Chapter

2
Convergence and the Reshaping of
Mass Communication

CMTM-265
Mass Media & Society
 Learning Objectives
1. Overview current trends in mass media
2. Understand how the trends change the
media in all aspects
3. Understand how the new mass
communication process evolve
 Industries in Transition
Movie attendance is flat
Album sales decreased
Major TV networks possess only 55% of viewing audience
After years of explosive growth, sales of DVDs have
leveled off as well
Daily and Sunday newspaper circulation has dropped
every year since 1998
American consumer magazine circulation and revenue
growth has been flat since 2002
Listenership for commercial radio continues to decline
 Good News for Media Industries
Rules of media consumption have changed
Media consumption is at an all time high
Media multitasking
Children 8-18 years of age:
Spend more than 10 hours 45 mins/day with media
content
Adept at media multitasking; simultaneous
consumption of many different kinds of media
 Current Trends in Mass Media

1. Convergence
2. Concentration of Ownership and
Conglomeration
3. Hypercommercialism
4. Audience Fragmentation
5. Globalization
1. Convergence
Digital media offer the erosion of traditional
distinctions among different media
platforms.
Platform: the means of delivering specific piece
of media content (print, broadcast,
telecommunication, etc.)
Formerly distinct media merge together
The integration of different media platforms
 Example
What can you do with ______ ?
Convergence

1993

2015
2. Concentration of Ownership and
Conglomeration
Concentration
The media industry is owned and controlled by a
handful of large companies oligopoly
By 2000, six multinational corporations dominate
the media industry.
Time Warner; Walt Disney; Viacom; News
Corp.; Bertelsmann; Comcast
See Who owns media? and Media ownership
in the supplemental course materials
2. Concentration of Ownership and
Conglomeration
Conglomeration
Media companies have become part of much
larger corporations.
Mergers, acquisitions, buyouts, takeovers
2. Concentration of Ownership and
Conglomeration
Issues
Conflict of interest
Bottom line mentality
Degradation of media content
Economies of scale
Oligopoly
Homogenization of culture or lack of diversity of
content
Whats matter with conglomeration?

GE chair Jack Welsh, who formerly

owned NBC, specified that Today show
weather reporter Willard Scott should
mention GE light bulb on the program.

If Disney has corrupt business practices,

will ABC news report the issue in a fair
and objective manner?
3. Hypercommercialism
Recouping the costs involved in acquiring
numerous or large media outlets
e.g, through the selling of more advertising on
existing and new media and identifying
additional ways to combine content and
commercials leads to hypercommercialism.
Product placement
Brand entertainment
Payola
Watch a video clip Behind the Screen: Hollywood goes hypercommercial
(under the supplemental course material on D2L)
3. Hypercommercialism
Issues
17 minutes of commercials per hour
Bugs or obnoxicons: commercials that run across the
bottom third of the TV screen
Increased mixing of commercial and non-commercial
media content
4. Audience Segmentation
Audience segments are more narrowly defined; less
of mass audience, but more of targeted audience
Old media
Media messages aimed at largest possible audience.
Broadcasting toward homogeneous audience
New media
Segmented and customized audience depending on
social-demographic classifications and preferences
Narrowcasting toward heterogeneous audience
Targeted and customized audience is better to
attract advertisers.
5. Globalization