Media Holdings Research Articles

Ethical Issues Confronting Namibian Hybrid Media Organizations in the Digital Age

There is a deep-seated realization that the uptake of digitization in newsrooms has necessitated the need for an ethical reformation. This article examines ethical issues confronting operations of selected Namibian hybrid media organizations. Using the Namibia Media Holdings and The Namibian as case studies, this article argues that the platformization of news work, ever-changing technological landscape, the immediacy of internet, media sustainability concerns, and the changing nature of public interest have reconfigured ethical decision-making in hybrid media organizations in Namibia. It demonstrates that although traditional journalism ethics are still relevant, there are new ethical issues confronting hybrid media organizations.

Трансформация партийно-политической системы ЕС накануне евровыборов-2024

The article analyzes the main trends in the transformation of the political party system of the European Union on the eve of the next European Parliament election, which will be held in June 2024. Long-term trends include: a decrease in the popularity of traditional political parties – conservatives, social democrats and liberals – in most EU member states; an increase in electoral support for populist parties in the same countries; an increase in the representation of women in EU authorities; strengthening the pan-European political space, which leads to deepened impact of EU political institutions on the political systems of EU member states, etc. Relatively new trends in the transformation of this system are: growing popularity and influence of Eurosceptic parties both in individual European countries and in the European Union as a whole; political conflict between the EU and its member states – Poland and Hungary which violate European democratic principles, including the rule of law with respect to the rights of citizens and the independence of the judicial branch of government. The author scrutinises the influence of changes in the socio-class structure of European society on these processes, which occur partly owing to a visible reduction in the number of the industrial proletariat. It is noted that the consequences of these changes are the destruction of the boundary between the traditional right and left parties, and the death of many classical ideological categories. The study also presents the forecast of results of the leading pan-European political parties’ participation in the 2024 European election, made by a number of European non-governmental organizations and mainstream media holdings following public opinion polls, as well as their possible impact on the formation of a new composition of the European Parliament and the European Commission.

Strategy for Creating a Media Holding in the Regional Media Market (By the Example of ANO “Publishing House “World of Belogorye”)

Today, convergent processes have covered all areas of media activity: technical, technological, genre, strategic, organizational, etc. In the crisis conditions of the functioning of the media, finding the optimal organizational form becomes the key to survival. The formation of holdings at the global, national and local levels of the functioning of the media is an active process that blurs the boundaries between different sectors of the media market. Holding, as an economically and strategically beneficial form of organization of a media company, is very popular today, as it reduces economic risks and reduces the costs of production and distribution of media products. In the Belgorod region, there are two main types of media holdings that successfully operate — municipal city, regional and commercial independent media holdings. In this research we used the example of the ANO "Publishing House "World of Belogoryе" to analyze the way of creating a regional media holding in the context of its strategic planning. The study examined historical background and provided intermediate results. The authors focused on several main areas of reform in the publishing house: the definition of the target audience, which entails a change in the format of publications; the quality of online versions of printed publications in the context of online communication; the problem of low commercial income of editorial offices, which leads to the shift towards economic self-reliance; structural changes in the editorial offices, i.e. shutdown of identical departments of the media holdings, the creation of one economic department, cost reduction, the optimization of advertising activities; issues of staff motivation and problems of the personnel retention. Such an approach in the analysis of the activities of a media holding company has not been employed in the scientific literature to this day, which makes the research novel.

Leveraging digital asset management to go global

The organisational factors that enable digital asset management (DAM) teams to respond to immediate needs while simultaneously preparing to meet future goals are often external to the DAM team itself, for example: organisational values regarding the balance between immediate needs and long-term organisational objectives; the extent to which leadership has empowered the DAM team; and actionable stakeholder input in furtherance of organisational goals. This paper examines how such factors have allowed the DAM team at Cricket Media Holdings — a small transnational education company with a weak matrix organisation and a controlling project management office — to pursue its leadership’s vision of advancing education worldwide. Where the company’s execution of individual projects or initiatives has deviated from best practices, the paper provides an objective evaluation of remediation and outcomes.

