How do you deploy the media industries theories (Curran and Seaton, Hesmondhalgh, Livingstone and Lunt) in the Component 02 essays, and how do they connect to one another?
Theoretical perspectives: applying the media industries theories. Choosing and applying Curran and Seaton, Hesmondhalgh and Livingstone and Lunt to set products, linking ownership, risk and regulation, and reaching the synoptic judgement the essays reward.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to applying the media industries theories. Covers choosing and applying Curran and Seaton, Hesmondhalgh and Livingstone and Lunt to set products, linking ownership, risk and regulation, and reaching the synoptic judgement, with the exam skills Component 02 rewards.
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What this dot point is asking
The Component 02 essays ask you to apply the media industries theories, often naming one. This is a skills dot point: how to choose among Curran and Seaton, Hesmondhalgh and Livingstone and Lunt, how they connect to one another, and how to reach the synoptic judgement that links ownership, risk and regulation.
The answer
Three theories, three questions
Mapping each theory to its question tells you instantly which to deploy.
Choosing the theory that fits
The first skill is selection:
- Ownership and variety point to Curran and Seaton.
- Risk and product strategy (franchises, stars, genres) point to Hesmondhalgh.
- Standards, control and freedom point to Livingstone and Lunt.
Applying to named industry detail
The second skill is application to named detail: the parent company, the funding model, the regulator, the specific distribution and circulation of the set product. "This product's conglomerate owner uses synergy..." (Curran and Seaton); "its producers manage risk through a franchise and a star..." (Hesmondhalgh); "Ofcom regulates it, balancing protection and freedom..." (Livingstone and Lunt). Generic statements about "the industry" score little.
The synoptic link
The decisive skill is the synoptic link: the three theories connect.
- Ownership (Curran and Seaton) shapes the risk strategies a company can afford (Hesmondhalgh).
- Both operate inside a regulatory framework (Livingstone and Lunt).
- All three are reshaped by convergence and digital change and pushed back against by participation and public service.
A top answer connects all three and balances them against digital change, then judges.
Examples in context
A strong answer chooses the fitting theory, applies it to named industry detail, links ownership, risk and regulation, and judges against digital change.
Try this
Q1. Explain how Curran and Seaton's theory connects to Hesmondhalgh's. [5 marks]
- What the marker wants. Concentrated, profit-driven ownership (Curran and Seaton) shapes the risk-minimising strategies firms use (Hesmondhalgh), both narrowing variety (AO1 and AO2).
Q2. Apply Livingstone and Lunt's regulation theory to one set product you have studied. [10 marks]
- Cue. Name the regulator, apply the protection-versus-freedom tension to the product, and note the difficulty of regulating it online and globally (AO2).
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR H409/02 202210 marksApply Hesmondhalgh's cultural industries theory to one set product you have studied. [10]Show worked answer →
A named-theory question (AO1 and AO2), marked by levels of response. The marker rewards accurate theory plus close application to the product's industry.
Method. State Hesmondhalgh (high-risk production, managed by maximising audiences, integration, conglomeration and formatting), then apply each strategy to the set product's producers.
Develop. Name the specific strategies the product uses (franchise, star, genre, cross-platform release). The top band ties theory to named industry detail and notes the counter-pull of innovation.
OCR H409/02 202320 marksEvaluate the usefulness of theories of media industries in understanding the production and circulation of media. Refer to set products you have studied. [20]Show worked answer →
An extended essay (AO1 and AO2), shown at the 20-mark cap, marked by levels of response.
For. Argue the three theories explain industry behaviour: Curran and Seaton on ownership and variety, Hesmondhalgh on risk, Livingstone and Lunt on regulation, applied to set products.
Against. Note their limits and tensions: digital participation, public service and independents complicate concentration; innovation complicates risk-minimisation; convergence complicates regulation.
Judgement. The theories are most useful when linked (ownership, risk and regulation together) and balanced against digital change. A judgement grounded in set products reaches the top band.
Related dot points
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Theoretical perspectives: applying the audience theories. Choosing and applying Bandura, Gerbner, Hall, Jenkins and Shirky to set products, structuring the active-versus-passive audience debate, and reaching the judgement the essays reward.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to applying the audience theories. Covers choosing and applying Bandura, Gerbner, Hall, Jenkins and Shirky to set products, structuring the active-versus-passive debate, and reaching the judgement, with the exam skills Component 02 rewards.
- Set products: film (a Disney pairing, studied for media industry only) and long form television drama (one English-language and one non-English-language drama). Industry comparison of Disney across eras, and the full-framework comparative study of two dramas.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to the film and long form television drama set products. Covers the Disney film pairing studied for media industry, and the comparative study of one English-language and one non-English-language long form TV drama across the whole framework, with the exam skills Component 02 rewards.
Sources & how we know this
- OCR A Level Media Studies (H409) specification — OCR (2023)