View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Dadun, University of Navarra Publicado como, A. Arrese, “Issues in media product management”, en Alan B. Albarran, Sylvia M. Chan-Olmsted y Michael O. Wirth (eds.), Handbook of Media Management and Economics, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, New Jersey, 2005, pp. 181-201. ISSUES IN MEDIA PRODUCT MANAGEMENT Angel Arrese School of Comunication Universty of Navarra
[email protected] 2 ISSUES IN MEDIA PRODUCT MANAGEMENT The management of different media products constitutes a field of research and operational know-how posing numerous challenges and which, therefore, cannot be dealt easily with in a generic way. As in other areas of media management and economics, applying the general principles of management to the daily running of media companies has led to the discovery of a series of attributes characterising the way that these products performance in the market. However, those features cannot be easily generalised for the whole media. The basic differences between products such as a free newspaper and a film, or between a musical performance and a television programme, are so significant that any attempt to consider them as a whole would be very risky. Due to the varied nature of the media products themselves, it is only wise to be cautious whenever putting forth ideas, theories or universal principles. This becomes all the more evident as you go through the diverse literature and specific research on the subject. Concerning the management of newspapers, magazines, TV networks and programmes, films, there is a vast array of partial research which has already been carried out on specific aspects of that task, although very little thought and analysis have been bestowed on the handling of the media product itself.