Second year students reading this in 2022: the online media question this year will definitely be industry based! This means there's only so many questions that can come up! We cover half of them right here, but remember, the wording will be very different, and the question may ask you to make reference to a theorist (most likely either Hesmondhalgh or Livingstone & Lunt).
So this stuff is REALLY important to know!
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| Zoella has rebranded herself as Zoe Sugg, and now adopts a far more mature, yet still relatable and approachable mode of address for her new, 18-40 target audience |
How is this media product produced, distributed and circulated, and by who?
- Produced directly by Zoella/Zoe Sugg (early in career), and a small team of editors/promotors (especially following rebranding)
- Her videos were initially distributed through YouTube exclusively
- Breezy and excitable mode of address maximises the potential for this video to be shared by fans
- Relatable content: eating pizza, Primark and decorating her baby's room
- Boyfriend tag video demands audience interaction, providing the opportunity to share the video
- Video has almost 7million views, which demonstrates a significant success
- Sugg represents a vertically integrated and a multimedia integrated industry
- Sugg offers her audiences a multimedia experience through her website, with links to books, apps and her video content, still hosted on YouTube
- Deliberately low production values, with very straightforward editing and jump cuts
- Zoella has used her YouTube empire in order to build a specific brand identity. She has recently diversified, and now targets a significantly different audience
How have recent technological changes in this industry changed production, distribution and circulation?
- Broadband internet has allowed greater capacity for streaming and effective distribution
- Official Russian subtitles allow Sugg to appeal to and to promote to a vast target audience
- Sugg discusses topics such as Primark to appeal to a working class target audience
- Blog uses web 2.0 standard design, with a modern clean interface, with easy to see and identify hyperlinks
- Menu bar has a range of sophisticated topics, such as
- STYLE
- BEAUTY
- LIFESTYLE
- RECIPES
- BOOKS
- SEX AND HEALTH
- SHOP ZOELLA
- A clear example of hyper-modality
What economic factors have affected this product? How financially successful was it? Was it made commercially or not for profit?
- YouTube videos can be monetised by producers who have an exceptionally high follower count. At least 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours over the last year are essential to actually applying for monetisation
- Zoe Suggs has significantly diversified her output in order to maximise her profit potential
- Relatability ensures success. The deliberately low production values make Sugg appealing to a younger target audience (for her 'Zoella' YouTube)
Industry key terms
Distribution: the way in which a media product is given out. For online media, we are exclusively talking about digital distribution!
Circulation: how many audience members engage with the digital product, which can be measured through view counts for example
Regulation: the rules media products must follow. Online media is not effectively regulated!
Digital convergence: the coming together of previously separate industries thanks to digital technologies
Conglomeration: where an organisation becomes bigger by buying more companies. Google is an excellent example!
Vertical integration: where an organisation buys out others in different sectors, meaning they own both distribution and production
Horizontal integration: the same but in the same sector
Multimedia integration: any form of integration which involves digital technologies
Censorship: the practice of removing content for ideological reasons
Diversification: where a producer branches out in to different sectors/media/etc
Specialisation: where an industry or a producer does one thing particularly well
Monopoly: where one company controls all of a market
Brand identity: where a brand has a specific identity different from any other
Advertorial: an article in a magazine, blog or newspaper, which is paid for by an advertiser. These legally MUST be labelled as adverts!
"the online media industry is a specialised industry"
David Hesmondhalgh - your man for talking about the cultural industries
The following information is cribbed from exam board resources
Hesmondhalgh argues that major cultural organisations create products for different industries in order to maximise chances of commercial success. In relation to online products, he argues that major IT companies now compete with the more traditional media conglomerates within the cultural sector: ‘Microsoft, Google, Apple and Amazon are now as significant as News Corporation, Time Warner and Sony for understanding cultural production and consumption.’
The domination of online media by a limited number of tech giants, Google/YouTube/Facebook has arguably hijacked the web’s capacity for audience activism, and, in the process, has arguably asserted a more passive viewing experience.
A bit of website discussion
- Aesthetically pleasing layout, neatly organised with a range of hyperlinks to click on
- Enormous banner advert suggests Sugg has aggressively monetised her website
- Clearly, Sugg has been involved in search engine optimisation. Zoella.co.uk is the top result for searches for 'Zoella'
- Blog is regularly updated
- Content has changed dramatically since Sugg started vlogging, and now actively targets a much older audience