BASIC CONCEPTS OF

MEDIA MANAGEMENT
Lin Bo
© Training Centre, State
Administration of Radio, Film
and Television, June 2007
 Purpose of Lecture

• To enable participants to acquire a

basic perception of the principles
and theoretic concepts of Media
Management
• To prepare participants to better
cope with daily management issues
in media’s social practices
Basic Layout of the Lecture

• Social Policy and Media

Management Strategy
• Media’s Organisational
Performance
• Media Economics and Marketing
Part One: Social Policy and
Media Management Strategy
• Strategic
Social
Environment
of Media
• Strategic
Positioning of
the Media
 Strategic Social
Environment of Media

• Modern State • Legal Aspects of

and Post Media Operation
Modern State in Society
• Management vs. • Keynes and
Administration Freedman
Modern State and Post
Modern State

• Modern State
Period:
• from World War II
to 1970s
• Post Modern
State Period:
• from 1970s till now
 Modern State Period
• End of “Free Capitalism System” or
“Free Market Economy”
• National Independence Movement
and End of Colonialism or De-
colonization
• Socialist Movement and “Cold War”
• Prevailing Urbanization and Blind
Belief in Science and Technology
Post Modern State Period
• Establishment of Welfare-Capitalist
System (Socialism in Essence)
• Ending of the Cold War
• Emerging and Surging of High and New
Technologies (Information Age)
• Wakening Awareness of Environment
Protection
• Transformation from “Want” Economy to
Consumer or “Waste” Economy
 Management vs.
Administration
• Management –
Other Term for
Marketing,
Privatization and
Profiteering
• Administration –
Other Term for
Public Service and
Public Welfare
Legal Aspects of Media
Operation in Society
• Continental Law
System:
• Statute Law
• Non-Judiciary
• Oceania Law
System:
• Common Law
(Convention)
• Jury system
 Freedom of Press
• Freedom of Press is a
constitutional right of modern
world
• Freedom of Press is also an
important human right
• Freedom of Press is the lawful
right of the press
First Amendment to the United States
Constitution:
“Congress shall pass no law respecting
an establishment of religion, or
Prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or
abridging the freedom of speech, or
of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition
the government for a redress
of grievances.”
Unlike the US Constitution, which only prohibits
the government interference with freedom of
press, the constitutions of many other countries
in the world have language that affirmatively
protects free expression. Typical wording of the
Constitutions of many countries, like China,
is similar to the following type of provision:
"The Country protects the Freedom of Press" or
“The free communication of thoughts and
opinions is one of the invaluable rights of man
and every citizen may freely speak, write or print
on any subject, being responsible for abuse
of that liberty.”
 Laws Affecting Journalism
in Social Practices
• Criminal Law • Civil Law
• (1) Law texts on • (1) Defamation
"treason" or (Libel)
national security • (2) Public official
(et. Secret Act of and figure Rule
UK) • (3) Privacy
• (2) Law texts on • (4) Obscenity
"riot"
• (5) Copyright
 Keynes and Freedman
• Keynes: • Freedman:
• Advocator of • Advocator of
Social Freedom and
Interference in Market Force in
Economy Economy
(Visible Hand) (Invisible Hand)
• Socialism in • Free Capitalism
Essence in Essence
Strategic Positioning of the
Media
• Division of
Broadsheet Media
and Tabloid Media
• Different
Operational Models
in Media’s Social
Practices
• Audience Targeting
and Specialization
 (1) Division of Broadsheet
Media and Tabloid Media
• Broadsheet • Tabloid Media
Media • Human Interest of
• Mainstream Values ordinary and
of Society common people
• Shift of Value • Shift of Value
Focus: Education Focus:
Function Entertainment
• Media’s Social Function
Credibility • Non-Responsibility
 (2) Different Operational
Models in Media’s Social
Practices
• (1) BBC Model:
Public Service
• (2) American
Model: Profiteering
• (3) Combined
Model: Public-
owned but market-
driven in
management
(3) Audience Targeting and
Specialization
• Turner’s CNN and
Fox News
Phenomena
• Audience Targeting:
No Over-Supply and
Non-Completion in
Spiritual Production
• Specialization of TV
Channels or Radio
Stations
 Part Two: Media’s
Organisational Performance

• SWOT Analysis • Multi-Level

and IPEST Management
Analysis of Media
• Nature of • Human
“Spiritual Resources
Products” in Management
Media Production
 SWOT Analysis and IPEST
Analysis of Media
• SWOT • IPEST Analysis
• International Context
Analysis:
• Political-legal Context
• Strengths • Economic Context
• Weaknesses • Socio-Cultural
• Opportunities Context
• Threats • Technological Context
 Example of SWOT Analysis
• Strengths
• professional and skillful team
• reliable engineer & technical staff team
• government unconditional policy backing;
• excellent executive group
• simplification strategies
• Brand name and programs with good
audience rating 
Weaknesses
• over-sized employment;
• too high salaries
• obsolete management style
• lack of credible programs
• lack of technical hardware
• lack of damage control mechanism
• Opportunities
• fast economic growth in the Asia Pacific
region
• state policy protection and financial
support
• “voice of people” public image
• Threats
• instability of target recipient group
• threat from new entrants in market
• social unrest
• conflict of interest
 Chart of IPEST Analysis
 
