Section B SOW

8/3/2019 Section B SOW

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Section B: Institutions andAudiences

Candidates should be prepared to understand and discussthe processes of production, distribution, marketing andexchange as they relate to contemporary media institutions,as well as the nature of audience consumption and therelationships between audiences and institutions.

In addition, candidates should be familiar with:

The issues raised by media ownership incontemporary media practice;

The importance of cross media convergence andsynergy in production, distribution andmarketing;

The technologies that have been introduced inrecent years at the levels of production,distribution, marketing and exchange;

The significance of proliferation in hardware andcontent for institutions and audiences;

The importance of technological convergence for

institutions and audiences; The issues raised in the targeting of national and

local audiences (specifically, British) byinternational or global institutions;

The ways in which the candidates ownexperiences of media consumption illustratewider patterns and trends of audience behaviour.

This unit should be approached through contemporaryexamples in the form of case studies based upon one of the

specified media areas. Examples may include the following:

MagazinesA study of a successful magazine within the contemporaryBritish magazine market, including its patterns of production,distribution, marketing and consumption by audiences. Thisshould be accompanied by study of the use of online


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magazine editions and the issues that they raise for theproduction, marketing and consumption of a magazinebrand.


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Past Questions


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Mark Schemes

General:Level 4

Explanation/analysis/argument (1620 marks)

Shows excellent understanding of the task

Excellent knowledge and understanding of institutional/audiencepractices factual knowledge is relevant and accurate

A clear and developed argument, substantiated by detailedreference to case study material

Clearly relevant to set question

Use of examples (1620 marks)

Offers frequent evidence from case study material award marksto reflect the range and appropriateness of examples from case

study and/or own experience Offers examples which are clearly relevant to the set question

Use of terminology (810 marks)

Use of terminology is relevant and accurate

Complex issues have been expressed clearly and fluently. Sentences andparagraphs, consistently relevant, have been well structured, usingappropriate technical terminology, spelling, punctuation and grammar.

2010What significance does the continuing development of digital mediatechnology have for media institutions and audiences?

Candidates will be assessed on their ability to illustrate patterns ofproduction, distribution, exchange and consumption through relevant casestudy examples and their own experiences as audiences.

Candidates may cover the following material in their responses to thequestion:

The impact of new technology on media industriesThe transformation of distribution and marketing strategies by media

institutionsThe use of new technology to facilitate more accurate targeting of specificaudiencesHow audiences embrace the use of new digital media technologies

MagazinesA study of a successful magazine within the contemporary British magazinemarket, including its patterns of production, distribution, marketing andconsumption by audiences. This should be accompanied by study of the use


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of online magazine editions and the issues that they raise for the production,marketing and consumption of a magazine brand.

Jan 2010 Mark Scheme

Media production is dominated by global institutions, which

selltheir products and services to national audiences. To whatextentdo you agree with this statement?

Candidates will be assessed on their ability to illustrate patterns ofproduction, distribution, exchange and consumption through relevantcase study examples and their own experiences as audiences.Candidates may cover the following material in their responses to thequestion:

Production practices which allow texts to be constructed forspecific audiences

Distribution and marketing strategies to raise audience awarenessof specific products or types of products

The use of new technology to facilitate more accurate targeting ofspecific audiences

Audience strategies in facilitating or challenging institutionalpractices

MagazinesA study of a successful magazine within the contemporary Britishmagazine market, including its patterns of production, distribution,marketing and consumption by audiences. This should beaccompanied by study of the use of online magazine editions and theissues that they raise for the production, marketing and consumptionof a magazine brand.


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Examiners Report 2011General Comments on Question 2

The question provided suitable differentiation of candidate responses. The majorityofcandidates addressed the issue of distribution and marketing more than that ofproduction or audience. The question provoked a range of responses from candidatesmany of whom were able to discuss the relationship between production, distributionand marketing in ensuring the success of media products. The best answers wereable to create a debate around the relative strengths of production andmarketing/distribution practices by institutions in engaging appropriate audiences.Frequently strong candidates were also able to draw contrasts between mainstreamand independent producers, and/or mass audience/niche audience targeting.

In addition, many candidates were able to build their own experiences as consumersinto their responses and were able to contextualise these through widerunderstanding of the relationships between producers and audiences. Morecandidates are able to show awareness of the trends and strategies that categorisethe contemporary media landscape. A few candidates attempted to answer thequestion without any kind of institutional knowledge, focussing exclusively on texts,suggesting that there are still misconceptions as to the demands of this section ofthe specification. Strong responses from candidates were those who had a widerange of relevant and contemporary examples of marketing and distributionstrategies in their chosen area and could discuss them with confidence. Thosecandidates that fared less well used a saturation approach to addressing thequestion writing all they could remember, rather than addressing the set question.

