Media Management and Economics 1997 Abstracts
Media Management and Economics Division
Using Industry Trade Magazines as a Textbook for Media Management Courses • Edward E. Adams, Angelo State University • Weekly trade journals such as Editor & Publisher, Broadcasting Cable, and Advertising Age, can serve as texts for media management courses. Trade magazines provide a current context of management and economic issues for students, as well as exposure to industry publications. This paper discusses the advantages and limitations of utilizing trade magazines as a course textbook.
Network Affiliation Changes and Inheritance Effects • Marianne Barrett, Charles C. Brotherton, Arizona State University • The network affiliation changes and the challenges to viewing behavior that they present offer a unique opportunity to examine whether the traditional factors thought to impact audience duplication continue to do so. This study uses Nielsen ratings data for February 1994, 1995 and 1996 from sixty markets across the United States to assess the effect of the affiliation changes on audience duplication. The study finds that lead-in ratings continue to be the most important determinant of inheritance.
Rosse’s Model Revisited: Moving from Linearity to Concentric Circles to Explain Newspaper Competition • Janet A. Bridges and Barry Litman, Lamar W. Bridges • Competition in the newspaper industry is no longer explained by the linear umbrella model of competition proposed by Rosse in the 1970s. Changes in the newspaper industry suggest a more fluid model of concentric circles is appropriate. The proposed model retains the four Rosse layers, incorporates a fifth, and illustrates changing conditions in the newspaper industry that make suburban and satellite dailies more competitive.
Playing the Market: Diversification as a Management Strategy Among Publicly Traded Newspaper Companies Category: Media Management & Economics • John Carvalho, University of North Carolina • Many companies aggressively expand into new industries. Such strategies are promoted by management gurus, who claim that wise diversification enhances shareholder value. But what about newspaper companies? Are they following this strategy Ñ which often leads to larger debt and closing of unprofitable properties? Are they sticking to their core industries? This paper examines strategy at eleven publicly traded newspaper companies. The author found many companies are diversifying widely, while others continue to concentrate on newspapers.
The Radio Remote: A Model of Audience Feedback • Todd Chambers, Steven McClung, University of Tennessee • This exploratory study examined the processes involved in the radio remote. In particular, this study used a field observation method of 30 different radio remotes in six markets. The researchers found that the radio remote process involves a level of interdependence among the client, station and audience. Overall, the researchers concluded that remotes could be judged according to the presence of a client giveaway or special offer, station giveaways, station interaction with the audience and an activity for the audience. Based on these criteria, the researchers found that few remotes contained all four elements.
Mergers, Acquisitions, and Convergence: The Strategic Alliances of Broadcasting, Cable Television, and Telephone Services • Sylvia M.Chan-Olmsted, University of Florida • Convergence through mergers and acquisitions seems to provide the best opportunity for companies to accelerate the implementation of new technologies while at the same time, capture a developed customer base. This paper addressed the following research questions: 1) What is the trend of M&A in the broadcasting, cable TV, and telephone industries after the 1996 ownership deregulation? 2) What are the initial M&A strategies for broadcasting, cable TV, and telephone companies on the way to convergence? 3) Is the convergence being carried out by internal (within industry) M&A or cross-segment integrated strategic alliances?
Revisiting Corporate Newspaper Structure and Profit-Making: Was I Wrong? • David Demers, Washington State University • In a survey of newspapers conducted in 1993, I found that the more a newspaper exhibits the characteristics of the corporate form of organization, the less emphasis it places on profits as an organizational goal and the more emphasis it places on product quality and other non-profit goals. However, some data in a survey I conducted in the fall of 1996 failed to support the profit findings. This paper reports on the findings from another, more comprehensive survey conducted in February 1997 in an attempt to resolve the discrepancy.
A Profile of Potential High-Definition Television Adopters in the United States • Michel Dupagne, University of Miami • A telephone survey was conducted with 193 adults in a major U.S. metropolitan area to assess consumer predispositions toward high-definition television (HDTV) and profile potential adopters of this technology according to demographics, mass media use, ownership of home entertainment products, and importance of television attributes. Based on diffusion theory and communication technology adoption studies, this study hypothesized that male, younger, better educated, and higher-income respondents who are more frequently exposed to mass media channels and value television features more highly would be more aware of HDTV, express a greater interest in HDTV, and be more likely to purchase an HDTV set. Results indicated that HDTV awareness was positively related to education, income, gender (male), newspaper use, ownership of home entertainment products, and picture sharpness; HDTV interest was positively related to age (negative), income, gender (male), moviegoing, and picture sharpness; and HDTV purchase intent was positively related to screen size.
