News, Profits, and
Capitalism
[Hourly exam #1: Feb. 18th, covering
material from the first day of the course to 2/13; postings
for this week are due by midnight, Wednesday Feb. 18th
instead of Sunday the 15th]
- Podcast/radio program, "This American Life," telling the story of the effects of a local TV station's sensationalist coverage. (From episode #344 of This American Life, “The Competition -- Act Two: The Race for Second Place.”)
What are economies of scale? Why are they important to the news business? What is the difference between monopoly and oligopoly? What are the characteristic patterns of business development in corporate media? Why is uncertainty in media businesses important, and what do such businesses do about it? What is market power? What is synergy? Vertical integration?
- Schudson, Ch. 6, "News in the Marketplace," pp. 117-133.
Schudson argues that the profit motive is "at the heart of the commercial newspaper" but also that the profit motive "can work in mysterious ways" and that it is not the only motive in the news business. What different ways can the profit motive and journalism interact? What is "market driven censorship"? What is the significance of the Los Angeles Times' 1999 special section on the Staples Center sports arena? What things sometimes protect journalism from market-driven censorship? What is the importance of reader loyalty? pressure from advertisers? Why is journalism both vulnerable to pressure from advertisers but also in some cases protected from such pressure by high profits? What has been the relationship in China between censorship by the Communist Party and increasing commercialism in the media?