Media industries theories

Curran, Seaton and Hesmondhalgh

1. Media and Power James Curran, Jean Seaton and David Hesmondhalgh

2. James Curran James Curran Professor of History and Politics, Political Economy of the Media, Media and Communication at Goldsmiths, University of London. He states that the media is mostly controlled by a small number of companies , and these companies are primarily driven by the logic of profit and power . He proposes that media concentration generally limits and inhibits variety, creativity and ultimately quality , therefore more diverse patterns of ownership help to create a more varied and diverse media products and media texts.

3. Jean Seaton is Professor of Media History at the University of Westminster and Official Historian of the BBC. She is the Director of the Orwell Prize and on the editorial board of Political Quarterly. She has worked extensively with professor Curran in topics of media ownership , media concentration and the influence of media in politics . Jean Seaton

4. James Curran and Jean Seaton: Some issues with media concentration Media industries follow the normal capitalist pattern of increasing concentration of ownership in fewer and fewer hands. This leads to a narrowing of the range of opinions represented and a pursuit of profit at the expense of quality or creativity.  News is still controlled by powerful news organisations , who have successfully defended their oligarchy. Certain news organisations are unashamedly biased when it comes to political or economic matters, issues and debates. The internet does not represent a rupture with the past in that it does not offer a level playing field for diverse voices to be heard. It is constrained by the same industrial patterns, nationalism and, in some cases, state censorship .

5. James Curran and Jean Seaton: Some issues with media concentration Media depends on sponsors and advertising to survive. Consequences : More advertising time than real content time (for instance, when watching a film, the total advertising time in its multiple commercial interruptions exceeds the film’s time ); content is shaped to please advertisers (they may withdraw their sponsorship if they don’t feel that their brand can be associated with the specific agenda of that media company) Competition by imitation , not by difference ( The Voice on BBC, X F actor on ITV) Consequence : Lack of diversity and divergent voices . Appeal to mainstream audiences in pursuit of maximising advertisement revenue . Consequence : Dumbing down contents to appeal to the widest, biggest possible audience.

6. Curran and Seaton Power and Media Industries A political economy approach to the media – Patterns of ownership and control are the most significant factors in how the media operate.  Media industries follow the normal capitalist pattern of increasing concentration of ownership in fewer and fewer hands. This leads to a narrowing of the range of opinions represented and a pursuit of profit at the expense of quality or creativity.  The internet does not represent a rupture with the past in that it does not offer a level playing field for diverse voices to be heard. It is constrained by nationalism and state censorship. News is still controlled by powerful news organisations, who have successfully defended their oligarchy. 

7. David Hesmondhalgh Professor of Media, Music and Culture at University of Leeds. According to David Hesmondhalgh , the cultural industries try to minimise risks and maximise audiences through systems of vertical and horizontal integration , and by formatting their cultural products to appeal to mainstream audiences . The largest companies (conglomerates) operate across a number of different cultural industries. The radical initial potential of the internet has now been contained to some extent by its partial incorporation into a large, profit-oriented set of cultural industries (Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc )

8. Cultural industries follow the normal capitalist pattern of increasing concentration and integration –cultural production is owned and controlled by a few conglomerates who vertically integrate across a range of media to reduce risk . Risk is particularly high in the cultural industries because of the difficulty in predicting success (audience response) and due to its high production costs and low reproduction costs and the fact that media products are ‘public goods’ – they are not destroyed on consumption but can be further reproduced. This means that the cultural industries rely on ‘big hits’ to cover the costs of other products’ failure. Hence industries rely on repetition of formulas through use of stars, genres, franchises, conventional narratives and so on to sell formats to audiences The internet has created new powerful IT corporations , and has not transformed cultural production in a liberating and empowering way – digital technology has sped up work , commercialised leisure time , and increased surveillance by governments and companies . Hesmondhalgh The cultural industries

9. Hesmondhalgh The cultural industries The cultural industries (the media) follow the normal capitalist pattern of increasing concentration and integration ( conglomerates/vertical and horizontal integration ). Cultural production is owned and controlled by a few conglomerates who vertically integrate across a range of media to reduce risk . Risk is particularly high in the cultural industries because of the difficulty in predicting success , high production costs , low reproduction costs (anybody can copy and distribute them digitally) and the fact that media products are ‘ public goods ’ (they are not destroyed on consumption but can be further reproduced) This means that the cultural industries rely on ‘big hits’ (such as blockbusters in the case of the film industries or mainstream products in the case of TV, radio, etc.) to cover the costs of failure. Hence industries rely on repetition through use of stars, genres and repeatable narratives (franchises, sequels, remakes, etc ) to sell formats to audiences . The internet has created new powerful IT corporations, and has not transformed cultural production in a liberating and empowering way – digital technology has sped up work, commercialised leisure time, and increased surveillance by government and companies.

