WHAT IS GOING ON BEHIND THE ‘SCREENS’ OF THE COMMERCIAL BROADCASTING SYSTEM? My internship at the VMMa DISSERTATION Anja Peleman Supervisor: Prof. dr. Geert Jacobs A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Multilingual Business Communication Faculty of Arts and Philosophy Academic year 2008-2009 CONFIDENTIAL TABEL MET BESCHRIJVING VAN DE STAGE: bedrijf stagebegeleider afdeling taken talen stageperi tijdens ode de stage Naam : Vlaamse Kristina Vanhaute Persdienst - Research naar nieuwe NL 27/04/09 Mediamaatschappij manier/media om externe - ENG 29/05/09 Straat : Medialaan 1 communicatie te optimaliseren - Onderzoek naar nieuwe, digitale Postnummer + Gemeente : media in het Vlaamse 1800 Vilvoorde perslandschap Telefoon : 02/255.32.32 - Optimaliseren van contactbestanden - Visie van programma en schrijven van synopsis - Assistentie bij persknipsel-overzicht - Assistentie bij persconferenties WHAT IS GOING ON BEHIND THE ‘SCREENS’ OF THE COMMERCIAL BROADCASTING SYSTEM? My internship at the VMMa DISSERTATION Anja Peleman Acknowledgements After four years of theoretical education, I decided that I wanted to learn more about the practical side of a business environment. Multilingual Business Communication (MTB) seemed a unique opportunity for this. The internship at the end of this program gave me the experience the working environment ‘in real life’. Writing this dissertation would not ever have been possible without certain people. I therefore wish to express my sincere gratitude to those people. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude towards my parents, for giving me the possibility to educate this MTB program and their ongoing believe in my competences. I also would like to thank my two sisters, Maja and Eva. I do not think I would have made it without you two. Thank you for the motivation, the inspiration and the believe in me. And above all, for all the help you two gave me in writing this dissertation. I would also like to thank my friends and fellow students for the unforgettable time I had in Ghent. I would like to express my thankfulness to the VMMa for giving me the opportunity to be part of its press department. Special thanks to Kristina Vanhaute, my supervisor, for guiding me through my internship and always being so approachable for questions and feedback. I also thank the entire team of the press department, for making me feel welcome and being ready to help me whenever they could. Last, but not least, I would like to express my gratitude towards Luc De Bie, the coordinator of the MTB program. His incredible organization of the busy MTB program was a true relief. Thank you for advising and assisting through this education. Ghent, June 2009 Table of contents 1. Introduction............................................................................. 1 2. The story of the VMMa .............................................................. 2 2.1 Introduction............................................................................. 2 2.2 History.................................................................................... 2 2.2.1 A milestone in the Flemish television industry............................... 2 2.2.2 The creation of a parent company: ‘the VMMa’ was born................ 3 2.2.3 History of the television and radio brands .................................... 4 2.3 Mission statement .................................................................... 6 2.4 Position-finding of the different brands of the VMMa ..................... 8 2.4.1 Vtm......................................................................................... 9 2.4.2 2BE........................................................................................14 2.4.3 Vtm and 2BE as complementary brands......................................17 2.4.4 JIM ........................................................................................18 2.4.5 Overview of the three television brands ......................................21 2.4.6 iWatch....................................................................................22 2.4.7 Q-music..................................................................................23 2.4.8 JOEfm ....................................................................................26 2.4.9 Q-music and JOEfm as complementary brands ............................27 2.5 A critical comparison with the direct competitors of the brands of the VMMa 28 2.5.1 Competitors for the television brands .........................................29 2.5.2 Competitors for the radio brands ...............................................36 2.6 SWOT – analysis .................................................................... 38 3. Theoretic framework ............................................................... 40 3.1 Introduction........................................................................... 40 3.2 Analog viewing patterns .......................................................... 41 3.3 The impact of digital television ................................................. 44 i 3.3.1 The big promise? .....................................................................44 3.3.2 A crisscross of terms ................................................................44 3.3.3 The impact of digital television on the three aspects of analog television .........................................................................................47 3.3.4 Case studies............................................................................50 3.3.5 Case of the VMMa: iWatch ........................................................54 3.4 Discussion ............................................................................. 57 3.5 Conclusion............................................................................. 58 4. Assignments during the internship ............................................ 60 4.1 Analysis of CIM data ............................................................... 60 4.2 Update of the contact file ........................................................ 62 4.3 Searching for contact data of regional radio and television........... 64 4.4 Writing press and web texts..................................................... 65 4.5 M!LF ..................................................................................... 67 4.6 The collection of newspaper clippings........................................ 69 4.7 Assistance on two press conferences: ‘Dag en Nacht’ and ‘Hit the Road’ 70 5. Final conclusion ...................................................................... 72 5.1 Professional experience ........................................................... 72 5.2 Personal experience................................................................ 73 5.3 MTB and my internship ........................................................... 73 5.3.1 Influence of MTB......................................................................73 5.3.2 Insight on MTB ........................................................................76 5.3.3 Improvement ..........................................................................77 6. Bibliography........................................................................... 78 ii 1. Introduction Already from the start of my studies at the university, I had an enormous interest for the media. That is why I wanted to do my internship in a media environment. I decided to send an e-mail to the VMMa, motivating why I would be the right apprentice for them. After a first virtual contact, it all gained momentum: a conversation with Kristina Vanhaute, senior press manager of 2BE, was planned. The first contact was so positive that it was immediately clear for me: “Here is where I want to do my internship.” From 27 April to 29 May, I would be working with seven colleagues on the press department, being responsible for different tasks. My supervisor Kristina welcomed me with open arms and wanted me to experience as many different things as possible, so that I could learn a lot. And saying that I learned a lot, would be an understatement. This experience truly convinced me that my professional future lies within the world of communication. The VMMa is one of the two big players in the Flemish media landscape, next to the public broadcasting system VRT. Especially in these volatile times, due to the global credit crunch, media companies have to stand strong. That is also the reason why they are continuously investing in a strong position-finding of their brands and a good communication with the Flemish media. Because of working in such a flourishing multimedia company, I was curious to find out how the VMMa deals with all its different brands. Thanks to my internship, I was able to go behind the ‘screens’ and get to know the different position-findings of the brands. I can assure you: it was a very interesting journey. In the following chapter you will be immersed in the big exciting world of the VMMa. The media environment is being reshaped with the entrance of the digital television. Especially its interactive aspects represent a new milestone in the history of the television media. Because of the enormous importance of this digitalizing process for a media company as the VMMa, I decided to focus on it in my theoretic framework. The fourth chapter deals more profoundly with the specific tasks I had to accomplish during my internship. Every task will be described with its background, briefing and way of realization. I