Theorist: Curran and Seaton: Power and Media Industries

"diversity is in the public interest –but modern societies suffer from collective attention deficit disorders[…] the public interest has to work harder to be noticed, and we need agile but resourceful media to do that" - Curran and Seaton on the need for diversity:

Monopoly: The exclusive ownership or control of something

Conglomerate: A large corporation consisting of multiple smaller companies, e.g. Disney Pixar

Subsidiary: A smaller company owned by a large corporation


"it [extends] their range of business and political connections, [increases] their corporation’s prestige and, through judicious editorial appointments, [contributes] to the maintenance of public opinion favorable to private enterprise" - Curran and Seaton on monopoly

• Having a monopoly means domination of multiple media industries

• If the focus is on creating profit, generally conglomerates don’t take risks with the media products they produce

• This often results in limited variety, creativity and quality

"anti-monopoly media regulation is needed not only to maintain fair competition but also to prevent the distortion of democracy."

"Media policy should seek[…] to create the conditions 

of greatest possible competition, thus enabling consumers to exercise sovereign control. This produces media that people want, a wide range of choice, and 

media independence from government"

Public service broadcasting: B

roadcasting intended for public benefit rather than to serve purely commercial interests

"British broadcasting was started as a public service, and this proved as creative commercially as it was innovative culturally"

The BBC: The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) was set up in 1922 with the mission statement to "inform, educate and entertain", It is government-owned and paid for by the tax payer, It aims to represent the diversity of the UK, sustain citizenship and stimulate culture & creativity

Independent producer: free from outside control, e.g: Channel 4, Film 4, E4

• Public Service Broadcasters produce content without the sole intention of profit. This results in a more varied range of content across multiple media industries.

• Independent producers contribute to this creativity and variety by providing niche products that often act as the alternative to the mainstream.

• These socially diverse patterns of ownership support a more varied and adventurous media landscape