How Family-Owned Hubbard Broadcasting Pioneered Direct Satellite Broadcasting • Hal Foster, University of North Carolina • In 1994 direct satellite broadcasting became the biggest consumer electronics hit since the VCR, thanks to the vision and persistence of Stanley S. Hubbard, patriarch of St. Paul, Minnesota-based Hubbard Broadcasting. This case study looks at how a family-owned operation could beat well-heeled corporate giants to become the first company to launch satellite-to-TV-set service. It offers lessons to media companies hoping to increase their wealth by exploiting new technology.
Predicting the Future: How St. Louis Post-Dispatch Journalists Perceive a New Editor Will Affect Their Jobs • Peter Gade, Earnest L. Perry, James Coyle, University of Missouri-Columbia • Journalists at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch went through a turbulent year of change in 1996. Editor William Woo, Joseph Pulitzer’s hand-picked successor in 1986, was removed from the job in July. He was replaced by Cole Campbell, former editor of the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot. The week before Campbell began work at the Post-Dispatch, we conducted a survey of newsroom employees concerning their perceptions of how the change in editors may affect their jobs and the operation of the newsroom. The purpose of this study was to attempt to measure how employees perceived change before the change actually occurred. A review of literature of the newspaper industry indicates no other study of this nature has been done. The data in this study indicate the conditions under which Post-Dispatch journalists perceive they are most willing to accept change are similar to those for employees who have experienced change in other organizations. If the new editor uses effective communication, has adequate newsroom resources and strong news values, then the staff is more likely to accept him.
The Superstar Labor Market in Television • Joseph Graf, Stanford University • Using literature from labor economics, this paper argues that the labor market in television is a «superstar» market in which a few collect large salaries and a large number of applicants vie for jobs. This is because of imperfect substitution among sellers in the market and the inability of applicants to accurately assess their chances of success. It suggests the effects of a labor market on individual behavior and continuing low salaries for new television journalists.
The Case Method and Telecommunication Management Education: A Classroom Trial • Anne Hoag, Ron Rizzuto, Rex Martin, The Pennsylvania State University, University of Denver • The efficacy of the case method is well known but only sometimes used in media management education. Now, as the convergence of media technologies and industries accelerates, there is a growing need for media management courses that teach across a broader array of technologies and management functions. The case method is particularly tuned to this kind of integrative experience-based learning. This paper, intended as a practical resource for educators, reviews case method literature and relates the results of a recent classroom trial in which complex telecommunication management cases were used with encouraging results.
The National Program Service: A New Beginning? • Matt Jackson, Indiana University • In 1992, PBS replaced the Station Program Cooperative (SPC) with the National Program Service (NPS). This paper compares programming and funding trends under both systems to determine if centralized decision-making has brought about the desired changes. The results suggest that NPS has had some impact, but that these changes are mostly due to cost-cutting measures. Corporate underwriting and station fees have not grown as hoped. Local autonomy and limited funding have prevented NPS from creating a network identity for the PBS program service.
State Influence on Public Television: A Case Study of Indiana and Kentucky • Matt Jackson, Indiana University • This study compares public television stations in Indiana and Kentucky to explore how different levels of state involvement affect public television. The results suggest that each station adjusts its mission according to its major source of funding. The Indiana stations, dependent on viewer donations, rely heavily on PBS programs. Kentucky Educational Television (KET), supported by the Kentucky legislature, focuses on classroom programming. Although state involvement affects their priorities, all stations rely on national programming because of the economics of program production.
Cable Subscribers’ Service Expectations • Randy Jacobs, University of Hartford • This paper reports data collected on cable subscribers’ expectations and preferences for installation, repair, and service representative availability. The data were gathered in 607 telephone interviews and analyzed using a performance elasticity approach that incorporated three expectations standards. The results reveal the range of performance expectations consumers hold for cable service and compare these standards with actual system performance in light of service satisfaction evaluations. Implications for research and cable system management are discussed.
Effect of VCR on Mass Media Markets in Korea, 1961-1993: The principle of Relative Constancy Reapplied • Sung Tae Kim, Indiana University • This study extends prior consumer mass media expenditure research by employing two different methods, regression analysis and market scale analysis. Research questions for this study are Does the PRC exist in mass media markets in Korea from 1961 to 1993 and How much impact does VCR have on previous mass media markets? The conclusion of this study indicated that mass media markets have been slightly positive trend and the PRC failed to be supported in regression analysis and in market scale analysis, VCR brought the rapid enlargement of the mass media markets in Korea during last three decades.
