Synopsis

This lesson focuses on the media market ownership and regulation, familiarizes learners
with its basic trends, strategies and standards, which affect the content and distribution of the
media messages and shape the public opinion.

UNIT 3.
MEDIA MARKET GAME: RULES AND PLAYERS

Content
- Media market players
- Ownership and control of mass media market
- Journalistic standards
Language
- improve listening and reading comprehension skills to understand main ideas and
identify relevant information;
- learn related terms and phrases to discuss patterns of ownership and control as
they currently exist in the media;
- improve presentation skills
Critical thinking
- analyze and interpret visuals and data;
- evaluate the role and strategies of the media market players;
- reflect on personal progress.

PART 1. ACTIVATING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Ex. 1. Complete My Media Chart below with the names of

media sources you use to read about current events in your
home country.

My Media

Type of Name Frequency Owner

media (program, newspaper, (every day, twice a (corporation or
website) week, etc.) individuals)
Print - -  -
 Television Channel – Ukraine24 Once a week -

Radio - - -

Social Media Facebook, Instagram, Every day Mark Zuckerberg;

Telegram Kevin Systrom (Meta);
Pavel Durov
Internet https://nikvesti.com/ Twice a week website
https://news.pn/ru/

Other -  -  -

Ex. 2. Compare the sources of the media you use to the owners of your media.
UA TV Channels UA Media platforms Global Media Platforms

Do the owners change with the source? Why would this be important in a 
democracy?
Cornerstones of democracy include freedom of assembly, association and speech,
inclusiveness and equality, citizenship, consent of the governed, voting rights, freedom from
unwarranted governmental deprivation of the right to life and liberty, and minority rights.

PART 2. PROVIDING AND ENCOURAGING OUTPUT

Ex. 3. In a group, read the texts about the media market participants and fill out the table
below following the guiding questions from the table.

The Media Game of Economics

In the mass media economic game, there are four types of players: (A) you, the
consumer; (B) the advertisers; (C) the media companies; and (D) the employees of media
companies. Each type of player brings a different set of resources to the game.
A B C D
consumers the the media employees of
advertiser companies media
companies
Who are they? players 2 group of 3 group of
players players

How many of them? 7 billion - - -

What resources do they keep track of they look ach media time, skills,
bring to the game? our resources for media business and talent
as well as our vehicles competes in
 changing that have the talent
needs and that constructed market for
we negotiate the largest the services
better assemblages of the best
exchanges of of the writers,
resources. audience journalists,
members actors,
they want directors,
without also musicians,
including website
other kinds designers,
of audience and so on.
members Second,
they do not media
want. businesses
compete in
the audience
market

What do they do? seek to bring bring money, attract large

exchange our money to messages, audiences;
money and the game; and
time for negotiate an audiences to
entertainment exchange of the game to
and their money compete in
information. for time and three
space in the different
media to markets
present their simultaneousl
ads to their y.
target
audiences.

What is their main purpose? Play the game audience competitions to attract new
well leads and
buyers of their
product(s) or
service(s).

What is their power? money the power to they have has the
create something potential to
awareness, valuable to engage the
the power to offer audience
set the advertisers
agenda, the who want to
power to get their
suggest and messages in
 influence, front of
the power to certain types
convey new of
information, consumers.
and the
power to
persuade.

A. We are the consumers, and our resources include not only our money but, even more
importantly, our time. We seek to exchange our money and time for entertainment and
information. We, as consumers, are the largest group with over 7 billion people worldwide.
We have the greatest amount of resources. If we pulled out of the game entirely, the game
would collapse. However, our resources are dispersed over so many people that no one
individual feels he or she has that much power in playing the game. This feeling is a
mistake. While no one individual has a significant amount of power to change the overall
game, each of us has the power to alter the game significantly for ourselves. If we play the
game well, we continually increase the value of the entertainment and information we get
in return for our time and money. However, playing the game well requires that we keep
track of our resources as well as our changing needs and that we negotiate better exchanges
of resources. If we don’t play the game well, we will make poor economic exchanges and
continually get shortchanged on our expenditures of time and money.
B. The advertisers are a second group of players. Advertisers bring money to the game. They
negotiate an exchange of their money for time and space in the media to present their ads
to their target audiences. Advertisers want to get access to their target audiences for the
lowest cost possible. So they look for media vehicles that have constructed the largest
assemblages of the audience members they want without also including other kinds of
audience members they do not want. For example, sellers of tennis rackets want to get their
ad messages in front of as many people who play tennis as possible, but they do not want
to pay a lot of money to get access to a large audience that might also include toddlers,
invalids, and people who hate tennis. So they look for media vehicles (such as particular
sports TV shows, Internet sites, and magazines) that have constructed an audience of only
tennis players and negotiate a good ad price to get access to that smaller, niche audience.

