What is Media?

1. What is Media? The means of giving masses of people information, ideas or entertainment.

2. Forms of Media • Magazines • Books • Movies • Television • Radio • Internet/Websites • Newspapers • Mail • Telephone • Blogs • Podcasts • Social media • Pamphlets/Posters • Music: CDs, MP3s, etc.

3. What is Television’s Purpose? Why do the networks and cable channels exist? • To entertain us • To inform us • To better our society All of the above are true. But…

4. Money is God!! Mass media exists for one reason: PROFIT • Profit comes from advertisers • Advertisers look at market share • Market Share is determined by ratings • Higher market share = Higher cost for ads • Higher ratings = More profit Television is slaved to ratings. The better the ratings, the higher the profit!

5. TV Profits

6. Cable Profits

7. Describe the process by which television networks make their money. • ABC Makes money on news. When I worked at ABC in the 60′s we did not make money in news. Then in the 70′s and 80′s they made more and more and in the 90′s we made more. And they are still making money on news. It is not black and white but it is a different world. -quote from MIchael Eisner, former Disney CEO • Selling advertisements and commercials. They also get money from the networks when they are located in major markets for carrying the network programs with the network advertising in them. And they sometimes allow people to pay for "program length" commercials, church services, and other programs. • Sponsors. The better the programing and ratings, The more sponsors are willing to pay them to advertise their products(commercials). Public broadcasting stations usually get their funding from large business and pledge drives. • Super bowl slots are especially highly sought after for advertising and commercials • Now, broadcast TV stations are demanding to be paid licensing fees to "retransmit" their signals. The negotiations are getting more intense, such as when Walt Disney Co.'s ABC briefly blacked out the Academy Awards to Cablevision Systems Corp. subscribers in March. • Each year, ABC, NBC and Fox contribute a smaller share of the profits reaped by their parent companies. • Watching a show from the channel’s website will bring in some money for the station from small commercials in the beginning. • Buying merchandise of a TV show from that channel brings in money. • They essentially sell products in their shows by featuring sought after things in their shows. The company of that item pays the network to advertise their product. • Advertising revenue has dropped in the last few years, resulting in hundreds of jobs being cut.

8. Describe the ratings process for television shows. • Nielsen Ratings System • -Statistical Sampling: Same process in which election results are predicted • -Create a sample audience, then counts how many people in that audience watch the program • -Take that information, estimates amount of people in entire population watching the show • -Nielsen gets around 5,000 households to agree to be a representative sample • -These households have a black box in their cable box, which then transmits their data from watching tv shows to NIelsens computer programs • -The box can also keep track of what tv shows are on 24/7 • -Nielsen regularly audits their own volunteers to make sure their data isn’t being obscured in any way

9. Describe the ratings process for television shows. • Demographics • -Shows with lesser viewers can make more money than shows with more viewers • -Depends on the demographic, ages 18-49 are apart of the main demographic that all TV networks try to aim for • -Based on ratings and demographics, shows can charge more per commercial during the airing of their new episode • -Ex. Grey’s Anatomy charged $419,000 per commercial, where CSI charged $248,000 per commercial, and both had relatively the same amount of viewers

10. Describe the ratings process for television shows. • Ratings and Twitter • -NIelsen has found that more popular TV shows generate more buzz on Twitter • -Although the relationship isn’t causal, it’s driving NIelsen to research how the correlational relationship of these two things are affecting ratings

11. Describe the ratings process for television shows. • New Updates • -Nielsen updated their definition of a “TV Household” • -“at least one operable TV/monitor with the ability to deliver video via traditional means of antennae, cable [set-top box] or satellite receiver and/or with broadband connection.” • -Currently working on ways to measure ratings of people watching shows online, and incorporate them into regular TV ratings

12. Pertinent Point What other pressures, besides ratings, dictate programming content? • FCC rules • Public Opinion • Corporate Ownership • Others???

13. The FCC • The FCC is the Federal Communications Commission.  It was established in 1934 to regulate radio and now regulates television and other types of media. It has six main goals: • broadband • competition • spectrum • public safety and Homeland Security • media • modernizing/adapting • Its main job is to regulate media.  Some of its more specific jobs include allowing spectrums in the US for different wireless networks and sets power levels.  It also makes sure that the rate at which people are charged for cable tv is fair. and makes sure that there is no obscene and profane talk on the radio.  The main pressure the FCC is under is to expand communication access to everyone across the United States without any sort of discrimination.  

14. Five Powers of Media Persuasion: To urge somebody to perform a particular action. Mass Media is the most persuasive force in our culture today. • Advertising • Politics • We watch 30,000-40,000 TV ads per year • Does not include internet pop-ups, etc.

15. Approximately how many ads does the average American see in a year? • “1,518 exposures per day for a family of four • 76 noticed exposures • 560 whether noticed or not • 285 for men, 305 for women • 117 to 285 for men, 161 to 484 for women • 600-625 potential exposures (whether • noticed or not); 272 are from TV, radio, • magazines and newspapers • (Media Matters, 2007)

16. Pertinent Point Our inherent opinions and beliefs about various issues or ideas influence our thinking and reactions when we watch movies or TV. What is our built in “defense” against the persuasive powers of mass media?