ТЕНДЕНЦІЇ РОЗВИТКУ ВІТЧИЗНЯНОЇ МЕДІАІНДУСТРІЇ

The media industry is an important element of the information society and an integral part of the national economic system, which provides the public need for communication services and, in particular, such a resource as current information. As a component of the business environment, it ensures the production and distribution of media products and advertising. The media industry is characterized by the rapid pace of transformation of its structural components and the uneven dynamics of this process. The article considers the factors that will influence the development of both the global and domestic media industry. The main ones are: changes in the structure of consumption towards an increase in the share of digital media products, the appearance on the global market of new producers of media products, the development of media corporations, an increase in the advertising budgets of the share of Internet sources and online commerce, Internet security and legal regulation of relations with digital platforms, changing the speed of content creation due to the rapid development of technologies and artificial intelligence programs. The article notes that the adoption of the Law of Ukraine "On Media", in which the regulation of this sphere is coordinated with the relevant EU directives, should streamline organizational and legal relations in the media sphere and will contribute to updating its structure. The changes that took place in certain segments of the media market are highlighted. The television market of Ukraine was characterized by the concentration of TV channels in media holdings, and its structural and technical changes are related to the transition of television to digital broadcasting, the coding of satellite signals of TV channels, and the banning of a number of TV channels. The radio market saw a decline in the popularity of over-the-air radio and an increase in online consumption, with three quarters of the market divided between four radio groups. The publishing market is characterized by a reduction in the range of printed publications and their circulations, and the segment of periodicals is characterized by an accelerated transition to their electronic versions. The study of the changes that have taken place in the media sphere since the full-scale military invasion revealed their main factors, including: changes in infrastructure and reduction in coverage of the territory of Ukraine, reduction of the audience, changes in consumer preferences of target audiences, deterioration of the financial situation, etc. The further transformation of the media industry will be its reaction to the appearance of new challenges in the external environment.

Value Sovereignty in the Era of Global Convergent Media

Sovereignty in the digital space is a relatively new phenomenon, which is discussed in this paper. It is complex in nature and depends both on the technological base which is used (primarily network equipment, including 5G, etc.), software products and platforms, and on the promoted content. The countries are faced with the difficult task of regulating the activities of global media holdings in order to maintain value-based sovereignty. The author gives a political and economic analysis of value sovereignty, showing the importance of the state as a regulator that allows to eliminate negative informational externalities. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the international media landscape and the formation of multipolarity in the network space, including the growing phenomenon of technological convergence in the media industry, as well as the positions of individual countries and regions in the global media industry. The corporate structures of the world’s largest media holdings are studied and the increasing degree of diversification of their assets is revealed. The generational differentiation of socialization mechanisms in the post-pandemic era, including the proportion of time devoted to social platforms, traditional media (the case of television), as well as the main ways of accessing the Internet and the penetration of new technologies. The most promising for socialization and fast-growing segments are shown, including Internet TV, virtual reality technologies, video games and cyber-sports. In the final part of the paper the author discusses the main problems and challenges of regulating the national media space in order to ensure value sovereignty in the era of global convergent media.

“Playing” in the Eyes of the Ferret Team: Examining the Use of Surveillance Strategies by Zimbabwean Journalists

ABSTRACT The Zimbabwean state has in recent years stepped up its surveillance efforts on citizens, civil society and journalists who are viewed as the “enemies of the state”. This state surveillance has been argued to infringe on citizens’ right to privacy and access to information. We are mindful that the “Second Republic” or the “New Dispensation” government has invested heavily in surveillance to silence its critics, among them activists, opposition leaders and journalists. Based on this, the study critically examines the use of surveillance strategies by Zimbabwean journalists and assesses the challenges and opportunities. The study uses in-depth interviews with selected journalists from Zimpapers, Alpha Media Holdings and freelance journalists around the country. The data show that journalists in Zimbabwe use different surveillance strategies, while some are benefiting from state sources for surveillance. Journalists further indicated that they live in fear of the state, which tracks them down. As a result, however, journalists have resorted to various means of security, which include “hunting in packs” and deploying digital security strategies. Findings further demonstrate that newsrooms are poorly equipped with technology for surveillance.

