Download Media Economics and Industry: Terms and Concepts and more Quizzes Communication in PDF only on Docsity! TERM 1 Structure of the Media Industry DEFINITION 1 Monopoly (one firm dominates production and distribution in a particular industry)Oligopoly(a few firms dominate an industry)Limited competition(Many producers and sellers, but only a few products within a particular category) TERM 2 Direct Payment DEFINITION 2 - the payment of money, primarily by consumers, for a book, a music CD, a movie, an online computer service, or a cable TV subscription TERM 3 Indirect Payment DEFINITION 3 - financial support of media products by advertisers, who pay for the quantity or quality of audience members that a particular medium attracts TERM 4 Economies of Scale DEFINITION 4 - economic process of increasing prodution levels so as to reduce the overall cost per unit TERM 5 Sherman Antitrust Act (1890) DEFINITION 5 - act that outlawed monopoly practices and corporate trusts that fix prices TERM 6 Clayton Antitrust Act (1914) DEFINITION 6 - Congress strengthens antitrust law by prohibiting companies from selling only to dealers who agree to reject rival products TERM 7 Celler-Kefauver Act (1950) DEFINITION 7 - Corporate mergers and joint ventures that reduce competition are limited TERM 8 Escalation of Deregulation DEFINITION 8 - Carter, Reagan weakened controls- Some thought deregulation would lower prices and others predicted mergers---both were right- Deregulation continues today- 1995: News Corp. own/operate Fox Network & local TV stations- 2007: newspaper- broadcast cross-ownership rule was relaxed- Deregulation movement has returned media economics to 19th century principles TERM 9 Major Deals DEFINITION 9 - 1995: Disney bought ABC for $19 billion and Time Warner bought Turner Broadcasting for $7.5 billion- 2009: Time Warner merged with AOL for $106 billion (spin company off in 2009)- 2009: Comcast purchased a majority stake in NBC Universal TERM 10 Flexible Markets DEFINITION 10 Elastic economy Expansion of the service sector Need to serve individual consumer preferences Relies on cheap labor Demands rapid product development and efficient market research Decline in the number of workers who belong to labor unions TERM 21 Largest Digital Media Companies DEFINITION 21 Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft TERM 22 Diversification DEFINITION 22 Most media companies diversify, never fully dominating a particular media industry. Promotes oligopolies TERM 23 Local monopolies DEFINITION 23 Antitrust laws aim to curb national monopolies, not local, and have no teeth globally. TERM 24 Lack of public debate on tightening oligopoly structure due to... DEFINITION 24 Reluctance to criticize capitalism Debate over how much control consumers have in the marketplace TERM 25 Consumer Control DEFINITION 25 Power in deciding what kinds of media get created and circulated TERM 26 Consumer Choice DEFINITION 26 Consumers are free to select among options chosen for them by producers TERM 27 Cultural Imperialism DEFINITION 27 - American styles dominating the globe Supporters Creates an arena in which citizens can raise questions Universal popular culture creates a global village. Critics Protests can be turned into products and lose their bite. Cultural dumping hampers the development of native cultures. Causes cultural disconnection TERM 28 The Media Marketplace and Democracy DEFINITION 28 Superficial consumer concerns, not broader social issues, dominate the media agenda. Mass media mergers make public debate over economic issues difficult. Local groups and consumer movements are working to challenge Big Media.