17. Discussion Point “The mass media, their influence is everywhere. They tell us what to do, what to think, and they tell us to think about ourselves all of the time.” - Tricia Harris (Civil Rights Activist)

18. Five Powers of Media Agenda Setting: Determining what is important. Agenda setting influences what we think about and what we talk about. • CNN/Fox News • Internet/Blogs (Power is increasing) • Newspapers (Power is decreasing) • Radio • New York/Washington, D.C. • East Coast dictates programming

19. What is meant by the phrase “The East Coast determines the agenda for the rest of the country?” • Washington DC is located in the east • New york, the nation's biggest city is in the east • Over half the population is located in the east • Follow the money!!!! • Local stations and affiliates must schedule their local and syndicated programming around their respective network's feed. Because primetime programs on the East Coast Feed is simulcast in two time zones, it affects stations in the Central Time Zone differently than those in the Eastern Time Zone. An hour of syndicated programming time (between 7 and 8 p.m. in the Eastern and Pacific time zones) is lost in the Central and Mountain time zones since network primetime in those areas starts at 7pm, forcing stations in Mountain or Central time (or in parts of both zones) to choose between airing their 6 p.m. newscast and another syndicated or locally-produced program, or airing shows in 'blocks' preferred by syndicators (for example,Wheel of Fortune andJeopardy! together, orEntertainment Tonight andomg! Insider).

20. Pertinent Point Mass media not only sets the agenda for what we consider important, it also often sets the timeline by which we lead our daily or weekly lives. • Primetime • Daily Commutes • Favorite Shows • East Coast Dominance

21. Discussion Point “Whoever controls the media, the images, controls the culture.” - Allen Ginsberg (Poet)

22. Five Powers of Media Norms and Culture: The ability to both reflect and influence society. In the beginning, mass media merely reflected the norms of the culture. Now, it influences those norms as well. • 60’s: Programming embraced “traditional” values • 70’s: Questioned some values & their existence • 80’s: Examined non-traditional values • 90’s: Emphasized taboos & social sensationalism • 00’s: “Reality” TV and “destruction” of norms • What does the future hold?

23. Pertinent Point In the 21st Century, does media merely recreate reality or does it now create reality?

24. Pertinent Point In what ways does the graphic portrayal of sexuality and violence effect our culture, especially our children?

25. Discussion Point “All media exist to invest our lives with artificial perceptions and arbitrary values.” - Marshall McLuhan (Media Theorist)

26. Five Powers of Media Modeling: Tells what others are doing and how they are doing it. We want to model our behavior & actions on what we perceive the majority to be doing. • 80s: Miami Vice / MTV / “Whatever” • 90s: Beavis & Butthead / Grunge / “Wassup” • 00s: High School Musical / The OC / “???”

27. Pertinent Point Our dress, speech and actions are greatly influenced by mass media because that is where we receive most of our information.

28. Discussion Point “The mass media are the wholesalers, the peer groups the retailers of the communications industry.” - David Riesman (Sociologist)

29. Five Powers of Media Apathy: A lack of desire to expand our knowledge base. The more homogeneous mass media becomes, the less we question the messages it relays. • De-massification = narrowing the variety of programming • Fewer choices = Less desire to choose • Business economics & profit equal: • 6 publishing houses • 6 companies w/ most magazine revenue • 12 companies own 1/2 of daily newspapers • 3 companies own major movie studios • 4 companies own national TV networks

30. Pertinent Point Besides apathy, what are some other issues to consider about de-massification? • Abuse of consolidated power/influence • Misinformation and/or disinformation • Shallow nature of coverage • Governmental influence • Others???

31. Discussion Point “In communications, familiarity breeds apathy.” - William Bernbach (Author)

32. Pertinent Point Each of us is a medium of communication. Our thoughts, opinions & biases come through in the way we talk, act and dress. Our communications influence those around us.

33. Pertinent Point The main difference between mass media & ourselves is that mass media communicates to a large audience. Most importantly, it receives little to no feedback from its audience.

34. Pertinent Point Knowing we are all mediums of communication, influencing those around us: Do we need to be aware of how (and what) we communicate? What pressures influence the messages we communicate?

35. Pertinent Point Demographics In what ways do age, gender and life view influence how we interpret media messages?

36. Pertinent Point The process of distributing media information requires the reshaping of that information to fit the strengths & weaknesses of the different forms of media? Billboards are different than TVs!! In what ways does the message need to be reshaped?

37. A Final Point • Television, and other mass media, is not an inherently negative influence on our society. • Mass media has an important role in our modern culture. • Like all influences in your life, you must be aware of the effect it has on you and those around you. • Most importantly, you must be aware of the forces that control the media you consume. Be an ACTIVE CONSUMER of mass media, not a PASSIVE OBSERVER!!