There was some confusion by candidates between convergence, synergy, horizontaland vertical integration as key media concepts.

It is advised that centres ensure the appropriate preparation for this section bycovering audience in the same depth as institutions. It is also recommended thatcentres find a balance between giving candidates independent research tasks and

modeling the kinds of material they need to produce.

Magazine Industry

Most candidates had a good understanding in the shift from print based to digitalformats and explored the impact of the online editions and the general shift frompurely print based editions. Candidates often presented good knowledge andexplanation of how magazines have embraced the cross media platforms and howthis has helped to sustain their businesses in times of the declining sales of printcopies. Most candidates gave a useful contextualising overview of the industry andthen focussed on a large institution like Bauer or IPC and looked at how they hadchanged their production/marketing/distribution patterns. Candidates could offer

evaluation of detailed case studies of mass market female readership texts likeVogue, Marie-Claire, Elle, Kerrang and niche publications and online magazines suchas Monkey. Most were backed up with reference to the frequently updated contentand use of online multimedia as well as lots of facts and figures and quotes frompress packs to give a convincing argument. Virgins iPad magazine Project was alsolooked at in an attempt to cover next generation online magazines.

The most common and strongest case study was Bauer publishing, comparingdifferent titles in terms of production, distribution and marketing. The most ablecandidates managed to present a wealth of case study examples in a way that was


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relevant to the question and constructed a comparative argument. Well-selectedcase studies included NME and Mens Health. In less successful responses, it wasevident that candidates had misunderstood the question and began discussingadvertising inside the magazine rather than the marketing of the magazine itself orgave accounts of reception theory, which is not appropriate for this exam.

Scheme of Work

Assessed pieces:

1. Group presentation of Media Ownership (Global

conglomerates) alongside essay:Discuss the issues raised by media ownershipin contemporary media practice; explore theissues with the system of oligopoly and mediaconglomerates.

Week 2

2. Discuss the key developments of new technologies inthe Media in the past ten years, and its impact on

audience consumption of the Media and society ingeneral. Presented in a Prezzi presentation.

Week 4

3. Discuss the importance of technological convergencefor institutions and audiences within the MagazineIndustry; you should refer to specific case studies inyour answer.

Week 6


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Week Lesson Content Plan (Before) Apply (During) Extend (After

1

Gold

1 Introductionto Media

Institutions

(inc KeyTerminology)

Complete allsummer

preparation work

(various researchactivities andpresentation)

Discuss key findingsand issues which

arose during the

Summer Apply articles to

introductory topic of

institutions

Learn keyterminology cover

in the lesson

Create glossary ofterms in learninglogs

2 Exploringcontemporary

Media

Institutions on

a global and

national scale

Organise group

tasks for case

study researchtask

Begin initial

preparation/resear

ch for case studytasks

Synthesising

information gathered

about specificinstitution

Examination of global

Media brand- Bauer

Media Group

Carry out

independent

research intoassigned company

Produce engaging

presentation

2

Blue

3 Presentingcase studies of

key Media

Institutions

(pt 1, pt2

below)

Prepare and

practise group

presentations

(using markingcriteria to inform

planning)

Carry out group

presentations to the

class- peer assessment

Preparation ensuresstudents can answer

questions confidently

(Assessed piece)

Write up notes fro

other presentation

(Carry out persona

independentresearch to extend

knowledge

4 Presentingcase studies of

key MediaInstitutions

As above As Above Synthesis

information in

learning logs

1

Gold

5 Introductionto New Media

Technologies

(NMT)

Create a wordle

document of

contemporarymedia

technologies

Applying key

developments to how

the Media landscapehas developed in the

past thirty years

Essay discussing

how NMT have

changed audienceconsumption of th

Media and society

(Assessed piece)

6 NMT andInstitutions

Read through

BBC technology

website to get up

to speed withlatest

developments

Focus on the 2010 pp

question- exploring

the significance of

continuingdevelopment of NMT

for Institutions and

Audiences

Carry out research

into how people u

NMT in their day

day lives


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Introduction to the Media

Key Concept: Media Institutions

Media Studies is all about the contemporary, so whilst it is useful to have knowledge ofthe history and development of different areas of the media, we are really much more

concerned with how the different forms of media are currently being produced and

distributed and how this is changing. The key agent of change is convergence; it makeslittle sense these days to talk about any Media industry without referring to other mediaindustries, especially internet distribution. The word institution refers to the companies

and organisations that provide media content, whether for profit, public service or another

motive. This involves an understanding of media as business, the relationship betweenmedia providers and the public and media as a form of power. One thing is for certain- it

makes little sense to talk about the media as a single entity any more, as though it is a

collective force with a shared agenda.

