Good Example Of Report On The Media Business

Media has taken center stage in each and every human life on earth, especially in the twenty first century. The reason behind this is the advancement that has taken center-stage in technology. One cannot deny the progressiveness that science has brought out though innovations in technology. Appreciating this phenomenon will help us comprehend the role of media in our lives. Media will decide what we know about a particular event. With the cropping up of daring reporters, regular updates on the happenings throughout the world are things that we cannot miss to hear (Considine, 2009, pg. 64). Entertainment is one of the most preferable means of entertainment for man. Who do you think fights behind the scenes to ensure that the forms of entertainment are for everyone globally? With our attention tuned to the News Corporation, I wish to explore the platforms in terms of consumer brand that venturing has been ignored or rather undiscovered by this media brand.
News Corporation was an American-based company which topped the world’s list and came out runners-up as the second-largest media brand throughout the world in 2011. That was after 2009 where it was third in terms of entertainment. Its headquarters is in the city of New York. The reason “was” is used in the start of the paragraph was because this corporation faced a split in 2013 in the month of June. The present News Corporation took up the name 21st Century Fox which consisted mainly of media outlets. Creation of a new News Corporation took place in order to take up role in Australian Broadcasting assets and Publishing. The split was due to the scandals and the facts that the shareholders of the company felt they required to find a solution that will open doors to greater shareholder value which is long-term.
The media brand, News Corporation, has most if not all of the formats in existence before the split in 2013. It was in possession of book publishing companies; HarperCollins and Zondervan publishing companies. In terms of newspapers, the corporation had its clutches and control over many newspapers such as The Australian which was controlled throughout the country, Cumberland, Community Media Group and a long list of newspapers. In the line of print media, it had a good number of distinct magazine titles which were in its possession as well. They include Alpha Magazine, Australian Golf Digest, Big league, Delicious, Fast Fours, Inside Out, etc. Some would wonder if such a large company would waste time owning radio waves and station. In fact, in their possession is a radio station I which they air current and new hit songs. They target populations throughout the world and that means that some places are remote and TVs there are not a common feature to everyone (Duvall, 2003, pg. 18). The radio station is the Fox News Radio and a music group called the Fox Film Music group.
In their hands were also studios which were primarily for productions of music and movies. It is a long list but the one known most out of all of them is the 20th Century Fox among others. They also own television in all the three major broadcasts that are in use; broadcast, satellite and cable television. They own a lot of TV channels on many platforms ranging from business channels to sports and even cartoon channels for the kids. Trickling down we land on the digital form that the News Corporation utilizes as a methodology to show case talent. The internet has been a breakthrough for companies like the News Corporation because everything has been simplified. From automation of works such as design of newspapers to the fast delivery of information through websites, the effects of the internet are profound (I-Ping & Chung-Hsien, 2011, pg. 33).
Under their ownership was the News Corp. Digital Media which consists of a website, Foxsports.com, an online video streaming site (Hulu), photo and video editing sites (Flektor), interactive site for advertising (strategic data Corp) and Scout.com. It does not end there. They have other digital media corporations under them such as the News Digital Media. Other assets include Broadcast system Australia in Australia, Broadcast system Limited in the UK, News Outdoor group, etc. All these properties were under the News Corporation before the split in 2013. Upon the split, all the news publishing assets remained in the care of the brand new News Corporation while the newly formed 21st Century fox took the remainder of the property. However, the chairman of both organizations is still the same: Murdoch. Therefore, the entertainment part belongs to the 21sr century Fox whereas all the news publishing properties remained with the new News Corporation.
The initial organizational structure of the News Corporation was a dual-class share structure which gives monopoly powers to the shareholder with the highest percentage of share (Dusheng & Zhongming, 2014, pg. 4). This form of company structure was giving hell to the other shareholders who had no voice in many matters as the decisions made were always in the favor of the Murdoch family which owned a little over 14% of shares in the company. A good instance where these monopoly powers were evident was when the shareholders called for the splitting of the company in 2012 in response to the scandals and in a bid to maximize their profits, Murdoch family was against that. The family being the largest shareholder, they planned to undermine those plans but the unity among the shareholders saved the situation. That saw to the approval of the splitting endeavors the following year and was finalized in the month of June (Dusheng & Zhongming, 2014, pg. 93).