News You Can Use to Promote Your Interests: Media Ownership Forms and Economic Instrumentalism

ABSTRACT While media ownership has often been studied, too little attention has been accorded to one aspect of news coverage—promotional economic instrumentalism (EI)—evident in a news organization's tendency to mention and praise its ownership interests (owners, investors, and associated economic interests). Such distorted news coverage may constitute an ethical conflict of interest and a failure to provide complete information needed by citizens in a democracy. Drawing on a sample of 19 U.S. news outlets, we compare promotional EI across ownership forms. Stock market-traded media mention their ownership interests most often, while conglomerates with substantial non-news media holdings combine relatively frequent mentions with a higher proportion of positive mentions than other media. Privately held media also engage in significant promotional EI. Thus, both profit maximization and amenity potential motives are at work. Journalistic professionalism appears most associated with neutral mentions rather than critical scrutiny. Case studies of competing news outlets show that ownership interests linked to one outlet may be critically exposed by a competing outlet, lessening the rival’s capacity to engage in non-transparent promotion.

Making Multimedia Visible: Finding New Pathways of Discoverability and Access for Media Collections

Streaming video has increased the size of academic library media holdings, while leaving patrons on their own to find what they need. As a result, media collections are now exponentially larger and richer while simultaneously being less discoverable by students. That’s because the way libraries organize this information serves the most information-literate users—while potentially leaving others behind. This session explored the history of library media in an effort to understand the reasons why media tends to be one of the most mysterious parts of academic library collections. It also encourages librarians to assess the accessibility of their own media collections and find creative strategies for making these important resources accessible to all.

Making News with the Citizens! Audience Participation and News-making Practices at the AMH Group

ABSTRACT This production-based ethnographic study investigates citizen participation and news-making practices at the Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) group in Zimbabwe. The focus is on the participation of ordinary citizens in previously closed journalistic processes and their everyday news-making practices at a professional news outlet. The study is anchored on the concepts of citizen participation and news-making practices. Data were collected through field observations and interviews in 2018. The findings reveal that citizen participation in news production processes at the AMH group was enabled by digital technologies and organisational policies. However, there were several contextual factors, such as the gendered digital divide, that limited the potential for citizen participation in journalism. Citizen participation was convenient for the AMH group because it tapped into the free labour of citizen journalists in reporting hyperlocal news and in crowdsourcing for news materials, thereby cutting financial costs of hiring correspondents and maintaining bureau offices. The AMH group shifted from traditional to audience-centric news-making practices that relied on digital technologies to put ordinary citizens at the centre of the news-making through structured, unstructured, hybrid and digital practices. This is a de-Westernised contribution to contemporary debates in journalism studies about citizen participation and digital news production practices.

The Rise and Fading Away of Charisma. Leadership Transition and Managerial Ethics in the Post-Soviet Media Holdings

This paper examines post-communist managerial ethics during the emergence and transition of charismatic leadership in two privately owned media holdings in Russia and Kyrgyzstan. These media holdings were bootstrapped in the 1990s and 2000s by people without management experience and connections. This paper argues that Weberian charismatic leadership was a necessary leadership style to start a private business for people without links to elite networks. However, once firms establish themselves on the market, charisma fades and yields itself to a legal-rational leadership style. In particular, the paper compares and contrasts the managerial ethics issues arising from the loyalty-based leader–follower relations in the charismatic leadership phase and the legal-rational phase of a firm’s development and maturation. While the legal-rational phase brings positive changes to workload management and employees’ rights for vacation and p/maternity leave, task delegation remains an unsolved issue. Ambiguous career advancement criteria of the legal-rational phase replace rapid career progression of junior and middle managers during the charismatic phase. By examining the dynamics of managerial ethics transformation, this study adds to the literature on post-communist leadership, management and governance. Recommendations are provided for privately owned firms on how to advance managerial ethics to attract and retain qualified talent.

