Media market and News providers – Unit 7 LO1
Within
the news industry there are several ways in which news is given and consumed by
an audience. Within this industry there are five main mediums to do this;
radio, web, social media, TV and print. Most commonly, a form in which news is
provided to the audience is through the traditional methods of print
newspapers. Large conglomerates such a Trinity Mirror own several subsidiaries
and provides a large range newspapers including names such as Daily Mirror, The
Sunday People and Daily Record. However, it could be inferred that large
conglomerates such as this could be influencing the mass audience with their
political bias as their views and opinions would be portrayed throughout all
their print newspapers and all subsidiary company’s owned.
On the contrary, it is seen that Independent news providers
such ‘The Independent’ who are not owned by larger conglomerates provide a more
truthful less bias opinion on various matters. Similarly, citizen journalism is
also seen as a way in which an audience can attain real world news from the
views and perspective of civilians who have experienced it first-hand. The rise
of this style of journalism has been heavily dependent on the technological
convergence of medias which have allowed bigger audience to access the media on
a larger range of platforms thus making it more available. The rise of Web 2.0
was also key to the development of how an audience receives their news as the
interactivity allowed for a greater appeal to new audiences of the digital age.
In addition to this web 2.0 has allowed for users to produce and redistribute
news via social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Large news outlets also frequently use social
media to appeal to a younger demographic.
Furthermore, the rise in technological convergence has
benefitted many organisations as they can reach a larger more varied audience
and ultimately provide a bigger variety of news. Most commonly, news outlets
are utilizing social medias to appeal to a younger demographic. As of recently,
it is a common feature on mobile apps such as snapchat to feature pieces from
various news providers. For example, within the app the user can access a large
variety of news articles from various different media sectors meaning each
individual user will have an article to appeal to their interests. Snapchat
provides various articles including news from sites such as Daily Mail,
BuzzFeed, MTV, CNN, as well as journalistic articles from the print sector such
as Vogue and Cosmopolitan and finally radio providers such as iHeart Radio. Not
only does this allow for these industries to appeal to a younger demographic it
is also an extremely effective way of marketing as this allows company to reach
potentially millions of users therefore increasing revenue and appeal. In
addition to this the joint venture would also be mutually beneficial for both
as snapchat also receives a considerable amount of money per discover page; at
a price ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 [1].
Another key aspect of what and how
audiences receive topical news is heavily dependent of press agencies. Press
agencies are organisations that gather news reports and sells them to
subscribing news organisation such as newspapers, magazines and television
providers. One example of a large media agency would be Reuters, which is an
international news agency which gathers global news and distributes to news
broadcasters globally. These media
agencies often provide news coverage for large conglomerates across the world
who then redistribute this to their subsidiaries and ultimately the mass
audience. Similarly, websites such as Getty images are used by news
organisations to obtain relevant and topical stock photos for use in the
articles and media. This availability of both images and recent news is a
benefit to the consumer and producers as it means that current news will be
distributed quicker therefore meaning the general public will be informed
quicker about crucial events or happenings in the news.
Other examples on how news is broadcasted include radio and
web sectors. Most commonly, radio has been a popular way in which to publicise
and distribute news, various news stations such as FOX news, BBC news, CBS news
and Sky News all distribute their news via public broadcast. These companies
are often similar to that of company's which distribute the news on other
platforms such as web and Tv as a result of the larger conglomerate structure.
For example, the conglomerate 21st century Fox owns the subsidiaries
fox news, sky which can distribute on both radio and tv whilst the subsidiary
Hulu can be used to reach a wider online audience via the video on demand
service it provides. More specifically, local radio stations such a Hallam FM,
Hallam1 and Hallam2 are also owned by a larger company (Bauer Media) which
controls the output of such stations, again this control means that biases
could possibly be forced upon the audience in line with the views and opinions
of those who own the conglomerates. Similarly, this is also seen throughout
online/web distribution. However, it can be argued that the audience partakes
in a form of "audience gatekeeping" meaning that they would re
distribute and comment on new items based on the user’s own beliefs on the
"newsworthiness" as theorised by Shoemaker and Vos (2011).
Despite
this there are still also several benefits to these new forms of media outlets.
The biggest advantage being that online forms of newspapers have the ability to
provide and report news considerably faster than traditional methods as it can
easily be uploaded and read globally, unlike a print newspaper which is
restricted by the daily schedule of printing and publishing. Another advantage
of this is that it allows for articles and news to be edited in real time to
keep the audience up to date with current affairs. Whereas ordinarily the
consumer would have to wait for the next print publications. These benefits are
also similar across the radio and social media sectors. However, online
platforms of receiving news also have their disadvantages. For example, the
credibility of such sites is questionable as they allow for the general public
to edit and portray news from their perspective and with their own individual
intentions in mind. Therefore, this could result untruthful or bias reporting
or even false reporting which could result in panic and unrest within the
public. Usually, to combat this media providers and news outlets provide
protected coverage with the intention to protect the public from information which
may cause panic or may possibly even be a threat to security. This protected
coverage is as a result of "gatekeepers" within the industry, these
gatekeepers are tasked with the job to read over the news articles to be
released into the public domain and edit them accordingly to ensure they are
safe for release. These editorial personnel are key to the news agencies and
distributors as it ensures they keep their reputable name as a reliable news
source. In addition to this, individuals can also act as gatekeepers when
deciding which content to include in a blog or email for example.
In addition
to this, it is also perceived that despite the rise of digital/ modern ways of
distributing News such as TV, traditional methods such as print are still
relevant. Most commonly, older generations are in favour of print publications
to receive their news. Many are dependent on this method as it provides
audiences with more interaction or more things that may interest them. For
example, newspapers often include longer/ more in depth articles which provide
a greater amount of information when compared to those seen on news broadcasts
which briefly overview the story. Additionally, newspapers often offer other
elements not seen on commercial broadcasts such as coupons, adverts and
competitions which in turn provides extra entertainment/ function for the
reader.
1
http://wallaroomedia.com/snapchat-advertising-cost/
