Transcript Institution - alevelmedia

AS Media Studies
INSTITUTION
**Key Term**
Institution
 The organisation or company that produces
and/or distributes media.
 An institution is formed by the relations of
production, distribution, consumption and
regulation.
Understanding institution is
about understanding…
 Who produces media texts
 What their set of codes and values are
 What their relationship is to us as individuals
When analysing a media
text...
 What is the institution behind the text?
 In what ways has the text been influenced or
shaped by the institution that produced it?
 Is the source a public service or commercial
institution – what difference does this make
to the text?
 How has the text been distributed?
BBC
ITV
News
International
Manuel Alvarado
 In Learning the Media, he lists 7 features that
shape media institutions:
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FINANCE
PRODUCTION PRACTICES
TECHNOLOGY
LEGISLATION
CIRCULATION
AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION
AUDIENCE USE
Large Conglomerate
Corporations
 The mainstream institutions commission and
select material that fits their agenda.
 All institutions need to make money.
 Commercial institutions are supported by
advertising revenue.
 They pay for the production of the text.
 Have an interest in its content, style and
attitudes.
 They may also organise marketing.
Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows Part 1
Independent Institutions
 Independent and free from the financial and
organisational influence of the large scale
corporations that dominate the market and
industry.
 They are often small scale, appeal to a niche
audience.
 Often distributed and consumed in different
places to that of mainstream media.
‘Little
White Lies’
Small, bi-monthly
independent movie
magazine
Published and
distributed by
The Church of
London
Stocked in
selected WH
Smith stores and
some
independent
cinemas
Small, independent
creative agency
based in London.
Convergence of old and new
media
 All terrestrial broadcasters and newspaper
owners have bought into the internet.
 Murdoch’s News Corporation has bought
MySpace.
 Google started as a search engine – now
owns YouTube, online advertising group
DoubleClick and has expanded its advertising
business into TV, print, radio and mobile.
Key questions...
 What is the institutional source of the text?
 In what ways has the text been influenced or
shaped by the institution which produced it?
 Is the source a public service or commercial
institution? What difference does it make to
the text?
 Who owns and controls the institution
concerned and does this matter?
 How has the text been distributed?