YMCA – MEDIA MANAGEMENT

LESSON -1

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• The cable news channel CNN has always

attributed a large part of its early success to

simply being in the right place at the right time.

• In part “the right place” meant being where• In part “the right place” meant being where

stories were breaking, but in part it also meant

being in at the beginning of cable television,

acquiring “must carry” status from the start, and

therefore simply growing on the back of the cable

industry as it expanded and established itself.

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• The establishment and growth of the fieldmedia management has many parallels.

• It emerged in response to growing interestfrom researchers and scholars in the profounddevelopments underway in the media,developments underway in the media,communications and technology fields.

• We all have witnessed vibrant growth of themedia industry over the last decade as it hasgrown in influence and size.

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• Now, over two decades after the field’s inception ( i.e. Pvt. TVChannels & FM Radio) in India (1992-93) , the field of mediamanagement has grown up now and it is the right time toseek answers to few questions.

(1) Where does media management stand now?

(2) Since media management is an applied discipline(2) Since media management is an applied discipline(practical / working area / field/ domain), what is happeningin the empirical (experimental) context?

(3) What are the critical management issues from theindustry perspective and how should we, the academia,respond to these issues?

(4) How should we shape and approach our research inmedia management ?

SCOPE OF THE FIELD

Media Economics

• Much of the analysis of the media from a businessperspective has been conducted by media economists.

• They tend to work at an aggregate level—sector ormarket—and study the structure of sectors andmarkets, and the deployment of resources, particularlymarkets, and the deployment of resources, particularlyfinancial ones, to meet the needs of audiences,advertisers, and society.

• A number of media economists have moved intostrategy, employing in the main rationalist models toprovide insights into diversification strategies,environmental alignment, and competitive positioning.

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Political Economy

• Political economists are interested in the

structure of the media industries from the

perspective of regulatory and policy issues.perspective of regulatory and policy issues.

• Applying a combination of economics, politics,

and sociology, they focus on economic

determinants, ownership structures, and

political allegiances in the media industry.

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Media Studies

• This is a relatively new cross-disciplinary field thatapplies concepts from:

• 1. Sociology (science of society, social institution, andsocial relationship : the systematic study of thedevelopment, structure, interaction, and collectivebehavior of organised groups of human beings) ,development, structure, interaction, and collectivebehavior of organised groups of human beings) ,

• 2. Cultural studies,

• 3. Anthropology ( the science of human beings i.e. thestudy of human beings and their ancestors throughtime and space and relation to physical character,environmental and social relations and culture),

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• 4. Psychology (the science of mind and

behavior in relation to a particular field of

knowledge or activity),

• 5. Art theory,

• 6. Information theory, and

• 7. Economics to analyse the output of media

organizations as a means of understanding

society, its value system, and the cultural

discourses at play.

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Mass Communication and Journalism

• The nature of media content and how it is

processed and delivered to audiences is the

focus of this discipline.

• It encompasses why the mass media have• It encompasses why the mass media have

come to be organised in the way they are,

how they function—how content is produced

and delivered—and the effect such content

has on audiences, individually and collectively.

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• In nutshell the field of media managementdisplays deep specialist knowledge of themedia sector, and a rich and broad spectrumof theoretical knowledge, application ofmanagement theory.management theory.

• The goal of studying media management mustbe to build a bridge between the generaldiscipline of management and the specificitiesof the media industry and mediaorganizations.

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• The collective term “media industry”

comprises of a broad range of sub-sectors,

ranging from trade journals to Bollywood

movies, that have little in common except

perhaps the activities of content generationperhaps the activities of content generation

and the presence of regulation.

• Each of these sub-sectors has different

histories, markets, technologies and

regulatory influences.

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• The industry is also inhabited by a unique

array of organization-types i.e. ranging from

small regional newspapers and start-ups book

publishers, to public service broadcastingpublishers, to public service broadcasting

entities, to complex global conglomerates.

• Family businesses are surprisingly common,

even at the top of the industry e.g. Reliance,

UTV, Times etc.

Does media management matter?

• Understanding of media management matters agreat deal to a growing number of researchersand students studying media.

