Explain the concept of commercialization. How does it affect media performance and the role of the media in providing information in a democratic society, and what are the consequences of commercialization for the journalistic content?
When considering the effect of commercialization on media performance, journalistic content and the role the media play in providing information in a democratic society it is vital to consider that there is always a comparison to be made between the current commercialized media system and an alternative politically controlled media system. Scholars argue that commercialization has resulted in the homogenization of news, the cementing of a capitalist society, a reduction in the quality of news, sensationalizing or trivializing the news and depoliticizing the news. There is debate as to whether these factors combine to mean commercialization has damaged the traditional role of the media as servers of the public interest. The conflict that shapes this debate, as described by Picard, is the role of newspapers as ‘servants for readers’ v. the ‘exploitation of readers to seek commercial gain’ (Picard, 2004:54).
Saxer (1998 cited in Gerth et al:72) defines commercialization as ‘the strengthening of the economic influence on the structures and the functioning of the media system’. To commercialize a product, according to the Oxford English Dictionary is ‘To render commercial, make a matter of trade; to subject to commercialism.’ Social, economic, political and technological changes have driven the commercialization of the media since the end of the 19th century. Nielsen (2013:385) explains how urbanization, the growth in advertising after WWII, the growth of publically traded papers in the 1970s and the rise of the internet and digital television are just some of the factors that have driven this change. Before the late
19th century newspapers were expensive and reached a small audience, in order for the papers to reach a mass market the cost of newspapers was lowered and the content was altered to appeal to this new audience, the advertisers picked up much of the revenue from this lowering of cost. In the modern commercialized media system American newspapers depend on advertising for more than 80% of their revenue (Picard, 2004:56). Much of Western Europe has seen similar commercialization trends. Commercialization has shifted the media from a politically controlled unit to something that is subject to a new set of pressures with varying consequences on the media and journalism.
A crucial focus in the study of the commercialization is the economic funding of media organizations. Advertising is a key source of funding. The attraction of advertising has become more essential with the introduction of competition from online news and the decline in newspaper readership. In most media organizations it is recognized that business considerations do not compliment editorial considerations. The separation between these elements is often named the ‘Chinese Wall’. However this ‘wall’ is not always strong enough to negate the effects of advertising on journalistic content. This is undesirable as advertisers’ primary motive is circulation. A survey by Soley (1997, cited in Azeez:87) showed that in the
US almost three quarters of journalists had experienced efforts by advertisers to try and influence content. However, the effect of advertisers should not be overestimated, the Soley survey also showed that less than half of journalists succumbed to the pressure of advertising. Although this is higher than is desirable, it is not dire. Furthermore, quality investigative journalism exposing companies with high funding power still prevails. In 1998
Disney’s ESPN aired an expose of Asian shoe manufacturing sweatshops despite the fact
Nike and Reebok were amongst their major advertisers. Quality investigative journalism such as this is likely to enhance the quality and credibility of the media, emphasizing its role as servers of the public interest. Nevertheless there is still concern surrounding the blurring of boundaries between editorial and advertising content. On some occasions editorial teams agree to camouflage advertisements to look like editorial content. This is not transparent and can be considered dangerous for journalistic integrity.
Another way of funding the media in this increasingly competitive media environment is through conglomerations owned by wealthy media magnates such as Rupert Murdoch.
Murdoch owns 40% of British newspapers through News International and 37% of leading satellite TV station BskyB (Nielsen, 2013:54). Scholars such as Baker have noted that this economic consequence of the commercialized media system can be detrimental to media performance as ‘moguls tend to measure success based on profits’ as opposed to quality and ethics (Baker, 2007:27). This is something that can cause concern for journalists working for these magnates. In 2001 Jay T Harris of the San Jose Mercury News left because the
‘profit targets maintained by the corporate owner risked significant and lasting harm to the
Mercury News as a journalistic enterprise’ (Picard, 2004:57). Although this presents a concern in regards to the motives of media owners in a commercial system it also shows that individual journalists hold some power to stand against them. Furthermore, this illustrates the shift of power from politics to media owners. Hallin and Mancini (2004:278) argue that this is driven by commercialization and means the media are ‘increasingly central in setting the agenda of political communication’. Rupert Murdoch is an example of this. His newspaper,
The Sun, has supported the winning candidate in every general election since 1979
(Rodgers, 2009). He has therefore claimed to have an influence on the British public’s political stance. The Sun, lead a campaign against Labour leader Neil Kinnock in the 1992 election and after the unexpected Conservative victory the paper published their well-known headline ‘It’s The Sun Wot Won It’. A business model that allows individuals to be this powerful can seem undemocratic. However, in some ways it is the lesser of two evils when considering the alternative. Papathanassopoulos (1999:383) in his study of commercialization of the Greek media notes that before the fall of the dictatorship in 1974 any change in Government was immediately followed by a changeover in the state run media institution’s executives. This totalitarian political control of the media is far less desirable in a democratic society.
The commercial media business model dictates that it must appeal to a mass audience in order to achieve a high circulation. Arguably this has resulted in the ‘dumbing down’ of news content and a shift to sensationalized, de-politicized journalism. Azeez (2009:89) argues that this trend has resulted in nations served by the commercialized media system living in ‘information poverty’ (2009:10). There is some evidence for this in the British media. In 2013
The Mail online, known for its ‘sidebar of shame’ and showbiz section, achieved the highest newspaper website traffic in the UK with over 8.2 million browsers (Press Gazette, 2013).