Challenges to the role of media in reporting sport corruption: Insights from reporters in Balkan countries

Despite the influence and power that the media hold and the importance placed on the role that they can assume regarding corruption, little is known about the part the media can play in corruption in sport and any challenges they might face in reporting on it. This study aims to shed light on this unexplored area, by using insights from members of the media based in three Balkan countries, to help uncover the challenges and obstacles faced by sport media. The findings of this study allow for the multifold role of the media in sport corruption to be examined, while uncovering the internally and externally driven obstacles they face, ranging from personal greed to market-based pressures and media’s ostracism by the wider anti-corruption system.

In Case You Haven't Heard…

Bruce E. Toll of Toll Brothers fame knows his investments. And he's looking at methadone clinics. He has invested in for‐profit opioid treatment programs, the technical name for methadone clinics, because he didn't think heroin use would go down. And in fact, the opioid crisis has been good for his bottom line. “We end up getting new customers because of opioids,” he told The Philadelphia Inquirer in a recent interview. “You're on methadone for life.” One of his only investments that didn't produce good results was of the Inquirer, which Philadelphia Media Holdings bought, along with other media assets, in 2006 for $515 million, and which three years later was decimated by the recession and loss of advertising. “We couldn't fire enough employees to make up for the advertising that disappeared,” he said. “We would have had no reporters.” For the story, go to https://www.inquirer.com/business/toll‐brothers‐bruce‐toll‐inquirer‐industry‐icons‐20191208.html. It's fascinating reading.

Modeling the process of shaping the public opinion through Multilevel Fuzzy Cognitive Maps

The conformation of opinion in a society is analyzed in diverse studies, following diverse perspectives, methods and tools. Previous studies are basically descriptive, predictive, and not aiming at modeling the real situation. In this paper, we present a preliminary model representing the process of conformation of public opinion from the perspective of opinion mining, by using the Multilevel Fuzzy Cognitive Map (MFCM), which, in turn, is employed to evaluate the quality of the public opinion. This paper examines the capabilities of such model, for both, knowledge description and knowledge extraction about opinions presented in a certain topic, allowing the assessment of the quality of public opinion. This is very valuable for decision making, as well as for social and political analysis. We give special attention to the influence of the media on public opinion, because of its importance in the actual western society. The design of the MFCM, its concepts and relationships, are presented. The concepts describe the relevant aspects from which public opinion emerges, covering the social, technological and biological domains. The results are encouraging: the model permits to identify the media preferred by the public in order to understand better significant matters, including the high esteem that the new communication media hold, in contrast with the little merit that the traditional communication media enjoys, as well as the confidence and credibility in the information sources (from both, new and old media) diminish in time.

Медиатизация православия — это возможно?

