Media Industries

There are three sets of theorists associated with Media Industries

o David Hesmondhalgh
o James Curran and Jean Seaton
o Sonia Livingstone and Peter Lunt

You will need to able to apply their theories when you analyse exampl
 Hesmondhalgh – Cultural industries

Many products are consumed when used and have to be bought

again, but media products are bought once and used over and over
again – they never wear out.

This means producers have to make money out of their productions

the first time round, because they don’t often resell the same
production.

Large companies make products that are safe – they use star names
and simple narratives which offer a much better guarantee of
success.

However, these products can be repetitive and this process reduces

innovation.
 Die Hard 2 (1990)

Die Hard 6

Die Hard (1988)

Die Hard 5 (2013)

Die Hard 3 (1995) Die Hard 4.0 (2007)

 Curran and Seaton – Power and media industries
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 organisations, who have successfully

defended their owners.

George Monbiot: ‘After urging land reform I now know the brute power of our billionaire press’
 Livingstone and Lunt – Media regulation

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.
Consumers may want information about harmful practices or
seek out information about the private lives of individuals.

Citizens may want protection from unfair scrutiny and harmful

practices.