Print Media Industry

University of Phoenix Material Roxannalee Berndsen
Print Media Industry Worksheet
In Parts A and B, respond to each question using complete sentences, in a paragraph of at least 100 words. Be clear and concise, and explain your answers. Cite any outside sources consistent with APA guidelines.

In Part C, respond to each of the statements with a specific example or an explanation; use complete sentences as needed.

Part A: Historical and contemporary role of the print media industry

Choose one of the following two topics: the feminist movement (women’s liberation) or public education.

Answer the following questions about the relationship between your topic, the print media industry, and American society. Provide specific examples and cite at least three professional publications or articles.

1. How has the print media industry historically treated your selected topic (feminism or public education)? How does the print media industry treat that topic today? Throughout time, the feminist movement has brought attention that has been demeaning ( Bronstein, 2005). With women’s liberation, came controversial issues and the issues were then brought to mainstream media. Consistent awareness has been made, yet there is still a certain stigma that holds onto the feminist movement, even currently. Mass media has never been very good to women and there has always been hostile and inaccurate statements that emerged in media. Women’s goals have been misinterpreted and most people fail to see the difference in their values, ideas, and goals helping with the movement. Even currently, when looking at women in media, it is generally not an accurate outlook. They have made it seem a person needs to be stick thin, perfect hair, lips, and body, and if they aren’t then there is something wrong with them.

2. How has the print media industry helped drive improvements and public awareness of your selected topic? Has the media perpetuated any drawbacks, controversies, or scandals surrounding this topic? Women are out in the media now more than ever. Media has had a huge involvement with this, whether it be negative or positive for them. Women’s public profile has not led to equality or an end to oppression (Graham, 2003). There is a more openness about sexuality, as well as, body exploitation. Body obsession has become more and more common over the years. Everywhere women look, there are advertisements about body images and what they need to do or should do to make themselves fit in and be beautiful. Women also have the idea drilled into their heads that they are not as equally worth what men are, even to this day. Women still get put into certain jobs and are not paid that the men are. People still seem to not think there is anything wrong in that situation.

3. What role has the print media industry played throughout the history of this topic? Do you think the current role of the print media is the same as it was in the 1800s and 1900s? Why or why not? Women used to have to write their own history because it simply wasn’t included with all the others. The Women’s Liberation Movement helped to shape exactly what the movement was. It used the press to promote issues and used the media’s own commercial and professional interests in giving the movement attention. On the other hand, the media was an outlet for those to demean and defeat the women’s movements and made their achievements look small.

Part B: The influence of new technology on the print media industry

For each print media industry—books, newspapers, and magazines—answer the following questions:

1. How has the development of the Internet, wireless communication, computers, and hand-held digital devices affected print media companies’ products and sales? With the use of hand-held devices, computers, and the Internet, printed materials like newspapers, books, and magazines, has diminished greatly. You don’t hear people often say they are going out to the store to buy one of these things. Most people now just get on their cell phone or computers and have the desired article at their fingertips. Online publications have risen in sales, but the actual printed material has gone down drastically in the past few years. Also, with having these items at your own disposal you don’t have to store papers or have a place to put them if you wanted to save them. You can simply add it to your favorites or download it in seconds.

2. What changes have print media companies made to incorporate new technology into their traditional products? Have these changes been successful or unsuccessful? Why? Technology companies have released applications and software that help people to read the newspaper or magazine easier as if they were literally holding it in their hands. They help readers to go back and forth between stories, view picture galleries, and the consumer can download the article they desire for later use. As the story changes, so does the version the person downloaded on their device. They have been successful because you can see it in the numbers lowering on printed publications and rising on online items. People want things at the speed of light. They don’t want to have to walk or drive to the store to read the day’s new and by the time they get it, it is old news.

3. How have consumers reacted to these changes? Consumers have reacted to these changes in different ways. People who are stuck in their ways may not want to change and like their daily printed newspaper. Some people still want to hold the magazine or newspaper in their hand. Others, would prefer to have at a glance things and have them on their phones or computers. People are on the go and they want every single aspect of their lives to be that way.
Part C: Major publications in the print media industry

Books
Newspapers
Magazines
How many total publications are sold annually in each print media industry?

About 175,000 books are published every year. That equals out to about 479 books each day.
In 2013 about 22,315 newspapers, printed and online, were sold.
Digital editions of magazines have sold around 5.4 million copies. Hard copies sold around 346.5 million annually.
What are the major ownership chains in each print media industry?

Major ownership chains are Random House, Pearson, Hatchette, and Harper Collins.
Gannett, Knight-Ridder, Newhouse and Times Mirror are the top four major chains in newspaper publication.
Time Warner, Gemstar International Group, and Thompson Multimedia are all three large chains of magazine publishers.
List three major publications in each print media industry.

The 50 Shades of Grey, Twilight Saga, and the Harry Potter books are major publications.
Some of the largest publications are The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Chicago Tribune.
There are three leading weekly magazines. They are Time, Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report.
For each of the three major publications you listed, identify the target audience.

For the 50 Shades of Gray it would be 18 and over. For the Twilight Saga and Harry Potter books are for tweens and teenagers, but adults read them, as well.
These newspapers are generally directed toward adult audiences. Children and young adults can read them, but that is not who they are targeted for.
The same as the newspapers mentioned, these magazines are for adults, generally. They are informative and deal with business mostly.
For each of the three major publications you listed, describe the unique writing style. What makes each publication stand out in the marketplace?

50 Shades of Grey is written for women. It is along the lines of being pornographic. It is very detailed and visual. The Twilight are repetitive and boring when describing things so in depth when they don’t need to be. The Harry Potter books are very descriptive, yet simple. They were easy to read and kept you entertained.
The newspapers listed have a writing style of using honorifics instead of last names. There is no Major headline and the most important story goes in the top-right column, on the main page. The L.A. Times has a “column One” which is a feature that appears daily on the front page to the left side. The Chicago Tribune goes along the lines of the L.A. Times, which is their parent company.
Time Magazine has changed their red border to promote stories, enlarged column titles, reduced the number of featured stories, increased white space around articles, and added in photos. The writing styles of the other two magazines provide a strong reputation for accurate, brisk, and vivid reporting of news events.
For each of the three major publications you listed, describe the publishing trends.
How is each publication changing in response to today’s cultural, political, or technological climate? Readers everywhere were turned on by 50 Shades of Grey. They devoured the erotic romance and new author and publishers ate it up with re-makes that resembled these books. Twilight and Harry Potter went just as fast trending. Tweens and teens had it advertised in their faces everywhere.
Publishing on newspapers has decreased over the years. With things like the Internet and having hand held devices, printed material has taken a big hit.
Magazines, along with newspapers, have trends like buying subscriptions to make money, using multimedia, and micropublishing. Micropublishing will eventually stand out, becoming more important and prevalent.

References

Bronstein, C. (2005, Winter). Representing the third wave: mainstream print media framing of a new feminist movement. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 82(4), 783.
Media Bias. (2009, December 28). Issues & Controversies On File, n. pag. Retrieved January 29, 2010, from Issues & Controversies database.
German, L. (2003, Winter). Women 's Liberation Today. INTERNATIONAL SOCIALISM JOURNAL, 101().

References: Bronstein, C. (2005, Winter). Representing the third wave: mainstream print media framing of a new feminist movement. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 82(4), 783. Media Bias. (2009, December 28). Issues & Controversies On File, n. pag. Retrieved January 29, 2010, from Issues & Controversies database. German, L. (2003, Winter). Women 's Liberation Today. INTERNATIONAL SOCIALISM JOURNAL, 101().