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? ALPHABET

• Conglomerate ownership: Google, Youtube, Fitbit, Waze.

• Vertical/Horizontal integration: 

Horizontal - Google drive for cloud storage, Google docs for working with documents and spreadsheets, Google picture storage systems, music, software shops, book distribution, and on and on. 

Vertical - Google is almost completely vertically integrated. They have their own technology or own infrastructure pretty much every step of the way. Let's work from the client machine to the search results.

1. The person searching can use a Google web browser, chrome.
2. The client can be running on ChromeOS, a Google-owned operating system. Or, on android, a Google-owned mobile operating system.
3. The client's network connection can travel through the Google gigabit end-user fiber, to and transit to a google data-center entirely over Google infrastructure.
4. The Google data-center is owned and operated by Google. Google employees watch over it. Inside, Google servers (probably consumer hardware and linux, but perhaps with some Google-esque twists) have used Google proprietary software to crawl and index the web, and store the index and snippets.
5. When the search query is satisfied, advertising is selected from the Google-owned search advertising system, and assembled along with search results.
6. The results transit back to the source, who happily consumes the search results and grudgingly accepts the advertising. Money and fun are had by all!

• Convergence and synergy: Youtube, and Google can pretty much be fully accessed through web browsers and apps.

• Diversification: 2022 acquisition of Raxium to establish microLED tech operations and expand companies augmented realities. Also, Google AI, Gemini, C.AI.

• Cross media regulation: The government's lawsuit, filed in 2020 in federal court, alleges these deals were intended by Google to be "exclusionary," denying rivals access to search queries and clicks, and allowing Google to entrench its market dominance.

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.

The government should prevent conglomerates from becoming too dominant to prevent them from having too much economic power. As well as to prevent biased viewpoints because monopolies can limit the choices of the consumer and suppress their voices if they get too powerful. This is important to maintain a balanced media landscape.

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.

Production: provides audiences with the media products they want.

Promotion: process researches and identifies the target audience for the product, and uses advertising and marketing strategies

Distribution: uses the most appropriate/easiest methods for getting the product to the audience

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

BBC - Public licensing fees/DVDs, magazines and merchandise/ Sales of programmes to broadcasters.

ITV - Advertising fees/Programme ownership/Sales of programmes to broadcasters.

SKY1 - Subscription fees,  advertising revenues. 

THEMAILONLINE - Advertising space/Advertorial features/Sponsorship.

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. 

ITV - relies on generated income from advertisers, so they clearly appeal to a bigger audience.

DISNEY - family friendly brand focusing on children's entertainment. It has created it's own universe of branding  like Disneyland. Parents feel reassured a Disney product will be wholesome/appropriate for their child.  

MARVEL - associated with superhero genre, as the media stems from original comics. They will also reinforce mainstream values around duty, sacrifice, personal responsibility 

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

Some online newspapers now require audiences to subscribe to access their content or provide premium content to those who pay for mobile apps.

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

Amazon, Netflix and Yahoo now create, produce and ‘broadcast’ their own TV shows, such as

Transparent, Orange is the New Black and Community.

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

Yes, due to the convergence of being able to access many thing on a single device there is no need for a physical newspaper for example when you can rip one off the internet. However, activities like going to the cinema have not died out as much, they still are gone to pretty frequently. 

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

 Diversification by expanding their assets companies are assuring that they reduce risk and capture new opportunities rather than focusing on one single asset which completely fails. It is sort of like a back up. 

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? 

I'm not sure I think that they both depend on each other. Media companies have to cater to the people otherwise they will fail, so essentially the control they have is directly related back to the people. But, the people are the ones who want the media they create and sometimes might get swayed and controlled by it because they are distributing most of the media they consume.