The undemocratic system that the family of Murdoch is portraying in this scenario is what tired the other shareholders to second the splitting. Evidence of the shareholders getting fed up is in 2014 where one of the shareholders revolted over the voting structure that was in use. The family had all the power thereby rendering voting a useless endeavor. The system gives the family a 39.4% control of the entire enterprise despite owning only a 14% of the shares. What followed was a revolution by the independent investors who tried their best to scrap out that ridiculous system. They tried to do this by putting forth a motion to vote for a system that demanded one share equals one vote. However, their plans were frustrated when the proposal received a defeat in that year’s annual general meeting. The defeat was narrow where the opposition got 87.6 million votes against 79 million votes.
The split, however, was a win on the investors’ side. In terms of revenue they expect a better degree of profits as compared to the previous state of operations. Through the separation, they would be able to bring to existence two public companies which are leaders in the areas that they specialize in, out of the original company. The company’s belief was that the splitting the two corporations into two organizations which have distinct strategies and plans would better the shareholder value. That would not end there. Being two corporations, it means that with proper strategies the two corporations would be nothing less of profit-making entities. Also, the split will encourage specialization as well as diversification. The publishing side will have an opportunity to venture deeper into that industry and evaluate the prospects that the future holds. The case is similar for the 21st Century Fox which has the opportunity to major in the business (Hurrelmann et al., 2009, pg. 75).
The benefits that the split promises the shareholders include the fact that each company will have the capacity to focus and pursue strategic priorities distinct from each other. In addition, they will be able to venture and utilize industry-specific niche and opportunities which in the long run will maximize and optimize their long-term potential. Operational and financial flexibility is enhanced placing each company in a better spot to compete with its competitors. It also translates into a faster response and reaction to the rapid advancements in technology and present international market niche. With each company having their own resources to dispense, they will have the capacity to tailor its structure capital-wise as well as allocate and execute their resources in a consistent manner to their strategic plans and objectives. A move like this seeks to enhance the value for the shareholders of each respective group. In a nutshell, the essence of this exercise is to enhance and sharpen the focus of each of these companies to make it laser-accurate (Nakagawa & Arzubiaga, 2014, pg. 61).
Being a multi-billion dollar corporation, it has provided platform for major companies to use their facilities for advertisements. The reason that makes companies be willing to spend lots of money to get there companies advertised by this company is that it opens doors for these companies. It is because the works of this company are felt throughout the entire globe. Therefore, for organizations bent on attaining international markets and investors from foreign countries, the News Corporation provides that platform. To its table, the News Corporation has control over an arsenal of resources. The News Corporation will advertise major companies which seek investors to expand their operations. With its arms stretching over the entire globe, the information reaches most people, both rich and poor. This means that the corporation reaches potential investors for the company which give it a golden chance to maximize its potential internationally (Geiger & Lampinem, 2014, pg. 19).
TGI Friday’s (Thank God It’s Friday- asserted meaning by the owners) is a company whose distinct characteristic is that it is a restaurant chain based in the US whose main focus is on casual dining. The chain is known mainly for the appearance that distinguishes its restaurant outlets from other restaurants. With canopies which have red stripes, railings made from brass, tiffany lamps and a habit of using antiques for decorations, there can be no confusion of this chain. The significance of introducing this franchising industry is that it is one among the customers of the News Corporation. They utilize the resources of this company, once there have made the payments of course, to reach out to customers and so far fruition of this effort is evident. The TGI restaurant chain is an extremely large organization who have in their clutches over 900 restaurants located in over sixty countries excluding the US.