C. The media companies are the third group of players. These businesses bring money,
messages, and audiences to the game to compete in three different markets simultaneously.
First, each media business competes in the talent market for the services of the best writers,
journalists, actors, directors, musicians, website designers, and so on. Second, media
businesses compete in the audience market – that is, they present the messages produced
by their talented employees in such a way to attract the greatest number of people within
certain types of audiences. In the media industries of magazines, newspapers, cable, and
Internet, those companies sell subscriptions, so they want to maximize their revenue by
attracting as many subscribers as possible. Media companies also sell messages in the form
of books, musical recordings, and DVDs. Third, media companies compete in the
advertising market. When media companies have constructed quality niche audiences, they
have something valuable to offer advertisers who want to get their messages in front of
certain types of consumers.

D. The media employees bring their time, skills, and talent to the game. Talent has less to do
with artistic ability than with the ability to attract large audiences. Sometimes, the two
 conceptualizations of talent are the same, but more often the two are very different. For
example, Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber have shown a demonstrated ability to attract huge
audiences although their singing ability is no better than millions of other people. However,
it is the influencers who can attract the most attention in their specific field of interest and
are paid the most, they are not always celebrities. These are people who generate enough
reach, engagement and passion for a product, a brand or an interest (like vegan cooking) to
attract new leads and buyers of their product(s) or service(s). The recent survey (by
HubSpot) found that blogs are in the top-three of primary types of media used in their
content strategy, along with e-books and videos. Marketers also acknowledge the
importance of vloggers, as video directly increases sales by combining the visual
attractiveness of statistics with the content of (spoken) text.
Another elite set of employees are the media company managers, who are often also partial
owners of the companies. The talent of these managers is to oversee the construction of
messages and their distribution so that those messages are experienced by the greatest
number of targeted consumers. They construct these audiences by attracting consumers and
maintaining them over time by making the exposures continually rewarding. These media
managers also have a talent that is in short supply so they are also paid very well. Only a
few of those who run the large media companies are known to the general public, but their
economic value is often far greater than their very famous employees.

Ex. 4. In pairs, using the information from the chart, discuss the following statements.
Mark them as false or true and explain your choice.
A. Media economics is a game where the major players compete for high quality content
and audiences.
B. Advertisers have handed additional power to the consumer, including more information
and more choice so that beyond simply consuming products and services, consumers
have also become critics and creators.
C. Media market participants construct niche audiences and then condition audience
members into habits of continual exposures.

PART 3. READING

Ex. 5. Before you read the text, match the following terms from the text below with their
definitions. If necessary, consult Appendix A. Answer the questions that follow.

1. Conglomerate C A. rule by the people; a system of government in which supreme

authority lies with the people and it exists to provide a way for
people to live and be together in a way that is beneficial to all

2.Cross-media ownership B. a social, religious, or civil code of behaviour considered

E correct, especially that of a particular group, profession, or
individual

3.Democracy A C. a large parent company, which owns a range of smaller

companies

4.Media concentration I D. the combination of two or more companies, either by the

creation of a new organization or by absorption by one of the
others
 5.Media consolidation H E. when a company produces two or more types of media

6.Media convergence G F. a large number of owners of the same media type or of

different media types

7. Media diversity F G. two or more types of media coming together

8. Merger D H. the concentration of ownership of news sources into the hands

of fewer and fewer corporations

9. Media pluralism J I. a small number of owners of the same or many different media
types

10. Ethics B J. diversity across/between media enterprises when there is a

number of owners, media companies, independent editorial
boards, channels, titles or programmes with different political or
ideological opinions and viewpoints
Ex. 7. Read the text and do the task that follows.

