Managing Media Organizations

Publisher Description

What does it take for success in the media business? Creativity, innovation, and performance, of course. Plus experience and good judgment. However, it also requires an understanding of the principles and tools of management. This book summarizes the major dimensions of a business school curriculum and applies them to the entire media, media-tech, and digital sectors. Its chapters cover--in a jargonless, non-technical way--the major management functions. First, creating a media product: the financing of projects and the management of technology, HR, production operations, intellectual assets, and government relations. Second, harvesting the product created: market research, marketing, pricing, and distribution. And third, is the control loop: media accounting and strategy planning. The books interdisciplinary approach goes beyond an industry-by-industry coverage and centers around management functions. In the process, this book becomes an indispensable resource for those aiming for a career in the media and digital field, both in startups and established organizations. It is also a work that helps advance the entire field--the management of information resources and products--to a more central role in business analysis. This book is designed to help those already in the sector or those joining it to become creative managers and managerial creatives. It aims to make managers in this field more knowledgeable, less blinded by hype, more effective, more productive, and more responsible.

"This book provides vital insights into the elements of strategy and their application to media firms. Solidly grounded in theory but not pedantic, it is essential reading for those who make or wish to comprehend choices of media companies." - Robert Picard, University of Jönköping "Insightful, contextually analytical, yet easy to comprehend, Strategic Management in the Media successfully applies the adaptive and interpretative areas of strategic theory in the media sectors. It provides a unique perspective in which common themes linking media strategy and industry environment are thoughtfully discussed." - Sylvia M. Chan-Olmsted, University of Florida "...an invaluable asset for students of media management. The use of pertinent examples and case studies throughout brings the analysis to life and contributes to a highly readable introduction." - Gillian Doyle, University of Glasgow This book is a comprehensive, accessible and expert introduction to strategy within a media management context. It is divided into two parts - part one providess an introduction to and overview of the media industry from a strategic management perspective, looking in detail at the sectors that together comprise the industry - newspaper, book and magazine publishing, music, radio and television - and the strategic forces at work in each. This provides the foundation for part two, which analyses a number of strategic topics central to the media sector, such as technological change, organisational structure, leadership, and creativity and innovation. The chapters follow the same structure: the relevant theory is outlined, its application to the media industry is discussed, and case studies from the media industry are used to illustrate the theory and illuminate its relevance for the media field. The cases and examples used come from all sectors of the industry and a range of geographic regions and include News Corporation, Endemol, BBC, Bertelsmann, CNN, MTV, Disney and Pixar.

The business of journalism is in the midst of massive change. Managing Today’s News Media: Audience First offers practical solutions on how to cope with and adapt to the evolving media landscape. News media experts Samir Husni, Debora Halpern Wenger, and Hank Price introduce a forward-looking framework for understanding why change is occurring and what it means to the business of journalism. Central to this new paradigm is a focus on the audience. The authors introduce “The 4Cs Strategy” to describe how customers, control, choice, and change are all part of a strategy for successful media organizations. Real-world case studies, important theoretical grounding, and a focus on understanding rather than resisting the customer’s desire for choice and control make this an unbeatable resource for students and managers alike who want to succeed in this changed media business landscape.

A cutting-edge exploration of media management, media work and media professions, edited by one of the biggest names in the field.

Inside the BBC and CNN provides a unique insight into two of the world's best-known media organisations, during a period of great change and new challenges. The BBC and CNN have very different histories, remits and identities, but both must now compete to provide news in a media environment being reshaped by increasing competition, globalisation, digitisation and convergence. In addition they face increasing pressures of criticism focussed on the struggle for ratings and the perceived "dumbing down" of programming. Drawing on intensive research carried out among senior managers in both organisations, Lucy Küng-Shankleman's study explores the beliefs and attitudes that shape management priorities and broadcasting policy. More controversially, it examines how each organisation's distinct cultural beliefs - about broadcasting's fundamental purpose, about the nature of competition, and about the relationship between competition and quality - have laid the foundations for their current and past success, but could now threaten to limit their ability to respond to the unprecedented changes underway in the world's media landscape.

The relationship between media and the organizations they cover has changed dramatically in the last few decades, which have witnessed a huge expansion of news coverage focusing on different types of organizations and their activities. In parallel, organizations have dramatically increased their investment in public relations and other media-oriented forms of communication. Like other societal developments – globalization, marketization, individualization, scientification – mediatization has become an institutional force. This book analyses the mediatization of contemporary organizations and how individual organizations, industry or markets are scrutinized. It examines its key influence on the actions of organizations, and how it shaptes the entire landscape in which the organizations operate. What such a perspective provides is the accentuation of the interplay between organizations and different parts of the society as embedded in the media and its logic. This will be essential reading for professionals, academics and advanced students in organizational studies, public relations and media studies.