Industry HL

Industry HL

David Hesmondhalgh

David Hesmondhalgh believes that companies need to minimise risk and maximise audiences to be successful. To do this, he suggests that a company should be vertically or horizontally integrated. Horizontal integration is where a company buys out or takes over competing companies that make similar products, which means that they can then mass produce those products, and dominate their competition and become successful; the company becomes more powerful. The profit that a company can gain by doing this allows them to have more resources and capacity to produce even more products for the audience, further making them powerful. Vertical integration is where a company buys out or takes over another company that does another part of the production process for their product. Both of these integration methods ensure that the company has a large amount of power and resources to overpower their competitors.

Hesmondhalgh also suggests that companies should take advantage of different technologies and different media platforms. This allows companies to distribute their product more so that it reaches a broader audience, making the company maximise their profits.

Hesmondhalgh then goes on to suggest that companies should focus on popular genres, formats and stars and copy them for their own benefit; they can use trends to their own benefit. This is a method a lot of other companies use, which is why repetition is common in the industry.

A controlled release schedule is something also suggested by Hesmondhalgh, which is something which is there to ensure that a company does not release a product early or too late, to ensure it has good distrubution, cannot be pirated, and makes profit. A good way to create hype and popularity for a product is to delay the release of it, it can be developed more, and the consumers can be eager for it.

Clay Shirky

Clay Shirky believes that audiences are no longer passive, and that people no longer consume media with no reaction. He thinks that audiences are now more active as people now want to interact with the media they consume, which he believes is due to technology changing our expectations and behaviour, and that we expect a certain amount of interaction with a product. Audiences now like to access media online rather than on newspaper. These online newspapers need interactive options on their websites as if they don't have them, audiences will get media from elsewhere.

Shirky also believes that audiences now like to speak back to producers of the media, and that previously media producers were at the top of the hierarchy, with the audiences at the bottom. Now because of the development of technology, we can communicate with these producers and give them feedback, which gives us a sense of equality in terms of power, and that there is now no hierarchy.

Disney's success question

● Disney has been horizontally integrated, and have bought out several of their competitors for their own benefit.
● Disney has been vertically integrated, and have bought out several film and TV production companies which has allowed them to have more resources and ways to make money.
● Disney tends to release media with a controlled release schedule which ensures that they maximise profit.
● Disney follows trends and what is popular to make their media products have a larger audience.
● Disney takes feedback from their audience in order to make their content better and higher quality.