1.1 Media market trends and strategies.

Recent trends in media ownership and control suggest that the number of companies
controlling global mass media has significantly shrunk in recent years. In 1983, 50 corporations
controlled the vast majority of all news media in the USA, but by 2016 media ownership was
concentrated in six corporations.
The major difference in media ownership and control compared with forty years ago is
the movement of media corporations into the global marketplace. The major media companies
are now global conglomerations – transnational corporations (TNCs) with a presence in many
countries.

(pict ure
source:

https://lacsn.ca/who-owns-the-media/)
▪ Which of the following is true according to what you have learned from
the text and infographic?
 The number of the media companies:
increased
 decreased
remained the same
▪ What market trend does this change represent? - is the movement of media
corporations into the global marketplace.

Ex. 8. Watch the video about media convergence and its five dimensions as a
current global trend of the media market. While watching, make notes to
complete the table. The first two have been done for you as an example.

1. Media convergence is a phenomenon that involves the interconnection of information

and communication technologies, computer networks and media
content. It led to the transformation of all established media
industries, services, and work practices and enabled entirely new
forms of content to emerge. It has five dimensions.

2.Social convergence is characterized by the rise of large social network media and the
growth of the user created content.

3.Political convergence poses challenges to policy makers on how to ensure the diversity
of ownership and content, regulate the excess on the basis of
community standards and meet local content requirements in an
age of global media.

4.Technological combines three ‘C’s”: computing, communication and content

convergence around networked digital platforms. As a result new type of
content was born, which means that media outlets not just print
an article but transformed the material into various forms and
spread it across all available platforms.

5. is the one in which stories are told across multiple platforms. The
Textual convergence / media contents are reused and remixed to be spread further. It
Transmedia storytelling also serves as a source of brand extension and a form of fan
engagement.

6.Industrial convergence involves established media engagement in digital space and the
rise of giant companies like Google, Apple, Microsoft and others.

In which direction, do you think, digital media are more likely to go?
A. toward a more open, diversified, multicultural, and democratic medium or
B. toward a more corporate, commercialized, homogeneous, and centrally
controlled medium? Why do you think so?

A. Digital media are likely to go a more open, diversified, multicultural, and

democratic medium. The future of digital media will evolve as new tools emerge,
consumers make new demands, and the quality and accessibility of the
 technologies improve. The rise of mobile video, virtual reality (VR), augmented
reality (AR), and the more refined use of data analytics will all influence the
future of digital media.

Ex. 9. Read the text and do the task that follows.

1.2. What is media ownership and why does it matter?

The nature of the media landscape includes characteristics such as ownership, wealth,
political history, legal framework, and culture. One of the most pivotal influences to media
landscapes is wealth and economic prosperity. This affects both ownership and reach of media.
Owning or controlling a media outlet or corporation is considered to be a very powerful position,
as it potentially can have an effect on news content, journalistic autonomy, freedom of
expression, and organizational and professional practices by shaping popular opinion. Here,
ownership refers to the various forms of governance associated with particular ownership
structures, while the owners of media constitute the individuals and companies that wield
influence over their organization (Schlosberg, 2016, p.8). The different types of ownership are
public or state-owned media, privately-owned media, community media, media directly owned
by political parties. It is usual for governments to run radio and television programs, and, in
some countries, even ‘official’ newspapers while community media take the form of
broadcasting and/or multimedia projects and are characterized by independence from
governments, business companies, religious institutions and political parties. Community media
organizations are an important part of the fabric of democratic societies, yet in many European
countries, they still lack formal, legal recognition, fair access to distribution platforms and
sustainable funding.
In order to be able to analyse media ownership, and resulting media concentration, we
have to know the right questions. By answering the question of who owns the media, we also
answer the question of who holds the reins of power.

Mark the following statements TRUE or FALSE:

▪ All media whether it is film or music or print is owned by a company. (FALSE)
▪ All media products are financed by a company or an individual. (TRUE)
▪ Media products communicate ideas and values and as such have social and political
implications. (TRUE)

Ex. 10. Read the text and do the tasks that follow.

