Culture Conglomerates: Consolidation in the Motion Picture and Television Industries

by William M. Kunz

Overview

This succinct overview explains conglomeration and regulation in the film and television industries, covering its history as well as the contemporary scene. Former producer William M. Kunz shows how the current structure of these industries has evolved and how this structure impacts the production and distribution of cultural products. Providing a critical view without taking a political stance, Kunz focuses on film and TV in order to give an in-depth portrait of these industries and their dynamic relationship to each other. Ideal as a supplement for a variety of media courses_such as media and society, policy, economics, and criticism_this student-friendly text includes synopses of key media regulations and policies, discussion questions, a glossary, and interesting sidebars.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742576063
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	06/29/2006
Series:	Critical Media Studies: Institutions, Politics, and Culture
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

William M. Kunz is assistant professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington at Tacoma. He has also worked as a vice president and senior producer at Turner Broadcasting and as a producer with ABC Sports and NBC Sports.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Why Ownership Matters
Chapter 2 Conglomeration in the Motion Picture Industry
Chapter 3 Conglomeration in the Broadcast Television Industry
Chapter 4 Patterns of Ownership in Motion Picture Distribution
Chapter 5 Patterns of Ownership in Prime Time Network Programming
Chapter 6 Conglomeration in Cable and Satellite Television Systems and Services
Chapter 7 Why Ownership Matters, Revisited
Chapter 8 Discussion Questions
Chapter 9 Terms and Concepts 10 Selected Bibliography

What People are Saying About This

Manjunath Pendakur

Kunz's book is a marvelous addition to the large body of literature on the media industries from a political economy perspective. He asks some fundamental questions about the high degree of concentration in film and television industries and its relationship to the failure of corporate media to create an informed citizenry. Equally important, Kunz demonstrates how the U.S. government and the dominant corporations have worked hand in hand since Ronald Reagan's presidency to create this situation in the United States. The book is well researched, well argued, and lucidly written. This is not 'abstract' empiricism but solid political-economic research that will be useful for researching and teaching for years to come.

Editorial Reviews

Culture Conglomerates: Consolidation in the Motion Picture and Television Industries...offers a new analysis of the growing consolidation in the visual media—film and television.

Communication Booknotes Quarterly

Kunz's book is a marvelous addition to the large body of literature on the media industries from a political economy perspective. He asks some fundamental questions about the high degree of concentration in film and television industries and its relationship to the failure of corporate media to create an informed citizenry. Equally important, Kunz demonstrates how the U.S. government and the dominant corporations have worked hand in hand since Ronald Reagan's presidency to create this situation in the United States. The book is well researched, well argued, and lucidly written. This is not 'abstract' empiricism but solid political-economic research that will be useful for researching and teaching for years to come.

Manjunath Pendakur

Kunz's book is a marvelous addition to the large body of literature on the media industries from a political economy perspective. He asks some fundamental questions about the high degree of concentration in film and television industries and its relationship to the failure of corporate media to create an informed citizenry. Equally important, Kunz demonstrates how the U.S. government and the dominant corporations have worked hand in hand since Ronald Reagan's presidency to create this situation in the United States. The book is well researched, well argued, and lucidly written. This is not 'abstract' empiricism but solid political-economic research that will be useful for researching and teaching for years to come.--Manjunath Pendakur, Southern Illinois University

Culture Conglomerates: Consolidation in the Motion Picture and Television Industries...offers a new analysis of the growing consolidation in the visual media--film and television.--Communication Booknotes Quarterly, December 2008

From the Publisher

Culture Conglomerates: Consolidation in the Motion Picture and Television Industries...offers a new analysis of the growing consolidation in the visual media—film and television.

December 2008 Communication Booknotes Quarterly