These restaurants are in over four continents including Africa which make organization an international based company which will most definitely need the services of the News Corporation. The print-media published by the News Corporation bears a lot of weight throughout the world owing to the repute it has over the years fought to build. The magazines it publishes scour the ends of the earth reaching many points that many other media brands have failed. Therefore, for companies like TGI with operations in continents like Africa and Asia have no problem in letting the public know of the quality of service they offer. With clear and well-explained advertisements published in the magazines will get people flowing to check out this fabulous site. Pictures embedded in the magazines will give a better description to those customer who are indeed interested in casual dining.
The TGI Friday also utilizes the digital platforms that the corporation has to offer. The Corporation has available for use TV and broadcast signals that can be utilized as well as the radio waves. These are among the most efficient approaches to pass on information. The TGI Friday uses the TV in several channels which are broadcasted throughout the country. With the world transferring to the digital form of TV broadcasting, it has been made simpler. Even in Africa, through DSTV channels which the corporation owns such as FOX channels, the TGI Friday have been given rights to air their advertisements. The digital platforms also include the internet. The News Corporation has an extensive reserve of websites that are used for advertisements such as strategic data Corp website, Indya.com, news digital media websites, etc. and the TGI Friday have made use of this resource widely. The fact that the internet is everywhere makes the internet a versatile tool for advertisements. Therefore, the internet helps reach people who have not been reached with the other forms of media.
Another perfect example of industry that utilizes the services of News Corp content marketing is the Australian cruise industry which has recently propelled a large marketing crusade all in a bid to demystify the crazy myths that are going around about cruising. The industry has joined forces with the publisher of the Big Splash Media, Sydney, to produce a glossy magazine of thirty-two pages of which over two-million copies are to be made. The magazine is called Discover and will be put in copies of News Corp newspapers across the country so that whoever purchases the newspaper gets a copy. From the sale of these newspapers, an estimated readership of over four million is the expectation of the CLIA (Cruise lines International Association) which is the body running the campaign. The distribution of these copies has been scheduled to coincide with cruise week which is a week in which cruise lines will release offers and promotions on drive sales.
This clearly elaborates the extent to which News Corp facilities are important. It is rumored that the CLIA had tried several other means to try and flag off rumors going round that discourage cruising. These rumors were proving to be a downside in the cruising business. The last remaining move was turning to News Corp which was more than happy to comply with their desires as long as the required fee is advanced. The managing director of the Big Splash Media confirmed to the CLIA and Mumbrella in Australia that the distribution of the magazines was on a nation-wide scale which could never been matched by the previous media brand they employed. The campaign was estimated to be well worth over several hundreds of thousands of dollars. As much as the cost is great, the profits that the CLIA reaped out of this venture are immeasurable. With the whole of Australia in the know about the promotional offers that the cruising industry was offering, the turnout was impressive.
Significant to mention is also the digital platforms that worked hand in hand to see this campaign through. News Corp supported the use of magazines by having ready an e-book of the magazine and availing it to their websites. With websites that receive millions of visits in a single day, the e-book was posted there. So one can imagine how fortified the message from the CLIA was. The people who could not access the magazine but have access to the internet could not miss to get a glimpse of the offers of the CLIA and an educational brochure to squelch the discouraging rumors about cruising. Additionally, there were broadcasts through satellite television (Foxtel) in which News Corp owns 25%. If you ask me the money spent here, no matter how fat the cheque was, was spent well and adequately.
News Corp has ventured into most of the consumer brands such as entertainment, business, etc. However, it has failed to embrace one aspect: social brand. It being one of the largest media brand means that it handles lots of customers. Having that direct link with customers in the twenty-first century is significant as it determines the value that the customers obtain from the services of the company. Since this value varies from customer to customer, it is essential that the company finds ways to clearly understand its customers and their expectations. To achieve this, official meetings will not help them understand their customers. It is because they are official which implies that the customers wear masks that hide their true selves making it difficult to decipher their intentions. The best way is to get them to unmask and let their true selves speak out. What better way is there to do tis other than creating a social platform where the customers can form some kind of online community where they can interact and from their views the company can get crucial customer information to help strengthen their hold on success (Chen et al., 2012., pg. 38).

Reference List

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