Lecture 6 - Commercial Media

Money money money!!!  Commercial media is everywhere and its main focus is churning up the big bucks to keep the top dogs driving Bentley's and cruising their yachts on the Riviera.  Commercial media is seen as a platform for advertisers to reach the biggest scope of users/viewers/listeners possible.  It is passionately argued that corporations such as FairFax, News Limited, Nine and APN sacrifice quality for profit when they whack a huge chunk of ads in between your favourite show.  For this reason, I hardly ever watch TV.  I can't stand ads!  I especially hate how the volume mysteriously turns itself up when it's time for an ad break.  I much prefer to watch my favourite show online.  That way, you only have to endure one or two ads.  

Success in commercial media is not measured by the quality or social importance of the content, but sadly on the amount of profit generated.  With commercial media ruling so much of what we see and hear, the issue is raised on the dumbing down of society.  In the future we can expect to have what we see and hear so tailored to our needs and interests that we could perhaps miss a lot of other relevant information.  This hyperlocalisation can have an alarming brainwash effect on the way people vote, believe, and form opinions.  

We then have the public media sphere which consists of ABC TV and radio and SBS.  These are government funded and therefore have a much higher regard to the interest and wellbeing of the public.  

We can only hope that the majority of society is educated enough to know what commercial media is all about.

Professor Michael Bromley sums it up perfectly.  "...One thing stands out above all others - the view that the very nature of the commercial equates to a corruption of the social.  In other words, as media become more commercial, they do so at the expense of their social function.  This is seen as a zero-sum game.  Profits come before quality."

Food for thought.

Lily x