Media organizations

The special case of content production Media organizations mix “art and commerce” The mix leads to tension and requires special organizational forms Capitalist organizations are, by their nature, profit-seeking Art is pursued for many reasons, with profit likely not to be the most compelling one – Personal expression – Social betterment

Art and commerce Both can lay claim to providing society with important functions – Diversion/entertainment – Moral self-evaluation – Enlightenment When they are mutually supportive, all is well When they clash, some important goal cannot be met entirely

Why both? Artists need to eat, but more than that, they need resources to produce and display their work Media organizations have often been quite lucrative but popular support for content is extremely hard to predict. Expertise in production of popular content is limited and cannot easily be replicated.

Concerns for investors/large organizations Production of media content can be quite expensive Return on investment is extremely uncertain—high risk High front-end costs (startup costs) Copying/copyright infringement Personnel do not think like businesspeople

Concerns for creative people Ability to control their own creative vision Contribution to society Ability to distribute their creative works Compensation

Attractions Glamorous aura to the industry Fabulous wealth available Rewarding work/enjoyable conditions Feeling of accomplishment/ fulfillment when one’s own work is seen by others

The tension exists in all creative industries Newspapers/TV news shows Film Documentary Video games Music Television programming Advertising

How do media companies deal with these tensions? Produce large amounts of raw content. Select a small proportion for further development. Monitor and adjust production to improve content or cut costs – May scrap projects that are already underway Focus promotional budget on likely winners Produce ancillary products, exploit additional markets

Who produces creative ideas? Each industry develops a group of people who are responsible for creative idea generation – News (reporters and editors) – Film (scriptwriters, directors, producers) – Television (production companies, producers) – Music (musicians, producers) – Video games (producers) – Advertising (creative department in ad agencies)

Processes of selection The vast number of ideas for creative content must be winnowed down to where there is enough money to develop them further – Reporters pitch their stories to editors – Producers/directors pitch their stories to investors/studios – Producers pitch their stories to programming executives at networks/station groups (syndication) – Agents/producers pitch musicians to record labels

Production Financial concerns relating to popularity, needs of other content, etc. will affect the construction of the content – Film length and number of times feature can be shown per day at theaters – Film length and popularity – Need for particular ratings Violence and sex thrown in, etc. – Budget for effects, etc.

Additional winnowing Partially or completely finished content will often be scrapped in order to save money on promotion, precious time on television, space in newspapers, etc. May receive limited promotional support, limited release, etc.

Processes of reward and feedback Audience response – Box-office sales – CD sales/downloads – Ratings – DVD sales/rentals Awards – Oscars – Emmies

Critical analysis – Audience feedback Rotten Tomatoes – Professional critics NYTimes critic – Scholarly, social criticism Jump Cut

Alternatives Because of the limited room for content in traditional media and the limits on the content itself, alternative media have grown up alongside traditional media – Usually either political/ideological or artistically driven – Rare “break-out hits” may develop within alternative media and find an audience and distribution through mainstream channels