Deadline day Homework- Industry

INDUSTRY- How the media industry processes of production, distribution and circulation affect its products.
It is important to understand who owns the product and how does the ownership affect the way it is consumed.

Media industries are now adapting to new needs of audiences, an example of this is the though new media which links to the 'End of Audience' theory by Clay Shirky. Shirky believes that passive audiences (audiences that mindlessly watch or read without having to really think or do anything) no longer exist. He believes we are now a more active audience (audience that interact with the media). He believes the media has changed to become 'New media' which is media that is created or curated by the individual, not the traditional media like news, movies or radio. Audiences are embracing new media through the internet and are using it to interact with creators of their favourite films and programs and some audiences are creating their own media based on media which they have seen such as fan-fiction.  This theory is true for a wide proportion of audiences but isn't correct for all as some people aren't digitally advanced to use the internet to become an active audience member.

Media Industries still face the challenge of having to sell their product to audiences in order for them to make a profit. The 'Cultural Industries' theory by David Hesmondhalgh suggests that industries rely upon repetition so they can sell formats to audiences. He suggests that it is difficult for companies to predict profitability, so they rely upon repetition to generate profit. The repetition can be in the form of using well-known celebrities, or rebooting old successful films like Disney is currently doing.  Companies may copy formats which other companies have done if it was done well as they know this will be successful e.g an action film is released and has done well so other companies shortly release action films. The problem with this concept is that audiences often see the industry as uncreative and profit driven and lose interest in what the company is trying to sell. 

Businesses can grow their industry through: 
  • Being conglomerate = Owning more than one company
  • Vertical integration = When a company owns all parts of the production scale to avoid cash loss
  • Synergy = partnering up with another company to advertise 


It is challenging for companies to keep up with changing industries and may lead for them to decline. An example of an industry that is featuring a lot of change is the newspaper industry as revenue of papers was 12.06 million pounds in 2001 but in 2014 was down to 6.89 million pounds. This may be as less people are purchasing printed newspapers due to news being readily available online mostly for free. This is an example of how the industry has changed and companies need to change accordingly or will lose out. The press has adapted to the change to meet the change in industry as many newspapers now have their paper online and make money through advertising.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jungle Book - End of year question

Explain how changes in production and/or distribution methods have affected the film industry. Refer to Disney’s 1967 and 2016 versions of The Jungle Book to support your answer. In your answer you must consider how historical and economic contexts influence the production and/or distribution of mainstream films. Changes in production and distribution methods have affected the film industry in many ways which have allowed it to develop over the years. Historical and economic contexts have had a big influence on production and distribution as advancements in technology have effected the methods of production and distribution. For example, the film industry has advanced from physical distribution of DVDs and film strips to digital distribution of being able to stream content. Disney is part of the 'Big 5' film companies which means that it has a big budget to use for the production and distribution of films and this allows the company to have access to the newest technologies s...
Read more

Representation Theorists and Stranger Things

Image
Stuart Hall Representation Key Ideas:  Meaning is constructed by representation, by what is present, what is absent and what is different. A representation implicates the audience in creating its meaning but stereotyping tries to fix the meaning of representation in  a 'preferred meaning' A preferred meaning is what the media company wants the audience to decode from the media product and accept the message given. Stuart Hall applies to Stranger Things Throughout Stranger Things, there are many representations used and each have a meaning to be decoded by the audience:  Events and preferred reading Events and preferred reading Individuals and preferred reading Issues and preferred reading Social Groups and preferred reading Scientist is killed Scientist: clever, vulnerable The threat of an alien: powerful, mysterious Group of boys playing a game: intense game Mike: Leader as he is narrating game ...
Read more

The Big Issue - Lesson 3 - 26/01/21

Image
 Representation and The Big Issue Representation: how someone, something or somewhere is presented to someone else. Who/what does The Big Issue represent and why? The Big Issue represents big social issues e.g. poverty, racism. They present issues which mainstream media doesn't normally bring attention to. They give people a voice who aren't normally given one in mainstream media or are normally represented in a negative stereotypical way. They focus on representing reality and showing issues which are relevant on a wide scale. What we see on the cover of The Big Issue has been carefully considered to convey a message which suits the ideology of the street paper. However, how we interpret a text/representation is influenced by our awareness of social, political and historical context in which the text has been created. These representations ae created through the media language selected e.g. colour pallet, layout, typography. Who or what is being represented on the front cover ...
Read more