Mass Comm Test 2
Hostile Media Bias
"Media never covers my issue fairly" The "liberal media" and the "MSM"
Economists claim that, by 2010, US book sales will reach
$47 billion
DISNEY: KEY STRATEGIES
-Exploit as much synergy as possible among subsidiaries -Emphasize the global movement of content - Adopt new distribution technologies
When was moveable-type printing invented?
1440
the British colonies
1639 - first press established in Cambridge, MA 1810 - books published by small, family-run printing companies
1829
512 newspapers Published by small printing companies run as family businesses Partisan Major social/political forum
Framing happens
: In the audience members' heads B: When the journalist writes the story
Priming
A message about peanut butter primes different responses for different people The effect of the prime depends on what we know and what we've heard about peanut butter
Globalization
A way to increase profit Media materials produced for global markets from the beginning
Google: Key strategies Expand advertising activities
AdWords AdSense Create detailed databases of "digital footprints"
electronic books
Amazon's Kindle - potential for change Digital textbooks for schools Google's digitization project
John Milton - Areopagitica
Argued for a marketplace of ideas Free media system and competition guarantee truth
Good share of the mind
Audiences' awareness of the product
before the 15th century books
Books were handwritten Papyrus scrolls - 3,000 BC, Egypt Scriptoria in ancient Greece
Illuminations:
Books with drawings copied by hand, usually by monks
Consumer books
Categories are not about content: instead the AAP groups books by distribution methods. Trade books (51%) Mass-market paperbacks (25%) Religious books (11%) Book clubs (8%) Mail-order books (3%) University press books (2%) Subscription reference books (0.1%)
Dime novels:
Cheap paperbacks (10¢) Aimed at men and boys Adventure, western, detective Sold by mail subscriptions, retail factory-like system of production - predictable successes
Digital convergence
Computer technology is basis for production, distribution,exhibition
Hostile Media Bias: research
Conditions under which people perceive media as especially hostile Effects of the hostile media bias Low trust in media Low trust in "the system" Dissaffection and "dropping out," or mobilization?
Crossing media boundaries:
Creation of content for use in different media Transformation of content to fit other media and their audiences
MEDIA LITERACY Globalization - concerns
Cultural colonialism Stifles nation-specific entertainment Reproduces consumerism
Industry responses
Digital Rights Management and "watermarking License download through secure services
17th century, Britain -Strong governmental control of the book market until the 17th century
Early books supported the monarchy 1509 - licensing system
the modern book industry
Educational/training books ($21 billion in revenue in 2005) Consumer books Dominated by a few companies Small publishers focus on market niches Distribution is key - large companies have competitive advantage
EDUCATIONAL BOOKS
El-hi - kindergarten to 12th grade Higher-education materials - college and beyond Corporate training materials - post-college training in business, law
1980s
European publishers buy US publishers Bertelsmann (Germany) - buys Doubleday, Bantam, Dell, Random House
NEWS CORP: KEY STRATEGIES
Expand rapidly into digital realm Nurture diverse global channels of distribution Emphasize entertainment, news, sport
NEWS CORP: KEY STRATEGIES Expand rapidly into digital realm
Exploit the advertising potential of social networking, e.g. MySpace Create content/ distribution venues for mobile markets
1500s-1700s
First printed books - mostly religious texts 1500s - books challenged the dominant Catholic Church 1500s-1700s - great societal impact due to books
NEWS CORP: KEY STRATEGIES Nurture global distribution channels
Focus on distribution, rather than content creation Maintain distribution clout in traditional media
Which of these sets of subsidiaries belongs to News Corp?
Fox News, New York Post, Harper Collins
mid-20th century
Highly segmented book industry until 1950s 1960s - Time Warner, CBS, and Advance Publications bought major publishers
production Trade press v. university press - distinctions:
How manuscripts identified Who recommends manuscripts Marketing What constitutes a "hit"
GOOGLE: KEY STRATEGIES
Improve global attractiveness of search engine Expand advertising activities Create products that build audience loyalty
Audience segmentation
Increase in the number of audience segments due to media targeting
Media fragmentation
Increase in the number of mass-media outlets
Crossing media boundaries - goals:
Increase revenue (e.g. syndication, licensing, product placement) Achieve a good share of the mind (e.g. branding)
Domestic novels:
Inexpensive paperbacks like the dime novels Aimed at women Tear-jerkers Series, retail outlets
1700s BRITISH COLONIES
Initially, newspaper publishers appointed by local governors 1725 - trial of James Franklin of Boston ends pre-censorship in British Colonies Printed and published New England Courant Ben Franklin's brother 1736 - trial of journalist John Peter Zenger Charged with seditious libel for printing facts that looked bad for the royal governor Defended by Alexander Hamilton truth as defense against libel charges
Media Effects Research on Framing
Investigate the effect of different frames on people's opinions These often don't find powerful effects Instead researchers investigate under what circumstances and for whom which types of frames have effects Figuring out what frames exist in news (and other) media around particular issues Study why certain frames get used for certain issues News routines Leadership from elites
Episodic vs. Thematic: Iyengar, 1991
Iyengar, 1991 Media tend to present social problems in episodic terms (individual, short-term) instead of thematic terms (collective, long-term) This patterns encourages audiences to attribute responsibility for solving the problem to the individual instead of the collective
Movable-type printing
Johannes Gutenberg Individual letters cut out of wood
Why are textbooks so expensive?