10. Regulation Livingstone and Lunt

11. Regulation The owners of newspapers can influence the editorial stance of a newspaper. The motives and agenda of newspaper owners and editors, and how they try to influence our understanding of certain events, is important when analysing how newspapers tell stories. Newspapers will also attempt to influence how the public vote in elections, with certain newspapers openly backing specific political parties. With this much power, it is important that newspapers stick to a code of conduct or rules set out by independent organisations. This is known as regulation. Regulation – Livingstone and Lunt Livingstone and Lunt studied four case studies of the work of Ofcom. Ofcom is serving an audience who may be seen as consumers and/or citizens, with consequences for regulation: consumers have wants, are individuals, seek private benefits from the media, use the language of choice, and require regulation to protect against detriment; citizens have needs, are social, seek public or social benefits from the media, use the language of rights, and require regulation to promote the public interest. Traditional regulation is being put at risk by: increasingly globalised media industries, the rise of the digital media, and media convergence. . Press Complaints Sometimes it is not facts that are reported but the opinions of journalists and editors. This is known as bias. This is one of the reasons why newspapers are subject to regulation. Journalists often go to extreme lengths to find their story and news organisations are regulated to protect people from press intrusion or harassment. Here J K Rowling complains to the regulators about press behaviour outside her home. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1KnI7uHr1o

12. Case study: The Leveson Inquiry The Leveson Inquiry was a public, judge-led inquiry. It was set up by Prime Minister David Cameron to investigate the press after journalists at The News of the World were accused of illegally accessing the voicemail messages on other people's phones, without their knowledge or consent. They were also accused of bribing police officers. Some of those who had their mobile phones 'hacked' in this way were celebrities, sports people and politicians. The News of the World was closed down by its owner, News International, when this information became public. Lord Justice Leveson stated his recommendations on how the press should be regulated. They were: Newspapers should continue to be self-regulated and government should have no power over what newspapers publish. A new press standards organisation, with a new code of conduct should be created by the press industry. Legislation should be provided to ensure this new press standards organisation would be independent and effective in dealing with public complaints .

13. Who regulates newspapers now? Newspaper editors must follow the rules of the  Editor's Code of Practice .  Before  the Leveson inquiry, newspapers and their editors were regulated by the  Press Complaints Commission (PCC) .  After  the Leveson Inquiry it was replaced by the  Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) . The IPSO now investigate complaints about breaches of the Editor's Code of Practice.

14. Explain how the political context in which newspapers are produced, influences their ownership and regulation. You need to prepare notes today in order to answer this next exam-style question. Read this post carefully and plan your answer, looking carefully at your own blog to find evidence relating to The Daily Mail and The Guardian newspapers. Explain how the political context in which newspapers are produced, influences their ownership and regulation. Refer to The Guardian and The Daily Mail newspapers you have studied to support your answer.  [10]  This question is asking you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of contexts of media and their influence on media products and processes. You need to outline your knowledge of the political contexts that newspaper editors work in and how that might influence the kind of news products they produce. This question is focused on press freedom and regulation .

15. Explain how the political context in which newspapers are produced, influences their ownership and regulation. Watch this  CNN news clip  from 2012 which covers how media owner Rupert Murdoch was called to give evidence as part of the Leveson Inquiry. Peter Jukes, the writer being interviewed, outlines the pressure of protecting press freedom against the need for regulation to stop rich individuals owning too much power in a democratic society. Task: Answer these questions below to help you plan what you might include in your answer. If you are struggling to answer any of them, move on to the next one. We will come back to these in our next lesson, giving you an opportunity to improve your answers.

16. Explain how the political context in which newspapers are produced, influences their ownership and regulation. Explain the political significance of the concept of 'press freedom' and its relationship to representative democracy. Why do you think freedom of the press is important? How much influence do you think the government should have about the things reported in the UK press? How are newspapers regulated and why do you think this is necessary? Can you refer to an academic idea we have studied in class?  What examples of editorialised content would not fit 'impartial' television news (e.g. social or political opinion) from The Guardian and The Daily Mail print or online editions. What examples of ownership models, e.g. The Guardian’s trust ownership and The Daily Mail’s proprietor model, could show the opportunities offered by the latter model for control by ‘press barons’. How much power does the press have to shape political debate, e.g. the influence of proprietors on politicians to support policies promoting cross-media ownership or holding back from regulation. Explain the political affiliations of the two newspapers, e.g. The Daily Mail as a right wing newspaper is partly defined by its support for the Conservative party, The Guardian as a centre-left newspaper is partly defined by its support for Labour or the Liberal Democrats, and how this is clear from an example you have studied.