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Media industries (the theoretical framework)

4 dot points across 4 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

Why do media companies behave the way they do, and how does Hesmondhalgh explain the strategies the cultural industries use to manage risk?

Media industries: cultural industries (David Hesmondhalgh). The high-risk, high-reward nature of cultural production, and the strategies firms use to manage it: maximising audiences, integration and conglomeration, formatting, stars, genres and franchises.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to the cultural industries (David Hesmondhalgh). Covers the high-risk nature of cultural production, and the strategies firms use to manage risk: maximising audiences, integration and conglomeration, formatting, stars, genres and franchises, with the application skills the media industries essays reward.
15 min answer →

How does the concentration of media ownership affect what gets made, and what do Curran and Seaton argue about power, profit and diversity?

Media industries: power and media industries (Curran and Seaton). The concentration of ownership in a few conglomerates, the pursuit of profit and power, the resulting narrowing of variety, and the case that diversity and alternative ownership widen creativity and democracy.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to power and media industries (Curran and Seaton). Covers the concentration of ownership in a few conglomerates, the pursuit of profit and power, the narrowing of variety, and the case for diversity and alternative ownership, with the application skills the media industries essays reward.
15 min answer →

How are media products made, distributed and circulated, and how do conglomeration, integration and convergence shape the industry?

Media industries: production, distribution and circulation. Vertical and horizontal integration, conglomerates and synergy, convergence and technological change, and the difference between commercial and public service funding models.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to production, distribution and circulation. Covers vertical and horizontal integration, conglomerates and synergy, convergence and technological change, and commercial versus public service funding models, with the application skills the media industries questions reward.
16 min answer →

How and why is the media regulated, and what tension do Livingstone and Lunt identify between protecting citizens and serving consumers?

Media industries: regulation (Livingstone and Lunt). The role of regulators (Ofcom, IPSO, the BBFC, the ASA), the tension between protecting citizens and serving consumer choice and freedom of expression, and the difficulty of regulating globalised, converged media.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to media regulation (Livingstone and Lunt). Covers the role of regulators (Ofcom, IPSO, the BBFC, the ASA), the tension between protecting citizens and serving consumer choice and freedom of expression, and the difficulty of regulating globalised, converged media, with the application skills the essays reward.
15 min answer →