The intense competition for salacious scoops can be damaging to media performance. The phone hacking scandal is an example of this. Arguably, due to increased competition and the weight of financial pressures, unethical measures were taken in order to get the ‘scoop’ that media organizations have begun to require to attract the highest audience. The increase of trivial and sensationalist news can also have detrimental consequences when it takes precedence over issues with more significant political consequences. McManus (2009:218) discusses the 2005 story in which an American woman faked the discovery of a fingertip in her ‘Wendy’s’ chilli and sued the restaurant chain. The San Jose Mercury News ran the development of this story on the front page 11 times in its 33-day lifespan. Only one front page discussed the war in Iraq. The trivialization of news presents a concern for the media’s role as providers of information. However, tactics used to gain a mass audience are not always damaging to media performance. A further consequence of commercialization is the tendency to focus on the humanistic angle of news stories. Papathanassopoulos (1999:380) has discussed how, in the newly commercialized Greek media system, this has meant that political institutions are ‘increasingly personalized’. This is evident in the UK. It is common practice to focus on character traits of political leaders, this can be recognized in the increase of televised leadership debates particularly in the run up to the 2010 election. This creation of politicians as ‘media stars’ (Hallin and Mancini, 2004:278) is arguably a tactic to move away from inaccessible complex statutory debate. Although this may seem to detract from quality informative political reporting, it can also enhance the role of journalism in a democracy.
Journalism has traditionally been the institution that aids public knowledge of political discourse. This accessible way of reporting politics can engage citizens who would not ordinarily be interested in politics. Hallin & Mancini (1996 cited in Papathanassopoulos:385) provide evidence for this in their comparison between commercial TV news in the US and in the Italian political media system. The commercial news was deemed to be interpretive and ‘constructed to convey understanding of events’ whereas the Italian news system did not make an attempt to convey understanding. However, the negative consequence of this is that focusing on the scandalous private lives of politicians has become increasingly more common. Patterson (1993, cited in Hallin and Mancini:282) argues that a negative portrayal of political life could ‘undermine the involvement of the public in the political process’.
This leads to the other key role of the media in providing information in a democratic society: to provide a diversity of information for different viewpoints. It is argued that media practice has become homogenized across western commercialized media in ways such as prioritizing
‘principles of “objectivity” and political neutrality’ (Hallin and Mancini, 2004:252) This safe stance is a stark contrast to the partisan communication which dominated the media before commercialization. In Britain this is much more evident in broadcasting, which tends to value objectivity and neutrality much higher than newspapers. Newspapers in Britain will openly project a political stance. This negates from the homogenized neutral media discourse suggested by Hallin and Mancini. However, Hallin and Mancini (2004:276) also argue that one of the consequences of the economic competition that is indicative in a commercialized media system is the ‘transnationalization of media industries’. They discuss how since the
1989 Television without frontiers directive, to create a ‘common European audiovisual market’ (2004:276) to compete with the American market, there has been an Americanization of the media in the UK and the rest of Europe. The Americanization of the media in Britain is evident in breakfast television. The format of breakfast television originates from the US, consisting of famous presenters and informal trivial content that has enhanced its popularity.
Although breakfast television was more formal when it began in 1983 it has begun to replicate the US system more in the last decade. GMTV, which begun in 1993, has been criticized for its trivial content. Midgley (2013) argues that it ‘spoon-fed its viewers a soft diet of Mr Motivator and Heather Mills’. This convergence across Europe, often using tactics from the highly commercialized US system, can retract from focus on national affairs and can create a lackluster globalized media system. The notion that commercialization can create societies that are monotonous can also be identified in the implication that commercialization plays a role in ‘cementing the consensus in a capitalist society’ (Murdock and Golding, 1974 cited in McManus:222).
Commercialization means that newspapers rely on a functioning capitalist society, which can result in journalism produced in a way that prioritises an industrialist view. Hallin and Mancini support this claim identifying ‘the demise of the trade union supported Daily Herald’ as an example of this trend (2004:280). A capitalist society values industry and profit. A result of this is that there will always be a gradient of rich and poor. Nevertheless political economists have noted that the poor and working class ‘often support leaders whose policies kept them down’ (McManus, 2009:222) and cited the tendency by the media to profligate capitalist values as one of the main suspects for this. Those with far left socialist political views may feel isolated or frustrated with a media system that promotes this neoliberal view.
In conclusion, the commercialized media market is structurally problematic as there is a dichotomy between its purpose as the fourth estate and the need to financially exploit its readers. The economic model indicates that advertisers and media proprietors fund commercial media. This can affect the autonomy of journalists and can mean that ethical considerations are sometimes ignored. One way of getting around this without government involvement would be the introduction of funding by media charities and NGOs. The argument that dumbing down political content and personalizing politicians causes disengagement is flawed. Politics needs to be made accessible to the general public in order for it to fulfill its role in a democratic society. However, the dismissal of important news in favour of trivial stories has global and national consequences. This is a concerning effect that commercialization has had on journalistic content. An informed society is essential in a democracy. It is a shame that the mass market tends to dictate the homogenization of news.
Although newspapers will overtly express a political stance, their readership is falling and the more dominant TV market is significantly more neutral. In theory, a media system that would not rely on profit making might have more freedom to cover controversial, anti capitalist, non- westernized points of view. These views might be more representative of society as a whole, not just those who are valuable ‘customers’.
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