1.3 What is media regulation and why is media regulated?

Today it seems impossible to remain in power without the support of the media. Media
owners use their media to promote and disseminate their own political views, and exploit
politicians to achieve their own (corporate) goals while politicians use (and abuse) media for
their own political purposes.
Monopolistic ownership of the media, like state control, can pose a significant threat to
media diversity and pluralism, and therefore to freedom of expression. Competition regulation is
an important part of restricting monopolies as is the professionalism and independence of
journalism. Diversity of viewpoints is also helped by a variety of forms of ownership (public,
private and not-for-profit), as well as by the availability of different types of media (print, radio,
television, Internet, etc.). While separately-owned newspapers and broadcasters generally
criticize each other’s content, the concentration of media under common ownership may prevent
any kind of mutual criticism and result instead in self-promotion. That is why examination of
ownership and control patterns is important for two reasons:
 -  all points of view need to be heard if society is to be truly democratic;
- - abuses of power and influence by elites need to be monitored by a free media (Doyle,
2002).

Which of these is NOT a good reason to control the media ownership patterns?
 to ensure media diversity and pluralism
 to ensure the professionalism and independence of journalism
 to ensure the owner’s right to publish, distribute and present events from his/her own
perspective
 to ensure freedom of expression
.
Ex. 11. Read the text and do the task that follows.

1.4. Journalism Ethics

Journalism ethics and standards describe the principles of ethics and good practice
journalists adopt in response to specific challenges. Historically and currently, journalists
consider the subset of media ethics as their professional ‘code of ethics’ or ‘canons of
journalism’. These basic codes commonly appear in statements drafted by professional
journalism associations and individual print, broadcast, and online news organizations. While
various existing codes have some differences, most share common elements: notably, the
principles of truthfulness, accuracy, objectivity, impartiality, fairness and public accountability
as they apply to the acquisition of newsworthy information and its subsequent dissemination to
the public.
Codes of Journalism are designed to guide journalists through numerous ethical
challenges, such as conflict of interest and provide them with a framework for self-monitoring
and self-correction. The United States and Europe have typically been considered pioneers in the
formulation and adoption of these standards [see https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp], though
similar codes can be found in nearly any country that enjoys freedom of the press. While the
written codes and practical standards of journalism vary somewhat from country to country and
organization to organization, they tend to overlap substantially between mainstream publications
and societies.

Answer the following questions:

▪ What document describes the principles of journalists’ good practice?
‘code of ethics’ or ‘canons of journalism’
▪ What are the basic principles that the journalists agree to follow?
notably, the principles of truthfulness, accuracy, objectivity, impartiality, fairness and public
accountability
▪ How can these affect the content of news?
They apply to the acquisition of newsworthy information and its subsequent dissemination to
the public. Codes of Journalism are designed to guide journalists through numerous ethical
challenges, such as conflict of interest and provide them with a framework for self-monitoring
and self-correction.
▪ What happens if journalists break media ethics?
By breaking this principle, a journalist will in turn break the trust of viewers or readers. These
violations can tarnish a journalist’s reputation for being a reliable source for news and can lose
the trust of the public.
▪ Can you think of any news story that you have read or watched which according to your
opinion, was a poor/wrong piece of journalism or an excellent piece of journalism? Explain your
choice.
I don’t believe in the information that journalists share. I only trust Telegram channels of official
sources or their interviews.

PART 4. GUIDING TO MORE CALP

Ex. 13. Collect the data and discuss your results in small groups by answering the following
questions:
▪ Do international media reports on the event provide the same level of accuracy, coherence,
completeness compared to the national ones?
The international media do not have as much time to cover everything in the news as they do in
the national ones. Therefore, they manage with brief theses about what is happening.
▪ How have the political and economic interests of media owners influenced the news
coverage?
It all depends on the point of view of the media owners. They broadcast their point of view on
television, share with the audience, and this is followed by the position of ordinary people who
either perceive this side or this causes condemnation of the position.
▪ Can you identify factors that determine the degree of influence or control over the news
coverage?
From a variety of sources, it has been determined that the government, interest groups,
advertisers, and other media are the most significant variables that influence journalism or
news coverage.
▪ How would you describe journalists’ general reputation in your country?
We have freedom of speech, freedom of choice. We are not afraid to cover the whole truth, but
everything has its limits. In Ukraine, most of the population trusts the press.
▪ Why do you think journalists have a rather low reputation in many countries?
“It is important to point out that there is a crucial difference between harming people to reveal
significant information, and doing it to make money. The first is an ethical conflict, the second is
an ethical violation.”
▪ What should the editors and the newsrooms do to improve public trust in news media?
Tell the truth and only her, stop making up lies and make people believe in it and earn dirty
money on it (ratings, etc.)

