gets.” (168) Media corporations are one of the most complex institutions in our lives and “Economic behavior and cultural interactions are intertwined…actions of our corporations.”(178)
Many cellphone companies are being bought up by larger cellphone companies. When I was in fifth grade I had a unicel cell phone eventually AT&T bought that company and we and to change phones.
Is there are way for small corporations fight back and not be bought up by larger brand name companies?
1) This chapter examines big corporation’s effect on the media that is shared with a public, and the influence of “big money.”
ReplyDelete2) “Marxist economists generally focus on the corporate propensity toward concentration of ownership that they consider central to monopoly capitalism. Marxist analysts stress the inevitable rise an continuation of giant corporations and how they seem to take over more mass media production, distribution, and use” (168). Corporations generally are the only ones in charge of what information gets released to the public. There is so much that we don’t know because of the amount on information not released to us, and there is usually no way to know what information we are missing.
3) “One can see, for example, on a Time Warner channel such as TNT, CNN, or TCM, a variety of entertainment from science fiction to westerns, from reality shows to “infomercials,” from dramas to comedies, from around-the-clock news to documentaries… But these choices all emerge from decisions made by a handful of corporate managers reporting to a corporate chief operating officer” (169). No matter how much of a variety we think we are getting, our information is all coming from the same few sources. We may have a wide variety of things to watch on TV, but the reality is that it is still chosen by these corporations and there are a lot of things left out of our selection that the media might not want us to see/know.
4) “It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but their social being that determines their consciousness” (167). I think this quote is saying that the position a man has (whether it be in a corporation or not) is what determines how much he knows about what is going on although we may think otherwise.
5) I feel like big corporations looks at the types of shows that are generating money and viewers and branches off to make more shows like that. For example, after the success of The Real World in the mid-90s, reality shows starting popping up everywhere. Before The Real World and other successful reality shows that came out in the years following, no one would’ve thought it would generate business.
6) How does a corporation know where to put their money? How do they know what is worth endorsing?
1. This chapter examines how a select few media corporations are able to monopolize the media-based economy by controlling which stories and news is broadcast through different mediums.
ReplyDelete2. Industrial economics analyze how corporations function and examine exactly how they engage with audiences in society, and are often a good starting point in order to dissect a company’s economic standing. “The objective of recommending industrial media economics is… to examine how economic forces determine what corporations own, how they operate, and how they control storytelling” (page 171). Large media companies make their money off of their media. For example, if the media are inherently superior, then the companies will make more money off of them because their media are better than other media, so the customers will pay for their media. “The consumers had the choice to spend their money and time reading a book… but they chose to watch the film instead” (page 169). Good media speaks for itself and well-made media pays off in the long run based on ‘free-market economics’. One final way media companies are able to monopolize their capital so well is related to how they don’t waste resources. “But monopolies do not waste resources… in order to maintain their monopolistic position of power, which allows them to set prices for their products” (page 173). Nothing goes to waste in a monopolistic company, money is simply diverted to other areas of the company when needed. This system helps them maintain capital and stay on top.
3. I personally believe that media products speak for themselves. I think the idea of a ‘free-market economics’ makes sense because audiences don’t care about the competitions of companies unrelated to them, customers care about the product. So I feel that when it boils down to it, some media appeals to some people, while other media does not. Media is meant to be subjective because stories are meant to relate to people’s lives and be interrupted in ways in which audiences can connect to them.
4. Is it possible to put regulations on how much media these media-corporations control?