» 
Nature of “Spiritual Products”
in Media Production
• Difference • The Need for
between Quantitative
Spiritual Repetition in
Production Media
and Material Programs and
Production Coverage
 Difference between Spiritual
Production and Material Production
• Non-Perishing
Nature of Material
Production
• Versus
• Repeated
Emerging and
Disappearing
Nature of Spiritual
Production
The Need for Quantitative Repetition in
Media Programs and Coverage
• “Bottle Neck” Effect
in Information
Gathering
• “When three men
say there is a tiger
in the street, there
must be one there.”
• Social Credibility
 Multi-Level Management
• Notion of Multi-Level Governance
• Mixture Application of Four Basic
Mechanisms of Power Delivering:
• 1. Command structure; 2. Market
approach; 3. Election system; 4.
Bargaining mechanism
• Rule by Formulae and Regulations
Human Resources
Management
• Talent and Vision
• Technical Capable
and Fame
Publicity in
Showbiz
(Celebrity Effect)
• Reserve Sources
 Part Three: Media
Economics and Marketing
• Media Paradox and Commercial
Paradox
• Two-player Negotiation over Division of
Economic Surplus and Durable
Monopoly
• Magnifying Effect Theory
• Foreground Public Opinion and “Bad
Money” Principle in Media’s Social
Practices
 (1) Media Paradox and
Commercial Paradox
• “Media Paradox” refers • “Commercial Paradox”
to a typical phenomenon
in mass media
development in
“information-over-
saturation” era that newly
emerged mass media do
not replace or substitute
the old media, and the
old and new media form
a kind of supplement
structure to each other.
stands for such that
scattered and isolated
shops dealing in the
same kind of goods make
little profit while when
they flock together each
and every shop makes
money. For mass media,
the more the same kind
of media, the more
increase in viewer rating
and profit.
• Typical Example of Media Paradox
and Commercial Paradox
• In a total “free” media environment,
Broadsheet Media never seem to via
with Tabloid Media in market share
and profit earning.
• Typical example of such paradox
phenomenon is the “Times” and the
“Sun” in UK, the former earns less
than 30% of the latter.
• Fundamental Reasons for such
Media and Commercial Paradox:

• (1) Differences between Material

things to Spiritual things
• (2) Market Failure
• (3) Shift of Value Focus: Comparison
of “Education” Function of Media to
“Entertaining” Feature of Media
 (2) Two-player Negotiation over
Division of Economic Surplus and
Durable Monopoly
• Two-player
Negotiation over
Division of Economic
Surplus: a supply
constriction designed
to drive up the price
• Durable Monopoly: by
destroying adequately
more supplies, the
seller enables himself
to make a credible,
take-it-or-leave-it offer
 Story of Two-player Negotiation over
Division of Economic Surplus and
Durable Monopoly
• An old witch came to the last king of the Romans
Tarquin, and offered to sell him nine books of
prophecy at an exorbitant price. Tarquin laughed
at the offer. The witch burned three of the books,
and then offered to sell him the remaining six for
the original price. Tarquin refused again.
• The witch burned three more books and offered to
sell Tarquin the three books that were left for the
original price that she had demanded for nine. This
time Tarquin was scared that he might be losing
something precious, and bought the remaining
three books for the price that the witch asked.
(3) “Magnifying Effect” Theory

• “Magnifying Effect” of mass media

refers to the fact that the implication
of the message in media coverage
overwhelms the fact. Implication of
the fact is magnified while the fact
itself is ignored, swayed,
misunderstood or in serious
shrinkage.
 Typical Social Practice of
“Magnifying Effect” of mass media
• Examples of “Magnifying Effect” of
mass media are abundant. A candidate
calls for reduction of grammar school
tuition fees, being magnified in media
coverage, is misunderstood as against
building more grammar schools,
further, against increasing financial
support to education. This is typical
“Magnifying Effect”.
(4) Foreground Public Opinion and
“Bad Money” Principle in Media’s
Social Practices
• Foreground Public
Opinion: Kahneman’s
“Prospect Theory”
and the notion of
“Acquiring” and
“Losing”
• “Bad Money”
Principle: Sir Thomas
Grashem’s
Observation “Bad
Money Drives Good
Money out of Market”
 Foreground Public Opinion

• A Small Test about Information of

Same Essence Offered from Different
Angles of Acquiring and Losing
• A Public Publicity Campaign about
Building a Hydraulic Dam to
Generate Electricity to Prevent Large
Area Blackout
 Bad Money Principle
• Typical Real • Fundamental
Examples of Outcome as
“Bad Money” well as
Principle in Fundamental
“Cure” for
Social Life “Bad Money”
Principle
 Training Centre, State
Administration of Radio,
Film and Television

Thank you!

© June 2007 in Beijing