Rules / Creative Freedom
In most Industries there is little to no creative freedom. You have to follow an extremely strict set of rules, and if you don’t follow those rules, you will fail in the eyes of your employer. However, in the culture industry, you have much more creative freedom to express your-self.
The Three Types of Media Ownership
- Capitalist Media
- Public Service Media
- Civil Society Media
Public Service Broadcasting
Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. In many countries of the world, funding comes from governments, especially via annual fees charged on receivers.
BBC and Channel 4 are non-profit organisations. They are independent organisations which are reliant on the government for funding.
They usually make media which is ‘for everyone’.
Ethos of BBC – Inform. Educate, Entertain
- What’s good about it?
It’s free!
- What is the criticism of it?
The government regulating / tampering our media
David Hesmondhalgh states that media is a risky business. Therefore, to reduce risk, The Missing is a BBC produced TV series. The BBC is a state-funded / state-supported company. This reduces risk for many reasons. Firstly, as the BBC is a credible, well-known company, people are more likely to watch the show, The Missing, because they expect quality. This links to the concept of Two Step Flow of Communication from Paul Lazarfeld. The two step flow of communication process takes into account the way in which mediated messages are not directly injected into the audience, but are filtered through opinion leaders, those who interpret media messages first and then relay them back to a bigger audience. Because BBC is a well-known brand (and can employ highly-skilled actors) people are more likel;y to gravitate towards watching that rather than another independdently owned TV show.
On the other hand, Witnesses is funded and produced by an independent company.