• 

• 

• 

• 

• critically analyses relationship between media work and the media industry in his book ‘the cultural industries’, 2019
• ‘the distinctive organisational form of the cultural industries has considerable implications for the conditions under which symbolic creativity is carried out’ – meaning working in the media isn’t what you think it is, it’s carried out in a way you wouldn’t think it was
• ‘there must be serious concerns about the extent to which this business-driven, economic agenda is compatible with the quality of working life and of human well-being in the creative industries’ (written with banks). – this suggests that the higher ups in the media industry care more about succeeding and becoming the dominant media business
• ‘creative work is now imagined only as a self-actualising pleasure‘ – suggesting people only work in the media industry to achieve a sense of self worth and not to help people in escapism, all they want is to be successful and make money from it, so rather than being driven making a difference and making something people enjoy, people in the media industry are narcissistic and are driven by money.

Murdoch media empire

• individual net worth to be $6.53 billion as of July 31
•  the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including The Sun and The Times in the UK, The Daily Telegraph and The Australian in Australia, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post in the US

Key words:

media conglomerate – a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises

vertical integration – an arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is owned by that company

horizontal integration –  the process of a company increasing production of goods or services at the same part of the supply chain

regulation – the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends

David Hemondhalgh is among a range of academics who critically analyse the relationship between media work and the media industry. In his seminal book, The Culture Industries. He argues that major cultural organisations create products for different industries in order to maximize chances of commercial success.

Hesmondhalgh discusses the way the cultural industries operate and explores their effect on audiences: “Of one thing there can be no doubt: the media do have influence.”

He points out that societies with profitable cultural industries (e.g. USA, UK) tend to be dominated by large companies, have minimal government regulation and significant inequality between rich and poor.

He also suggests that;

“the distinctive organisational form of the cultural industries has considerable implications for the conditions under which symbolic creativity is carried out”

Murdoch Empire Media

Murdoch’s media empire includes Fox News, Fox Sports, the Fox Network, The Wall Street Journal, and Harper Collins. In March 2019, Murdoch sold the majority of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets to the Walt Disney Company for $71.3 billion.

• Hesmondhalgh discusses the way the cultural industries operate and explores their effect on audiences: “Of one thing there can be no doubt: the media do have influence.”
• He points out that societies with profitable cultural industries (e.g. USA, UK) tend to be dominated by large companies, have minimal government regulation and significant inequality between rich and poor.

Key words:

Media concentration – When the majority of companies in one market are owned by a small number of people/organisations

Conglomerates – a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises

Globalisation – the worldwide integration of media through the cross-cultural exchange of ideas

Vertical Integration – a strategy whereby a company owns or controls its suppliers, distributors or retail locations to control its value or supply chain.

Horizontal Integration – the process of a company increasing production of goods or services at the same part of the supply chain

Gatekeepers – Gatekeeping is the process through which information is filtered

Regulation / Deregulation – rules that are put in place to prevent companies from getting to big and becoming monopolies 

Key words: 

• Media concentration: Concentration of media ownership is a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media.
• Conglomerates: A conglomerate is a multi-industry company
• Globalisation:the process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale.
• Horizontal Integration:  is the process of a company increasing production of goods or services at the same part of the supply chain. 
• Gatekeepers: information is filtered for dissemination, whether for publication, broadcasting, the Internet, or some other mode of communication. … Individuals can also act as gatekeepers, deciding what information to include in an email or in a blog.
• Regulation: Tax, government, police
• Deregulation: lack of tax, government, police
• Free market: an economic system in which prices are determined by unrestricted competition between privately owned businesses.
• Monopolies: A monopoly is a business that is the only provider of a good or service, giving it a tremendous competitive advantage over any other company that tries to provide a similar product or service. 
• Mergers: A merger is an agreement that unites two existing companies into one new company. 

Hesmondhalgh’s key ideas are:

• Hesmondhalgh discusses the way the cultural industries operate and explores their effect on audiences: “Of one thing there can be no doubt: the media do have influence.”
• He points out that societies with profitable cultural industries (e.g. USA, UK) tend to be dominated by large companies, have minimal government regulation and significant inequality between rich and poor.

• the idea that the largest companies or conglomerates now operate across a number of different cultural industries
• the idea that the radical potential of the internet has been contained to some extent by its partial incorporation into a large, profit-orientated set of cultural industries

major cultural organisations create products for different industries in order to maximise chances of commercial success. 

Murdoch Empire

Key words:

• Media concentration / Conglomerates / Globalisation (in terms of media ownership) – A company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises
• Vertical Integration & Horizontal Integration – Horizontal integration is when a business grows by acquiring a similar company in their industry at the same point of the supply chain. Vertical integration is when a business expands by acquiring another company that operates before or after them in the supply chain.
• Gatekeepers –
• Regulation / Deregulation –
• Free market vs Monopolies & Mergers –
• Neo-liberalism and the Alt-Right –
• Surveillance / Privacy / Security / GDPR –

MURDOCH’S MEDIA EMPIRE-

Key Words:

Media concentration / Conglomerates: A media conglomerate, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, theme parks, or the Internet

Globalisation: The combination of media through the cross-cultural exchange of ideas.

Horizontal Integration: When a business grows by acquiring a similar company in their industry at the same point of the supply chain.

Vertical Integration: When a business expands by acquiring another company that operates before or after them in the supply chain.

Regulation: Where a government removes controls and rules about how businesses are owned and controlled.

Deregulation: The limit in government power over a particular industry, usually to create more competition within the industry.

Gatekeepers: Someone or a group of people who holds power that can control the flow of information on a certain subject.

Free market: A type of economy that promotes the production and sale of goods and services, with little to no control or involvement from any central government agency. 

Monopolies: The ownership of different kinds of media by the same group. Those in power of monopolies can gatekeep information/ data/ the product they own.

Media Mergers: A result of one media related company buying another company for control of their resources, successful media companies usually buy out other companies to reach a larger viewing audience in order to increase views and profit.

Neo-liberalism: Reducing state influence in the economy, especially through privatization and austerity that tends to favour free market capitalism.

Surveillance/ Privacy/ Security: Monitoring data

GDPR: A regulation in EU law about data protection and privacy in the European Union.

Rupert Murdoch:

Murdoch is an Australian-born American media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world.

David Hesmondhalgh:

Hesmondhalgh is a researcher and theorist who critically analyse the relationship between media work and the media industry.

He wrote a book called The Cultural Industries calling it a critical reflection that highlights the ‘myth-making’ process surrounding the potential digital future for young creatives, setting up a counter-weight against the desire of so many young people who are perhaps too easily seduced to pursue a career in the creative industries.

A quote from his book states: ‘the distinctive organisational form of the cultural industries has considerable implications for the conditions under which symbolic creativity is carried out’ – In other words there must be serious concerns about the extent to which this business-driven, economic agenda is compatible with the quality of working life and of human well-being in the creative industries.