• Media management needs to adopt an appliedapproach and deepen its knowledge ofapproach and deepen its knowledge ofmanagement in the media through a focus onmedia organizations and exposure to them.

• It must conduct research that reflects concernsof media industry and produces findings thatexplain developments in media.

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• This means that the researchers and media

students need to be out in the field and

should concentrate on management issues.

• It also means greater application of• It also means greater application of

management theories and concepts.

• In this way we can move this field forward,

and demonstrate that media management

does matter.

Theories Used in Media Management Research

Strategic Management Theory

• Strategic management has been the mostwidely used theoretical or conceptualframework in media management studies todate.date.

• Numerous case studies and analyses havebeen conducted in an effort to understandwhy some media firms outperform others,which is the primary focus of strategicmanagement research.

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• Those studies have addressed such issues as:

1. Explaining the strategy of media market

concentration.

2. Adapting to changing market conditions2. Adapting to changing market conditions

and;

3. Exploring strategic options for companies

operating in various markets and regulatory

settings.

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Structural Theories

• The primary approach in organizational

studies - to the study of issues of

organizational structure has been theorganizational structure has been the

structural contingency theory.

• Structural contingency theories describe the

relationships between organizational

structures and performance outcomes.

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• This theory argues that organizations will

adopt structures that maximize efficiency and

optimize financial performance according to

the specific contingencies that exist within thethe specific contingencies that exist within the

organization’s market environment.

• Consequently, there is no single organizational

structure that will be equally effective for all

companies.

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Transnational Media Management Theory

• In the past two decades, the rapid movement of media

companies into the global markets has spurred a

corresponding surge in research on transnational media

management and economics.management and economics.

• The topic has attracted interest for a number of reasons

as there are many unanswered questions about ;

1. How the kinds of consolidation and diversification

involved in the global expansion affect corporate

financial returns;

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2. How globalization impacts the content and

quality of news, films, and other media products

produced for a corporation’s home market;

3. How media management structures and

practices shape the products and contentpractices shape the products and content

produced for audiences in foreign markets; and,

4. How that content then impacts the politics,

economics, cultures, and public interest in the

countries that receive it.

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Organizational Culture Theory

• Culture is a powerful force within

organizations.

• Organizational culture shapes decisions,

determines priorities, influences behaviours,determines priorities, influences behaviours,

and impacts outcomes.

• It can be a source of organizational strength or

a factor in organizational weakness.

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• In media management, organizational culture

became a topic of widespread research

interest in the late 1990s and the early 21st

century because analysts blamedcentury because analysts blamed

organizational culture clashes for many of the

problems that developed in media

organisations.

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• The concept of organizational culture has its

roots in Anthropology.

• The term culture is historically and socially

constructed; includes shared practices,constructed; includes shared practices,

knowledge, and values that experienced

members of a group transmit to newcomers

through socialization; and is used to shape a

group’s processes, material output, and ability

to survive.

-10-• Organizational cultures are the product of a number of

influences including;

1. The national culture within which the organizationoperates,

2. The long-term influence of the organization’sfounder or early dominant leaders as well as its currentfounder or early dominant leaders as well as its currentleadership, and

3. The organization’s operating environment.

• The company’s primary line of business, thetechnologies of production it employs, and the marketenvironment in which it competes are components ofthe operating environment.

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• Thus, in the media industry, companies

operating in the same industry sector, such as

television stations, would be expected to

share some characteristics of organizational

culture because of the similarities in theirculture because of the similarities in their

products, markets, and technologies, while

they would be expected to differ culturally

from newspapers and radio stations for the

same reasons.

-12-Technology and Innovation

• The management of innovation has beenidentified as one of the most critical areas ofresearch for the field of media management andeconomics.

• This assertion was supported by a surge in• This assertion was supported by a surge inpublished research on the management oftechnology and innovation in mediaorganizations, which began around year 2000 .

• Moreover, technological change is an inevitableand underlying force of progress in mediaindustries.

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• Volume and velocity of those changes pose a

great challenge to all media sectors .

• This research focus on technology and innovation

reflects the fact that the media are one of a

handful of industries facing the emergence ofhandful of industries facing the emergence of

potentially “disruptive” technologies.

• Disruptive technologies are defined as “science-

based innovations that have the potential to

create a new industry or transform an existing

one”.