Key Term: Convergence

Convergence describes two phenomena; firsttechnologies coming together, for example a mobilephone you can use as a still and moving image camera,download and watch movies on, use as an MP3 player andrecorder and access the Internet with. Second, mediaindustries are diversifying so they produce and distributeacross several media- for example, a newspaper with anonline version and audio podcasts or the coming together


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Researching Media Institutions

At the start of the summer there was one media institution which dominated

the news headlines; News Corp. News Corp is a MEDIA

CONGLOMERATE which operates on a global scale. In order tounderstand how the Media functions as an institution it is essential that you

understand the makeup of these institutions.

Research task

Find out the definitions of the following terms:

Media Conglomerate

Public Service Broadcasting

Globalisation

Oligopoly

Convergence

Synergy

Answer the following in as much detail as possible:

What are the top five media conglomerates in the world?

What range of companies do each of the conglomerates own? What criticisms have been made against media conglomerates?

How has the expansion of companies lead to a concentration of media

ownership?


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Researching the Magazine Industry

List the major conglomerates whooperate in the Magazine Industry

List the titles which the topconglomerates own

List on-line magazines which areavailable

Find out the different ways in whichmagazines are distributed to thepublic

List the ways in which magazines haveincorporated new media technologiesinto their companies to attractaudiences

Task:In pairs create a wordle document whichhighlights the key findings from your researchand the key terminology which you have comeacross. These need to be saved onto the Media

Media oligopoly

An oligopoly is when a few firms dominate a market. When the largerscale media companies buyout the more smaller-scaled or localcompanies they become more powerful against other companies. As theycontinue to do this they have eliminated their business competition byeither buying them out or forcing them out because they lack theresources or finances that these now powerful media mergers have. Whenthere is lack of competition and only a few media companies remain dueto merging, power and dominance is inevitable. The companies leftdominate the media industry and create a media oligopoly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligopolyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_competitionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_industryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_competitionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_industryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligopoly


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USP by the end of the lesson.


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Group Presentation Tasks

Case Studies: Conde Naste Hearst Corporation- EMAP- IPC- Bauer Media Group-

Areas to focus on:Brief history of the companyAreas of ownership

Use of technologies

Audiences targeted

Assessment Criteria:

Innovative use of Media to present work

Clarity of information

Clear and informed understanding of the MediaInstitution

Understanding of Audience needs and targetingof audiences

Understanding of New Media Technologies andhow these are utilised by your case studycompany

Note:

Presentation should be presented using Prezzi, andshould be interesting incorporating a range of Media.


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You will have next Tuesdays lesson (p.5) to completethis, then presentations will be held during nextFridays lessons


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Assessed Essay

Discuss the issues raised by media ownership incontemporary media practice; explore the issues with

a system of oligopoly and media conglomerates.

Assessment Criteria:

Argument/Explanation/AnalysisUse of ExamplesMedia Language

Level 4

Explanation/analysis/argument (1620 marks)

Shows excellent understanding of the task

Excellent knowledge and understanding of institutional/audiencepractices factual knowledge is relevant and accurate

A clear and developed argument, substantiated by detailedreference to case study material

Clearly relevant to set question

Use of examples (1620 marks)

Offers frequent evidence from case study material award marks

to reflect the range and appropriateness of examples from casestudy and/or own experience

Offers examples which are clearly relevant to the set question

Use of terminology (810 marks)

Use of terminology is relevant and accurate

Complex issues have been expressed clearly and fluently. Sentencesand paragraphs, consistently relevant, have been well structured,using appropriate technical terminology, spelling, punctuation and

grammar.