Тотальная медиатизация всех сфер современных обществ ставит социологов перед непростой проблемой необходимости ревизии устоявшихся теорий и подходов. Применительно к отечественной и зарубежной социологии религии это означает ревизию все еще используемой по старинке парадигмы секуляризации. Институционально оформившееся медиаизмерение традиционных религий слабо укладывается в жесткие рамки теорий секуляризации, предписывающих трактовать любые инновации религиозной системы как ее обмирщение и выхолащивание. В такой системе координат плохо помещаются медиатизированные миры традиционных религий, опосредующие выходы религий в публичные социальные пространства. Так, совершенно незамеченным остался прецедент 2015 г., когда православный иеромонах Фотий стал победителем развлекательного шоу «Голос» и концертирующим «Голосом России». В равной степени вне социологической рефлексии пребывает и российское православие эпохи web 2.0 — множественные цифровые церковные СМИ, медиахолдинги, сайты Московского патриархата и синодальных отделов, приходов и православных храмов, православная поисковая система, священнические и монашеские профили в социальных сетях Vk.com, Facebook, Instagram, медийное вещание православных подкастов и спутниковых каналов, видеоблоги и документалистика на платформе YouTube. Меж тем, определенным образом соотнесенные офлайн- и онлайн-измерения современного российского православия конструируют новые идентичности, сообщества, модели национального патриотизма, процедуры цензуры и контроля российских медиа- и интернет-пространств. Настоящая статья предлагает проанализировать медиатизацию российского православия как составляющую процесса его долгосрочной реинституционализации. В качестве методологической рамки исследования автор использует концепции медиатизации общества, предложенные Фридрихом Кротцем, Андреасом Хеппом и Ником Коулдри. Это позволяет рассмотреть уже существующие православные медиамиры и кейс иеромонаха Фотия как маркеры определенных этапов реинституционализации российского православия.
 Благодарность. Исследование выполнено при финансовой поддержке РФФИ, в рамках проекта № 19-011-00871 «Социальные медиа как фактор трансформации православия в современной России».

The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer

The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF EXPORT-ORIENTED ECONOMY OF RUSSIA

The subject of the study of this article are the statistics on the volume of sales of four hundred leading Russian companies, consolidated by media holdings «Expert» and «RosBusinessConsulting». The process of transformation of the export-oriented economy of Russia into a digital economy is proposed to indirectly assess the volume of sales of leading domestic companies. The author supposes, that the increase in the share of sales of IT-oriented industries in the total volume of leading domestic companies reflect the process of digitalization of the economy. The results of the study show that 31,8 % of the total sales of the 10 largest companies in Russia can be attributed to the digital economy, which allows us to declare a steady movement towards the transformation of the economy, which is based on the processes associated with the creation, transformation, transfer and storage of intangible digital entities.

Peripheral capital goes global: Naspers, globalisation and global media contraflow

Naspers, a South African media conglomerate worth US$64 billion in 2016, operates across a range of media and information platforms in 120 countries, including many ‘emerging markets’. Naspers is an exemplar of media markets’ contraflow, conceptualised as the movement of information, media content, consumer goods and capital from the ‘developing world’ into more developed markets. This study examines (a) how Naspers has diversified its core media holdings (print and satellite) into digital information service providers and e-commerce; (b) how this was achieved both globally and domestically; and (c) how this diversification allowed Naspers to maintain its pre-eminent position in the South African media market. South African financial magazine articles, between 2010 and 2014, reporting on Naspers’ globalisation are thematically examined with regard to globalisation, diversification, ownership and control and collaboration. These themes frame a political economy analysis of how Naspers penetrated, expanded and solidified its e-commerce business operations nationally and globally.

Media Entrepreneurs and Market Dynamics

The post-Soviet space has seen a large-scale transformation of media markets that is marked with an unprecedented rise of entrepreneurial initiatives across business sectors, including media businesses. This paper analysed the dynamics of Russian media markets and the challenges of Russian media entrepreneurs. The media markets of Russia shifted toward more concentration and fragmentation, and media holdings are continuously gaining more power. This paper also looked at the regional media markets of Russia. According to research, there are less than 20 self-sustainable regional media holdings in Russia due to the low capacity of regional advertising markets. National media holdings have a diversified portfolio consisting of different types of media with a growing fraction of digital media companies, and the regional media lag behind in terms of its digital component. Most regional media holdings operate traditional media. Their digital channels are yet to be developed, despite the chief executives' acknowledgement that the future of revenue streams comes from digital channels.

Domestic TV in the European Television Space Context

Науковий рецензований журнал відкритого доступу, що публікує статті з актуальних питань загальнотеоретичних, мистецьких, історичних, практичних аспектів у галузі аудіовізуального мистецтва та виробництва.