-14-• The Internet, interactive television devices, and e-books are

examples of the types of communication technologiesthat, when they emerge, have the potential to significantlydisrupt the underlying business models of existing sectorsof the media industry.

• Understanding the development, adoption, and economicand social impacts of new technologies on the mediaindustry and its products is important to a wide range ofand social impacts of new technologies on the mediaindustry and its products is important to a wide range ofstakeholders: media managers and professionals,economists, investors, policymakers, and consumers.

• Consequently, there is a need for programmatic researchon technologies and innovations in media that willcontribute to the development of innovation managementtheory.

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Leadership Theory

• Within organizational studies, leadership incorporatesa fairly wide array of topics, all of which are focused onissues of human behavior.

• These issues include leadership traits and styles,follower traits and styles, leadership contingencies andfollower traits and styles, leadership contingencies andsituations, decision-making styles, communicationstyles, motivation and job satisfaction, the acquisitionand use of power within organizations, and managingchange, to name just a few.

• Most theories of leadership and associated subjectsare based in psychological theory.

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• Most theories of leadership and associated

subjects are based in psychological theory.

• In the media management literature, only a

handful of studies have directly or indirectlyhandful of studies have directly or indirectly

examined leadership issues.

• These have looked at such topics as the

relationship between leadership and change

organizational problems, and organizational

values and priorities.

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• Motivation is another area of leadership

research that has been largely ignored by

media management scholars.

• The single area of motivation that has beenThe single area of motivation that has been

seriously examined in the field is job

satisfaction among journalists.

• The research shows that among journalists,

the factors that contribute to job satisfaction

vary by age and industry sector.

-18-• However, journalists are generally more satisfied

when they believe they are producing a high-quality news product that keeps the publicinformed and when they have good relationshipswith management, job autonomy, and highersocial status.social status.

• In other words, journalists tend to be intrinsicallymotivated and focus more on professional valuesthan organizational values .

• An area of leadership research that beganattracting attention from media scholars early inthe 21st century is change management.

-19-• In a changing economic, regulatory, and technical

environment, change has become almost the onlyconstant in the organizational environment of mediacompanies.

• Indeed, many economists and organizational scholarsbelieve that only organizations that are able toconstantly change and adapt will succeed in the 21stconstantly change and adapt will succeed in the 21stcentury.

• A handful of scholars have studied changemanagement in the media, usually focusing on theeffects of change on newsrooms and journalists.Generally, these studies have found that change isdisruptive.

-20-• However, the research generally also indicates that

leadership plays a central role in shaping change-management outcomes.

• Given the prevalence of change in the media industry,there clearly is a need for more research on changemanagement, job satisfaction, and motivation issues.management, job satisfaction, and motivation issues.

• Other aspects of leadership such as power, decisionmaking, and communication have, as yet, attractedlittle attention from media management researchers.

• Research on these topics would contribute immenselyto understanding the factors of human agency thatshape media content and organizational performance.

Emerging Challenges in Media Management Practice

• With the exponential growth of media products and their

ever-increasing impact on our life and cultural practices,

media employees operate in new conditions.

• Getting noticed by an audience bombarded with an

abundance of choice and getting paid for the content the

company is producing are the two main challenges that mediacompany is producing are the two main challenges that media

companies are facing.

• The general business model of traditional media businesses is

to generate revenue from advertisers by “selling” audiences

and at the same time sell their products to those audiences.

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• This so-called dual-product marketplace

influences the content strategy, for example

by providing products appealing to the largest

number of customers and giving a

disproportionate amount of attention todisproportionate amount of attention to

groups that are most attractive to advertisers.

• With the arrival of “new media” the old

business model is being undermined.

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• Nearly all sectors of the media have developed a

range of responses to threats and opportunities

offered by those new developments.

• Scholars as well as media practitioners have just

started to address those issues in a systematicstarted to address those issues in a systematic

way, bringing up new hypotheses and starting to

build new “theories.”

• One such new area concentrates on new media

consumption patterns in the era of digitalized

products.

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• There is a widespread agreement that thedigitalization of media products and the rise ofnew channels of distribution arefundamentally altering media purchasedecisions.decisions.

