Media Management in the Age of Giants: Business Dynamics of Journalism, Second Edition

Description

The emergence of giant media corporations has created a new era in mass communications. The world of media giants--with a focus on the bottom line--makes awareness of business and financial issues critical for everyone in the industry. This timely new edition of a popular and successful textbook introduces basic business concepts, terminology, history, and management theories in the context of contemporary events. It includes up-to-date information on technology and addresses the major problem facing media companies today: How can the news regain profitability in the digital age? Focusing on newspaper, television, and radio companies, Herrick fills his book with real-life examples, interviews with media managers, and case studies. In a time when all the rules are changing because of digital technology, conglomeration, and shifting consumer habits, this text is a vital tool for students and working journalists. Front Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Introduction An Opening Thought 1: An Overview of Today’s Media Industry A historical perspective on the media Corporatization of the media Cross-ownership Media consolidation Public (stockholder) ownership of media Institutional investors and financial firms Reorganizing to build profits Conglomerates aren’t all bad. Are they? Yes, the mighty can fall—or at least stumble Fragmentation of media markets Preparing for a new media world Definitions of common business terms Suggested websites 2: Preparing Yourself for Management First, get the right job Or, create your own job Getting discovered and climbing to the top Your first management position Surviving in the cross fire Managing yourself—handling time Not just anyone can be a manager Journalists becoming managers The indispensable management resource The quick way to the top CASE STUDY: Learning to think like a manager CASE STUDY: Entrepreneurship or a management career? Suggested websites 3: Motivation and the Workforce Unionism in mainstream media companies Labor issues in the new economy Layoffs in hard times When you must fire or lay off someone Approaches to managing employees Scientific (or classical) management Humanistic (or behaviorist) management Theories of management Theory X Theory Y Theory Z Maslow’s hierarchy of needs Management by objectives (MBO) and total quality management (TQM) Equity theory CASE STUDY: Who will get the pay raises? CASE STUDY: How do you motivate a staff with low morale? Suggested websites 4: Qualities of Leadership and Management The sources of power Leadership practices New leadership Credibility of leadership Future-oriented leadership Risk-taking leadership Empowering leadership Motivational leadership Characteristics of leaders Management of attention Management of meaning Management of trust Management of self Everyone and every business makes mistakes The immeasurable value of optimism Keep your sense of humor Pointers on being an effective leader The MBAs arrive, with humorous reactions Being an effective manager of others A skilled manager controls the use of his or her time A skilled manager is adept at planning and goal setting A skilled manager is a confident decision maker A skilled manager works well with others A skilled manager is customer oriented Jerks and vampires don’t see themselves in the mirror CASE STUDY: How do you manage freelancers if you hardly ever see them? CASE STUDY: Recruiting and retaining volunteer staff Suggested websites 5: Decision Making What is decision making? The steps to making decisions Risk taking in the decision process Categorizing decisions Analytical decision-making tools The basic tool The critical path method (CPM) and the program evaluation and review technique (PERT) The decision tree The payoff matrix The computer spreadsheet Hidden traps of decision making The anchoring trap The status quo trap The sunk-cost trap The confirming evidence trap The framing trap Estimating and forecasting traps Who are the decision makers? Individual decision-making styles Group decision-making styles S.W.O.T. analysis CASE STUDY: A question of judgment CASE STUDY: OK, folks, you can stop meeting now Suggested websites 6: Media Ethics, Regulation, and Laws Do the right thing The ethics of media ownership Can stock options compromise news judgment? Media managers’ profitability dilemma Profit maximization and responsibility Values-based business ethics Government regulation of the press Legal issues in media businesses Internet-related legal issues CASE STUDY: “You can’t work for that TV station” CASE STUDY: An ethical dilemma Suggested websites 7: Operations and Structure of News Media Companies The “approved contradiction” The decline of local news coverage Broadcasting’s new digital era The influence of stockholder interests Fiduciary responsibility drives corporate profits Profits trump journalism Managing a media company: Who would want to? Uncommon types of ownership Four main kinds of ownership Sole proprietorship Partnership Corporation Limited liability structures The functional parts of any business Administration Finance Accounting Operations Marketing Sales Management information Support Structure of media companies Four bureaucratic principles Principles of authority Span of control Work specialization Departmentalization CASE STUDY: Serving two masters: the boss and the news Suggested websites 8: Budgeting, Financial Management, and Planning Project management charts The balance sheet The income statement Financial analysis ratios Liquidity ratios Leverage (or solvency) ratios Operating ratios Performance ratios Cost control and cost cutting The company’s financial health Accrual accounting and double-entry bookkeeping Time value of money Investment criteria Net present value Internal rate of return Payback period The never-ending conflict CASE STUDY: Web exercise on making changes to a balance sheet CASE STUDY: Nonprofit fundraising Suggested websites 9: Sales, Marketing, and Market Analysis The traditional wall between business and news The four Ps of marketing Market research Market penetration and pricing Pricing and marketing decision tools Pricing analytical tools Break-even analysis Cost-benefit analysis Marketing analytical tools Law of diminishing returns Law of diminishing demand Synergy and economies of scale Diffusion of innovations Total market coverage (TMC) Marketplace dynamics Market-driven journalism The era of Internet marketing A final thought on marketing rules CASE STUDY: Northern Lights cross-promotion CASE STUDY: Repositioning without major change Suggested websites 10: Consolidation and Convergence There is some safety in large size Monopoly, oligopoly, and joint operating agreements The Newspaper Preservation Act of 1970 Covert consolidation of TV stations? The Telecommunications Act of 1996 Breakup possible in TV-print convergence Venture capital and equity investment firms in media The power of the cluster Consolidation throughout the media industry Going international CASE STUDY: Where will we put the billiards table? CASE STUDY: Expanding and consolidating Suggested websites 11: Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurs and managers Traits of an entrepreneur Promotion or ownership? Trying repeatedly brings “luck” Becoming an entrepreneur Buying a business Starting up a business Using the Internet to make a living Emerging nonprofit news websites Barriers to entry Seeking success with a business plan “Buying” a job Ten secrets of entrepreneurial success CASE STUDY: Taking that big step of buying a business CASE STUDY: Starting a blog for profit Suggested websites 12: Technology Creates New Media Blasts from the past Early digital media history Newspapers (plus other media) and technology Television and technology Technology changes management How can news regain profitability in the digital age? Convincing the public to pay for news again “Clicks-and-mortar” businesses Cutting costs with mobile journalists Twenty-first-century electronic and digital media The demise of e-mail Looking ahead Technological milestones of the electronic age CASE STUDY: The challenge of keeping reader comments civil CASE STUDY: Improving the website so it’s worth doing Suggested websites Acknowledgments Notes Index Back Cover