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How to Write an A Level Essay

Initial Ideas:Brainstorm your initial response to the question

Examples:Reference to case studies

Key terminology:

Media Language appropriate to the task/issue

Structure:1. Strong Introduction signposting where the essay

is going, reference to the title question with thekey issues which you are going to be discussing

2. Main Body- each paragraph should reference adifferent point which addresses the title question

(should be looking at about 6 points)3. Conclusion summing up your keys points andfirmly addressing the title question

Media Ownership


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Some nations can influence and control their media greatly. Inaddition, powerful corporations also have enormous influence onmainstream media. In some places major multinational corporationsown media stations and outlets. Often, many media institutions surviveon advertising fees, which can lead to the media outlet being

influenced by various corporate interests. Other times, the ownershipinterests may affect what is and is not covered. Stories can end upbeing biased or omitted so as not to offend advertisers or owners. Theability for citizens to make informed decisions is crucial for a free andfunctioning democracy but now becomes threatened by suchconcentration in ownership.

The idea of corporate media itself may not be a bad thing, for it canfoster healthy competition and provide a check against governments.However, the concern is when there is a concentration of ownershipdue to the risk of increased economic and political influence that can

itself be unaccountable.

(Taken from www.globalissues.org)

Horizontal Integration

Within the Media horizontal integration describes a typeof ownership and control. It is a used by a corporation thatseeks to sell a type ofproduct in numerous markets. Thegoal of Horizontal integration is to consolidate likecompanies and monopolize an industry.A term that isclosely related with horizontal integration is horizontalexpansion. This is the expansion of a firm within anindustry in which it is already active for the purpose ofincreasing its share of the market for a particular product orservice. Media critics, such as Robert McChesney, have noted that thecurrent trend within the entertainment industry has been toward theincreased concentration of media ownership into the hands of asmaller number of transmedia and transnational conglomerates. Mediais seen to amass in centre where wealthy individuals have the ability topurchase such ventures (e.g. Rupert Murdoch).

The idea of owning many media outlets, which run almost the samecontent, is considered to be very productive, since it requires onlyminor changes of format and information to use in multiple mediaforms. For example, within a conglomerate, the content used inbroadcasting television would be used in broadcasting radio as well, orthe content used in hard copy of the newspaper would also be used inonline newspaper website. What emerged are new strategies of
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_(business)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_McChesneyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Murdochhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_(business)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_McChesneyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Murdoch


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content development and distribution designed to increase thesynergy between the different divisions of the same company.Companies seek content that can move fluidly across media channels.

The Future of the Media..?

Eric Schmidt's MacTaggart lecture (2011)

The future of new media technologies?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/interactive/2011/aug/26/eric-schmidt-mactaggart-

lecture
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/interactive/2011/aug/26/eric-schmidt-mactaggart-lecturehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/media/interactive/2011/aug/26/eric-schmidt-mactaggart-lecturehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/media/interactive/2011/aug/26/eric-schmidt-mactaggart-lecturehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/media/interactive/2011/aug/26/eric-schmidt-mactaggart-lecture


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TechnologicalConvergence

Case StudiesFind examples of how institutions

have used technological convergence

to improve their brand appeal to

their audiences

For example:

In the Television Industry the BBC (a public service

broadcaster) has invested in new media technologies

and launched their iPlayer, they have just relaunched

their website with the iPlayer feature being the most

important aspect, this reflects a shift in audience

viewing habits. They have also got an iPlayer App

which means people can view content on their

mobile devices. This demonstrates how a traditional

media company has harnessed new technologies to

expand their audience base and meet the needs of


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contemporary audiences.

Task

Find examples of how each of the

following industries have used

convergence to broaden their brandappeal and meet the news of their

contemporary audiences:

Newspaper Industry

Magazine Industry

Music Industry

Film Industry


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Presenting Your Research intoNMT

As you have now looked at how different mediainstitutions use NMT you now need to synthesisethis information into one Prezi presentation whichexplores how contemporary Media utilises NMTto broaden their appeal to audiences. Your Prezipresentation should include the following:

How different institutions have incorporated NMT in

their industries (with pictures/videos to support this)

How audiences have benefitted from NMT

How NMT are changing the landscape of the Media-

refer to the points made by Eric Schmidt in his lecture

How NMT have changed the relationship between

audiences and producers

In addition to this you will have to write an assessed essayon the following title:

' Explore how contemporary Media utilises NMT tobroaden their appeal to audiences'.

You should be looking at writing about 1000 words for this,and once again you will be assess on the following criteria:

Discussion (40%)

Use of Examples (40%)

Terminology/Media Language (20%)

This website is fantastic for information and news on NMT.

The link below will take you to the magazine section of the

site, so log on and get reading...

http://paidcontent.co.uk/topic/magazines/


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The rest of the work can be foundon

www.cbscasmedia2011.blogspot.com

Section B SOW

Documents

Transcript of Section B SOW