Maybe they're not! Small percentage of overall cost of college Think of the work that goes into writing a textbook Many fields change quickly and books must be updated Ancillary materials can be costly to produce Prices are rising: 40% wholesale price increase between 1999 and 2004! Frequent updates are publisher's answer to the used book market Books are aggressively marketed to professors teaching large courses In person, by e-mail, and by mail Think of the revenue in this room alone
Spiral of Silence: Media What does media have to do with it?
Media helps us know when we might be in the minority And provides a forum from issue-minority viewpoints
Media franchise
Media properties that are highly profitable over time and in many media formats beyond their original appearance as a film, TV show, etc.
Growth of conglomerates - concerns
Narrowing of societal agenda Threat of commercialism, homogenization Harm to the democratic process
Iyengar's media effects research about framing found When news presents an issue in terms of individuals
News consumers attribute responsibility to the individual
Strategy vs. Policy
News coverage tends to focus on the game of politics, and the competition between players, instead of the features of policy Particularly true during elections Leads to audience cynicism and may contribute to the erosion of efficacy
Ethical vs. Material
News media tend to construct issues in terms of opposing rights / moral principles, as opposed to economics or pragmatics Encourages simplified electoral decision making and attributions to candidate character
Individual vs. Societal
News media tend to frame issues at the individual level, as opposed to the societal level, due to dominant news values This frame distinction interacts with other coverage elements to influence the complexity of thought, tolerance judgments
Risk vs. Gain
News media tend to present issues in terms of what could be lost rather than what could be gained after a given change People are risk averse: they support changes presented in terms of avoiding loss more than they support the exact same change presented in terms of achieving gain.
1600s BRITAIN
Newspapers did not exist before the invention of the printed press (1440) 1600s - restrictions on press for fear of sedition Merchants main audience for newspapers
The Penny Press
Newspapers produced in the early 1830s that were sold on the street at 1 penny/copy Changes in newspaper financing Changes in how news defined Changes in how news process organized
3pe
One of the most reliable findings in mainstream mass media research
Horizontal integration
Ownership of assets in different media industries Integration of those assets for mutual profit
Which of the following is an example of the hostile media bias?
Partisan beliefs that the media are unfair
Spiral of silence
People don't like to stand out too much It's hard to be the lone liberal in a roomful of conservatives, or vice-versa If you think you're in the minority, you might not speak up much Psychology research shows the part about discomfort with being in a minority It's hard to test a theory that operates on the societal level
Which of the following is an example of the third-person perception?
People perceive themselves as less influenced by pornography than other people.
Google: Key strategies Products that build loyalty
Personnel/cutting-edge technology for innovative products Famous workplace culture in addition to expansion by buyout Example: Android Hard-to-duplicate technology
Strategies to reduce risk:
Pre-publication research Selection of authors with positive track records Advance on royalties to lure star authors
1700s - ADVERSARIAL PRESS
Press with the power to argue with the government Published criticism of British colonial policy of taxation without representation
Book:
Printed Publication At least 49 pages Has covers Not a periodical
Newspapers
Printed products Created on a weekly or daily basis Released in multiple copies
NEWS CORP: KEY STRATEGIES Emphasize entertainment, news, sports Production of home-viewing
Production of home-viewing entertainment that builds audience loyalty Sports programming
RSS
Real Simple Syndication Checks your favorite websites for you so you can see what's new and read it all in one place You can subscribe to any website with a little orange icon in the address bar One example of an RSS feed tool: google.com/reader Great way to become savvy in any field!
Repurposing
Reuse of content for different aims
What is News Corp?
Rupert Murdoch Fox (Movies) Fox (TV) Fox (Cable) Sky TV (satellite TV outside the US) a Marketing company Newspapers (in the US, New York Post, Wall Street Journal) Books: Harper Collins Hulu (News Corp does list this on the corporate page) MySpace American Idol
before the 15th century books Ancient Romans:
Selected works Advanced money to authors Chose format, size, price Developed markets
What is Google?
