Australian Media Organisations

Unit 2 Media – Area of Study 3

Commercial• These organisations make most of their

profits from advertising revenue.

• They exist to make money and this mindset shapes the content that they produce and distribute to the public.

• Usually owned by a larger company or corporation rather than an individual person. This larger group may own many media outlets of the same or different varieties such as television, radio or print (newspaper).

Free-To-Air TelevisionSeven, Nine and Ten broadcast the same content at Prime, Win

and Southern Cross in regional areas. (local news is an exception)

Profit is made by these companies by selling commercial break adverts which air during and between shows.

Advertising rates vary due to the time of day, the type of audience watching & the total number of people expected to be watching the program.

The cost of advertising during a program advertised past midnight would be less than that of a program shown at 8PM at night because there would be less viewers. ($100K for AFL Grand Final)

Free-To-Air Television

Imparja TelevisionCommercial TV

company from Alice Springs, NT.

Purchases programming from the Nine Network.

Locally produces Indigenous programs to promote indigenous culture, values and to cater to the local Indigenous community.

Subscription TelevisionAnother form of

Commercial TV that is not Free-To-Air.

Viewers pay a fee to receive signal by satellite or fibre optic cable.

Largest pay TV provider which was introduced in 1995.

Originally had no advertisements because subscription fees used to cover service costs.

Online Television• Provided online generally

usually through a partnership with an online or digital provider (Yahoo, MSN, Telstra).

• Delivers additional content such as: sneak peeks, behind-the-scenes footage, discussion forums, etc.

• Bigpond (owned by Telstra) streams media content to TV (sports, films, news, music) via an internet connection.

Television programming & incomeHow these companies receive their income/funding has

an effect on what content is made and delivered to Australian audiences.

Commercial Television’s content is driven by ratings and popularity.

There is an increasing trend of these networks buying content (local or overseas) rather than creating their own.

Networks buy content that will rate well with their audiences which then gives their advertisers exposure to their target audiences.

Subscription TV has more opportunity for niche programming as they do not find advertising to be their sole source of income.

Questions1. How do commercial television networks obtain their

income?

2. What role do ratings play in commercial television?

3. What advantages and disadvantages for both producers and viewers that can you identify when television content is driven by ratings?

4. Why do the major commercial TV networks (Nine, Seven & Ten) have smaller additional stations such as GO, 7Mate and Eleven?

Print MediaNews Limited (aka News

Corp Australia)

Run by Rupert Murdoch & son Lachlan Murdoch.

Own newspapers such as:The AustralianDaily Telegraph (NSW)Herald Sun (VIC)Courier-Mail (QLD)The Advertiser (SA)The Leader (VIC)mX

Fairfax

Run by Greg Hywood & Roger Corbett.

Own newspapers such as:The Age (Vic)Sydney Morning

Herald (NSW)

Print MediaMagazines are also produced by only a handful of

companies such as: News Corporation, PBL and Pacific Magazines.

Main purpose of Print Media is to make a profit, which largely comes from selling advertising space within publications.

Unlike free-to-air TV, most people pay for their choice of print product. This is a small amount compared to how much it costs to create each product.

Leader newspapers and the former mX were free to consumers.

Advertising in Print MediaAdvertising revenue in Print Media generally comes from

two sources: display advertising & classified advertising.

Display advertisements are usually from companies and can be repeated several times. Usually selling a brand. (eg. car companies, supermarkets, etc).

Classified advertisements are usually from individuals. This could include employment, jobs, services, etc.

Classified advertisements are largely becoming redundant due to the likes of eBay, Gumtree, Carsales, etc.

Ethics of Print MediaAlthough there is a

journalistic ‘code of ethics’ regarding not letting commercial interests interfere with reporting and that content shouldn’t be shaped by these interests, as we saw in Outfoxed, some companies still do it which is generally frowned upon.

RadioCommercial Radio in Australia is dominated by 5

major broadcast networks who take up 75% of the radio market.

These include:Austereo GroupAustralian Radio NetworkDMG Radio AustraliaFairfax News NetworkNOVA Entertainment

Broadcast on AM, FM and in digital format.

RadioAdvertisement revenue also covers commercial

radio production.

The style of the organisation influences what they broadcast.

Critics believe commercial radio is too bland or safe because it caters to a large majority.

Often linked with ARIA as well as other music distribution networks. Music that is high in the popular charts generally get more air time on commercial radio.

Questions1. What is the main source of revenue for commercial

print publications?

2. Do you listen to commercial radio? Why or why not? If yes, how does it meet your needs/wants?

3. What potential conflicts of interest do you think could occur under the commercial print AND radio models?

4. Would or do you pay to access news online? Why or why not?