ownership and control of media

• concentration of ownership - BAGDIKIAN 


  1983 - 50 corporations controlled vast majority of usa media

  now 5 / 6

  calls these Lords of The Global Village
• british newspaper industry - ownership/control CURRAN

  similar concentration of ownership in british newspaper industry

  7 individuals dominate ownership and content of newspapers

  • newscorp = rupert murdoch and produces The Times, The Sun, The Sun on Sunday and The Sunday Times
• british broadcasting media - ownership/control

  evidence of concentration of ownership in british commercial and satellite tv

  • content is mainly controlled by ITV who own 12 / 15 regional commercial TV franchises
  • access to satellite, cable and digital TV controlled by 3 companies - Sky (39% of shares owned by RUP MURD), virgin and BT
• horizontal integration 


  bigger media companies owning range of different types of media outlets

  NEWSCORP also owns publisher HarperCollins as well as Fox TV and 20th Century Fox. also owns big portion of sky and biggest Asian satellite channel
• vertical integration 


  media multinationals controlling all levels of media production

  Time Warner makes films and distributes them to own cinema complexes

  NewsCorp owns TV and film studios as well as TV satellite channels that show them

  gives media multinationals greater economic control over operating environment
• lateral expansion 


  occurs when media companies diversify into new business areas in order to spread economic risk

  losses made in one area compensated by profits in another

  Virgin - music, publishing, film, production, cinemas, insurance, baking, airline, train and health services
• global conglomeration


  combination of conglomeration, diversification and global ownership

  companies invest within a diverse range of products and interests besides media on global scale
• synergy


  media transnationals using diversity to package the same product in different ways increasing profit

  film often accompanied by soundtrack album, computer game, toys etc all produced by same media companies
• technological convergence


  putting several technologies into one media delivery system

  transnational media companies increasingly investing in and working closely with companies such as samsung and apple to produce greater technological convergence, making their media products more accessible to a global audience