Started by then-Stanford grad students Larry Page and Sergey Brin Expansion through buying up internet startups YouTube Some Google products a search engine Ads Picasa Google Docs an RSS reader Google Scholar Automatic news aggregator (Google News) Gmail Chrome (a web browser)
THE PENNY PRESS,1830-65 Social & technological changes
Steam-powered cylinder press Low-cost paper Rise of the "common man" Increased literacy rates
DISNEY: KEY STRATEGIES New distribution technologies
Stream content to its corporate website Sell content to web distribution sites (unlike CBS) Brand mobile-phone business The text book is out of date on this one: Disney dropped this venture.
Priming: research
Survey researchers are careful to avoid unintentionally priming particular ideas using the wording of a survey question Cues in a story can prime ideas that become a frame for the issue Rebel vs. terrorist example from Monday's lecture Priming in ads, especially political ads
Third Person Effect
The bigger the 3pp, the more likely the person wants to censor the material Again: the bigger the gap between how much someone things negative material will harm him or her and how much s/he thinks it will harm other people.... The more s/he will support censoring that material
Metaphorically:
The content of a message lights up the part of our brain responsible for that topic Nearby areas light up too.... And those nearby ideas have been primed
1825-75
US book business becomes an industry 1830 - the invention of the steam-powered press Rise in literacy rates Development of railway system
Digital convergence
Unauthorized copying, sharing, downloading Illegal distribution of content (e.g. MP3)
MEDIA LITERACY
Understanding the considerations that guide media firms is essential to bringing about change Critics argue against media conglomeration, saying it allows a small number of huge firms to dictate what society will see across its most important media channels Critics are concerned that many media channels today have become "retread" machines where media firms display their wares over a variety of different platforms Critics argue that "personalization" of media offered through data collection by media corporations like Google may limit our exposure to other viewpoints
Google: Key strategies Improve global attractiveness of search engine
Use ISP to direct surfers to local versions of Google From Germany: http://www.google.de in Swahili: http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=tw Try some side-by-side searches! Maximize search results Massive market share: 65% but Microsoft (Bing) and Yahoo are gaining: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20016795-93.html Recent clashes with government of People's Republic of China Traffic from China currently redirected to Honk Kong http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10566318 http://www.google.cn
DISNEY: KEY STRATEGIES Exploit synergy
Use of animated films for theme parks, books, stores, magazines, Broadway musicals, and the licensing of creative rights
exhibition
Varies by type of book: El-hi - first exhibited to evaluation boards Exhibition via bookstores - dominated by largest bookstore chains (e.g. Barnes & Noble) Large bookstore chains - advantage over independent bookstores: Able to offer more books at better prices Able to attract authors for book signings Decreasing numbers of independent bookstores
DISNEY: KEY STRATEGIES Emphasize global movement of content
Walt Disney International created in 1999 to boost global revenue Disneyland Resort Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland
What is Disney?
Walt Disney Studios Pixar Touchstone Mirimax Parks Disneyland, Disneyworld Parks in Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo Disney Cruise Lines Products Toys, Food, Health and Beauty World's largest publisher of children's books Media ABC ESPN Many, many radio stations (see table 6.1) Many TV stations (see table 6.1) Distribution Hulu: http://www.hulu.com/about Disney is a part owner of Hulu along with NBC, News Corp and others Hulu is not listed in Disney's list of holdings! Why do you think this is?
Framing is
When mass media have the effect of pointing out certain aspects of an issue
Synergy
Whole greater than parts Media organization channels content into wide variety of media outlets
distribution
Wholesalers: Discounted copies from the publisher - profit Benefit publisher by filling orders Unsold copies returned for credit
Milton's famous pamphlet titled Areopagitica
a. was a plea for the freedom of the press
Consequence of media fragmentation
audience erosion(decrease in % of the audience using specific medium/outlet)
The largest advances usually go to
authors who are involved in other media
Newspapers mostly read by elites
because of illiteracy and high prices Small-circulation newspapers (~1500)
Through digitization
different media share same content
The modern book industry is divided into these three categories:
el-hi, college and postsecondary, professional training
Framing:
frame is to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation -tells us what parts of reality to pay attention to
. Conglomeration
holds several mass-media firmsin different media industries Intense mergers/acquisitionsin the 1980s and 1990sto increase revenue
Third Person Perception
is the size of the gap between how much you think the content affects you and how much you think it affects that other guy
Third Person Perception
is the size of the gap between how much you think the content affects you and how much you think it affects that other guy Calculated from your answers to the first 2 questions For potentially harmful materials, people think they are less affected than others People think they are more likely than other viewers to be affected by beneficial media content
17TH-18TH CENTURY, BRITAIN 1680s
law guaranteed free expression for members of Parliament
Few publisher executives believe that
online sales will completely replace "brick-and-mortar" stores
18th century Britain
publishers separate from booksellers
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press..."
The concept of the adversarial press slowly evolved and was influenced by
the outcome of the James Franklin trial the outcome of the John Peter Zenger trial the introduction of truth as a defense in a seditious libel case