Job Satisfaction Among Journalists at Daily Newspapers: Does Size of Organization Make a Difference? • Kris P. Kodrich and Randal A. Beam, Indiana University • This study examines the relationship between job satisfaction of journalists at daily newspapers and organizational size. Past studies have shown that the size of an organization may play a role in job satisfaction. A secondary analysis of data from a survey of 636 daily newspaper journalists shows that while journalists at newspapers of different sizes are satisfied with their jobs for mainly the same reasons, a few differences do surface. This multiple-regression analysis shows the strongest overall predictor of job satisfaction is whether journalists think their organization is doing a good job of informing the public.
Use of the Industrial Organization Model in Examining TV Economics in the Asia Pacific Region • Tuen-yu Lau, Indosiar Visual Mandiri Indonesia, Penghwa Ang, Nanyang Technological University-Singapore • This paper seeks to employ the Industrial Organization Model (IOM) in examining TV economics in the Asia Pacific region. The IOM argues that the structure of the economic market affects the conduct and performance of participants. This structure-conduct-performance paradigm offers a conceptual framework to dissect the market components. This paper will discuss only the market structure, including these variables: concentration of sellers and buyers, product differentiation, barriers to entry and vertical integration. Three Asian markets, namely Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia, are used as case studies. By analyzing the interactive forces shaping the TV economics in these markets, the paper suggests that the application of the IOM in exploring TV developments in Asia can start with the definition of a market. This is an important conceptual and practical issue for TV managers, especially satellite TV planners.
Newspaper Stocks And Stock Market Indicators: A Comparison and Analysis of Means of Tracking Performance • Regina Lewis, University of Alabama, Robert G. Picard, California State University, Fullerton • The paper explores the nature of newspaper stocks and market indicators and compares the performance of newspaper stocks and newspaper stock indicators against broader market indicators. It finds that the Newspaper Stocks Report indicators avoid some of the problems of mixing different industries in stock indicators and that newspapers stocks overall followed stocks overall as shown in broad indicators such as the Wilshire 5000. The study identified differences among newspaper stocks performance during the period that can not be explained by general stock performance and deserve further research.
It’s a Small Publishing World After All: Media Monopolization of the Children’s Book Market • James L. McQuivey, Megan K. McQuivey, Syracuse University • This study considers how the current environment of media conglomeratization is affecting the little-studied industry that provides books to millions of children each year. Two hypotheses are proposed that test different aspects of competitive market theory. Hypothesis two is supported: children’s books that have ties with other media products sell more copies than books that have no such ties. The implications of the theoretical discussion and the supported hypothesis are discussed.
Teaching Lessons About Team Work, Goal Setting, Problem Solving, and Leadership Using the Reservoir City Game • Robert G. Picard, California State University, Fullerton • The author introduces the use of a new game designed to help overcome passive approaches to teaching managerial issues involved in team work, goal setting, problem solving, and leadership. The paper discusses how and why games and simulations are important to learning. It explores how to use «Reservoir City,» when it is effective, and lessons that can be learned from the game
Entrepreneurship and Economics: Essentials of the Media Management Course • Mary Alice Shaver, The University of North Carolina • Teaching students to understand the decision processes and constraints and to solve the problems inherent in the management role is essential. A series of three assignments including a start-up, a financial report and development of an original case involves students in realistic situations while teaching key concepts.
Wage Stabilization and the Daily Newspaper Commission in World War II • Mary Alice Shaver and Anthony Hatcher, University of North Carolina • This paper examines the role of the Daily Newspaper Printing and Publishing Commission in industry wage stabilization during World War II. The Commission was created in recognition of the essential nature of the newspaper industry to the war effort. During its 32 month existence, the Commission handled nearly 7000 voluntary and 243 disputed cases. Although the work was praised for bringing wage inefficiencies to light, much of the compliance was an artifact of war.
Mixed Wine in an Old Bottle? Media Market with Socialist Characteristics in Communist China • To Yiu-ming, Leonard L. Chu, Hong Kong Baptist University • No Abstract available.
Do Employee Ethical Beliefs Affect Advertising Clearance Decisions at Commercial Television Stations? • Jan LeBlanc Wicks, University of Arkansas, Avery Abernethy, Auburn University • Advertising clearance (or deciding whether to reject ads) has become more important because of the FTC chairman’s call for improved clearance and the airing of liquor advertisements. A national mail survey was conducted, with responses from over 350 stations, to discover whether employees who consider ethical beliefs important exhibit different clearance behaviors than employees who consider beliefs to be of lesser importance. Findings suggest that certain beliefs are associated with more stringent ad clearance decisions.
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