09 – Media Control

What we didn’t talk about last week

Class Business

AnnouncementsHenry Jenkins (Friday, September 30,

12:30PM-1:45PM in RTV 245)John Stewart (Friday, September 30)

#IUT205Assignment 1: 10/13

Exam 2: 11/10

Assignment 1

Last time on T205

Exam

Convergence Across Media

General Employment Trends

Prosumer Revolution

The Big QuestionWho has programmed the computer code that governs

these automatic routines?

Who is Controlling your Brain?

Potter’s Hypothesis

Ownership patterns show a strong movement toward concentration and

away from localism.

Mine

But also towards individualism

Media Control

Two Competing Values

Cross-Ownership & Control

Issues of Concern

Power

Concentration of Power

Controls Information

The instrument (the telescreen, it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely.

April and May, 1986

Two Competing Values

Localism - Power among as many people as possible

Efficiency - Concentration of power

State vs federal

Lots of different choicesOr

A few cheap dependable choices

Localism

Power among as many people as possible

Populist

Closer to the hands of the people

Power of the individual

Media starts at the local level

Who decides who gets access to a limited spectrum?

Radio - Geographic regions and limited power

Public Interest

Limited Ownership

The sevens

7 AM7 FM7 TV

The Twelves

12 AM12 FM12 TV

Telecommunications Act -1996

Deregulation

Complex Systems

Undiscovered Country

Why?

Political and Business Climate

Efficiency

Concentration of power

ConcentrationConsolidationCentralization

Goal

Gain MoneyGain Resources

Media Consolidation

Bigger companies mean less voices

Trend to greater concentration

The Big Six

Bertlesman

BMGSony – BMG

RTL Group (TV)Gruner + Jahr (Magazines)

Random House

The Big Five

DisneyABC

Disney ChannelDisney Television

Toon DisneyTouchstone Television

A&E (37.5% with Hearst and GE)Lifetime Network (50%)ESPN (80% with Hearst)

ESPN2 (80% with Hearst)ESPN Classic (80% with Hearst)ESPN West (80% with Hearst)ESPNews (80% with Hearst)

Buena Vista TelevisionBiography Channel (with GE and Hearst)

History Channel (37.5% with Hearst and GE)Classic Sports Network

E! (35%)

General ElectricNBC

A & E (with Disney and Hearst)American Movie Classics (25%)

Biography Channel (with Disney and Hearst)Bravo (50%)

Bravo InternationalCNBC

Court TV (with Time Warner)Fox Sports NetHistory Channel (with Disney and Hearst)

Independent Film ChannelMSG NetworkMSNBC (50%)

National Geographic WorldwideNews Sport

PrimePrism (with Rainbow, a subsidiary of Cablevision, and Liberty Media, a subsidiary of TCI)

Romance ClassicsSports Channel Cincinnati, Chicago, Florida, New England, Pacific, Ohio, Philadelphia

News Corp

FoxFox Family Channel (50%)

Fox News Channelfx (50% with TCI's Liberty Media)

fxM (50% with TCI's Liberty Media)Fox Sports Net (25% with TCI, GE and Cablevision)

The National Geographic Channel (50%)FIT TV Partnership

Regional networks, including TV Guide Channel and Fox Sports New York

Time WarnerTurner Broadcasting

WBHBO (75%)Cinemax

HBO Direct BroadcastCourt TV (33% with GE)

TBS SuperstationTurner Classic Movies

TNTCartoon Network

Comedy Central (37.5% with Viacom)Sega Channel

OVATION (50%)Women's Information Television (WIN) (partial)

TVKO (75%)4 regional all-news channels

CNNCNN/SI (with Sports Illustrated)

CNNfn (financial network)CNNRadio

Headline NewsSportsouth

CNN InternationalCNN Airport Network

ViacommCBS UPN

NickelodeonMTV

M2: Music TelevisionVH1

ShowtimeNick at Nite's TVLand

Paramount Networks Comedy Central (50% with Time Warner)TNN: The Nashville Network

Movie ChannelFLIX

All News Channel (50%)Sundance Channel (45%)Midwest Sports ChannelCBS Telenoticias (30%)

Home Team Sports (66% with News Corporation)

Can Con

Advantages& Disadvantages

Cross-Ownership & Control

Types of Concentration

Radio

TV

Movies

Media Company

1Radio

TV

Movies

Media Company

2Radio

TV

Movies

Media Company

3

Horizontal Merger

Vertical Merger

Conglomerate Merger

MegaMerger

International Perspective

Concentration of Advertising Agencies

Concentration of Advertisers

PepsiCo

• PepsiCo Americas Foods• PepsiCo Americas Beverages• Restaurants (Yum! Brands)

Issues of Concern

Deregulation

Change in Content

Harmful content?

Lack of Access

Internet

Zombie Shark II- What do you mean you give it away for free?

7 billion producers and distributors

The individual producer

owner and distributor

Rule 1

The network gravitates toward free

…Or is this just another sale?

Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present

controls the past.

Who do you let control

your media?

Media Control

Two Competing Valuesand a third

Cross-Ownership & Control

Issues of Concern

Next – Effects!

14