PART 5. WRITING

Ex. 14. Choose one of the topics below and create a social media post (up to 100 words) to
get your peers’ response.
User generated content is becoming increasingly important, not only in social media but also
in professional news media. Point out what benefits and what challenges this raises in the
credibility of news media.
  Accuracy is the paramount principle of trust. Eighty-five percent of Americans rate it as
extremely or very important that news organizations get the facts right, higher than any
other general principle. And when we dig down into more specifics, a particular factor
related to accuracy —getting the facts right — is most valued regardless of the topic.
 The second-most valued factor related to trust, however, has more to do with timeliness.
Three-quarters of adults (76 percent) say it is critical to them that a news report be up to
date with the latest news and information. This is something all media can compete on in
the digital age on fairly equal footing.
 And the third- most cited factor in why Americans rely on a news source is related to
clarity. Fully 72 percent say it is extremely or very important to them that a news report
be concise and gets to the point.
 Online, still other factors come into play. Here people cite three specific factors as most
important: That ads not interfere with the news (63 percent); that the site or app loads
fast (63 percent); and that the content works well on mobile phones (60 percent). In
contrast, only 1 in 3 say it is very important that digital sources allow people to comment
on news.
 One of the new discoveries in this study is that the reasons people trust and rely on a
news source vary by topic. For example, people are significantly more likely to say that
expert sources and data are an important reason they turn to a source for news about
domestic issues than about lifestyle news (76 percent vs. 48 percent). People are far more
likely to want their source to be concise and get to the point for national politics (80
percent) than sports (61 percent). Similarly, people care more that their sources for
sports and lifestyle present the news in a way that is entertaining (54 percent and 53
percent) than say the same about political news (30 percent).
 Even how people rank specific elements of digital presentation varies by topic. Close
followers of traffic and weather, for instance, care more that such content presents well
on their mobile phones (72 percent say that is very important) than do consumers of
national political news (55 percent).
 People who rely on social media heavily for news are highly skeptical of the news they
encounter in those networks. Just 12 percent of those who get news on Facebook, for
instance, say they trust it a lot or a great deal. At the high end, just 23 percent say they
have a lot or a great deal of trust in news they encounter on LinkedIn.
 To overcome that general skepticism, social media news consumers say they look for cues
to help them know what to trust there. The most important of those, cited by 66 percent of
Facebook news consumers, is trust in the original news organization that produced the
content. The reputation of the person who shared the material is a less frequently cited
factor for Facebook news consumers (48 percent).
 About 4 in 10 Americans (38 percent) can recall a specific recent incident that caused
them to lose trust in a news source. The two most common problems were either instances
of perceived bias or inaccuracies.

PART 6. FURTHER EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

Ex. 15. Check if you remember the terms and expressions from this unit. If necessary,
consult Appendix A.
Advertiser, code of ethics, community media, conglomerate, conglomeration, credibility, cross-
media ownership, democracy, engagement, exposure, freedom of expression, influencers,
journalists’ good practice, lead (n.), media concentration, media consolidation, media
convergence, media diversity, media pluralism, merger, ownership, passion, pluralism, privately-
owned media, public/state-owned media, reach (n.).

Ex. 16. Optional. Watch the videos about the main types of media ownership in Ukraine
and draw a mind map of the Ukrainian media market with the names of media outlets,
their owners, types of ownership:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydAHni5mmuc; - 6 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhv3M2MLAXQ - 4 min

Present it in the form of a poster and hold a conference to discuss the following questions:
▪ What are the main types of media ownership?
(public and commercial)
▪ Which of them are presented in the Ukrainian media market?
Most Ukrainian media outlets have private owners. Local governments also own local TV and
radio stations. (Commercial)
▪ Why is it important to know who owns the media?
The concentration of media ownership is commonly regarded as one of the crucial
aspects reducing media pluralism. A high concentration of the media market increases the
chances to reduce the plurality of political, cultural and social points of views.
▪ Which type of ownership provides the highest level of independence (freedom from
government and private owners’ control)? (Why?)
They are the most common form of business organization in the United States. They have the
most freedom from government regulation. Explanation: Sole proprietorships have the most
freedom from government regulation.