• Research predicts that the proliferation ofonline channels will make consumption moreheterogeneous and shift media consumptionaway from “hits” to a much larger number oflower-selling niche products.

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• It contrasts with what has so far been a dominantview on the distribution of attention.

• Dubbed as the “theory of superstars” introducedin the 1980s, it argues that people tend toconverge on the same hit content regardless ofthe breadth and depth of niche content available.the breadth and depth of niche content available.

• Because consumers prefer to watch the mosttalented performers and technology allows theseperformers to be everywhere at once, a fewsuperstars will come to dominate themarketplace, resulting in winner take alloutcomes.

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• e-business enthusiasts believing the future of theniche markets.

• Consensus on the “correct” view about thenature of media consumption in the digital age isstill to be reached, but the outcome of it might bestill to be reached, but the outcome of it might becritical for strategies and functioning of mediacompanies.

• As the media sector experiences unprecedentedtransition, many paradigms and assumptions maysuffer erosion.

-7-• Media management and economics as a subfield of the

mass communication field is, by any measure, young.

• Moreover, as a specialized area within a much largerdiscipline, media management is the focus of only aspecialised group of scholars when compared to masscommunication as a whole or to organizational studies.

• Nevertheless, it has made remarkable progress in the• Nevertheless, it has made remarkable progress in thedevelopment of theory in several areas.

• The strategic management of media companies has drawnthe most consistent attention from scholars, resulting in thedevelopment of a strong body of research on the structuresof media markets and the strategic management of theresources that media companies control.

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• An example is “Theoretical development in the area ofstrategic management” that has contributedsignificantly to understanding the behavior of mediacompanies.

• Another area in which media management scholarshave made a unique contribution to theoryhave made a unique contribution to theorydevelopment is the implications and effects oforganizational and corporate structures on mediacontent.

• These are not the only areas, of course, in which mediamanagement research has contributed to theorydevelopment.

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• However, development of media management theory is inneed of careful re-evaluation of the theoretical foundationson which most research in the field has been built.

• While many of the management theories drawn fromorganizational science naturally have proven valuable in thestudy of media companies, the theories were developedprimarily through the study of manufacturing and serviceprimarily through the study of manufacturing and serviceindustries— industries in which the fundamental economiccharacteristics and production processes differ from thoseof the media industry in crucial ways.

• As a result, many organizational theories—such as those inthe areas of strategic management, structural contingency,and leadership—may not be completely transferable tomedia firms.

-10-• Media management researchers should treat at least

some organizational theories tentatively until theyhave been systematically Re-examined in the mediaindustry.

• More research that uses “normal” industries as acontrol group also might be valuable for the purpose oftheory development.theory development.

• Identifying differences between information industriesand consumer-product and service industries may helpshed light on the management of media companies.

• This, in turn, should help strengthen both thepredictive and the prescriptive value of mediamanagement theory and research.

-11-• Media management almost certainly will

continue to grow as a research specialty incoming decades.

• As media consolidation continues, there will bean increased demand for a better understandingof the relationships among media management,of the relationships among media management,economics, content, and society.

• Additionally, as the competitive environmentwithin the media industry changes in the face ofnew technologies, regulations, and marketconditions, the industry itself will be seekinginsights into effective management practices.

Concluding remarks

• Finally, YOU, being media management scholars, mustcontinue to extend research on the outcomes ofmanagement decisions and behaviours beyondfinancial performance and organizational efficiencymeasures to include the quality of media content andsocial externalities.

• Given the media industry’s role as a central• Given the media industry’s role as a centralinfrastructure in global communication, political, andeconomic systems, it is simply inadequate for you asmedia management scholars to adopt the traditionalapproach in organizational studies of measuringcompany and industry performance primarily in termsof financial and competitive outcomes.

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• To develop theory that effectively predicts andexplains the likely effects of media managementdecisions and behaviours on media content and,by extension, society may well prove to be thecentral conceptual challenge facing the field.central conceptual challenge facing the field.

• But if the decisions of media executives and thebehavior of media organizations matter enoughto generate specialized study, then certainlyunderstanding the full impact of those decisionsboth within and beyond the industry must be acentral focus of media management research.

•THE END