Media Industries | OCR A-Level Media Studies (H409)
Media Industries
- 214 questions
- 16 subtopics
- The media theoretical framework, examined on both papers
- Component 01 and Component 02
Media Industries is examined in both written papers — the four areas of the theoretical framework and the contexts run through every section of the course, and are applied to whichever set products a centre has chosen.
It covers production, distribution and circulation in a global context, the specialised and institutionalised nature of media production, conglomerate ownership and vertical integration, horizontal integration, diversification and synergy, curran and Seaton: concentration of ownership and plurality, curran and Seaton on the internet and the news oligarchy, hesmondhalgh: risk, public goods and the reliance on big hits, hesmondhalgh: repetition, copyright and digital labour, commercial funding: advertising, subscription and freemium models, public service broadcasting and not-for-profit funding, marketing and the maintenance of national and global audiences, technological change and the shift to digital distribution, ofcom and the UK regulatory framework, press, advertising and age classification in the UK, livingstone and Lunt: the citizen and the consumer and individual producers, convergence and the limits of regulation.
Sample questions from Media Industries
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Production, distribution and circulation in a global context
How does planning for a global release shape the content of a mainstream film?
Show the answer
Producers favour spectacle, simple universal narratives and recognisable stars, and limit culturally specific dialogue, so the product travels between territories with little adaptation. -
Conglomerate ownership and vertical integration
What is an oligopoly?
Show the answer
An oligopoly is a market dominated by a small number of large companies whose decisions set prices, output and access for everyone else. -
Curran and Seaton: concentration of ownership and plurality
What do Curran and Seaton say concentration does to quality and creativity?
Show the answer
They argue it produces a pursuit of profit at the expense of quality and creativity. -
Hesmondhalgh: risk, public goods and the reliance on big hits
What does Hesmondhalgh mean by calling media products public goods?
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They are not destroyed on consumption and can be reproduced again and again, so one copy can serve an unlimited number of people. -
Commercial funding: advertising, subscription and freemium models
How does subscription funding change the kind of content commissioned?
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With no advertising breaks and a need to retain members, services commission distinctive, bingeable series for loyal niches rather than chasing the largest instant audience. -
Marketing and the maintenance of national and global audiences
What is the purpose of a viral marketing campaign?
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It gets audiences to circulate the material themselves, giving reach at low cost and the added credibility of a personal recommendation. -
Ofcom and the UK regulatory framework
State three sanctions Ofcom can impose on a broadcaster in breach of the code.
Show the answer
It can require the broadcast of a correction or a statement of its findings, impose a financial penalty, and in the most serious cases revoke the licence. -
Livingstone and Lunt: the citizen and the consumer
In Livingstone and Lunt's terms, what characterises citizens?
Show the answer
Citizens have needs, are social, and seek public or social benefits from the media.
The 16 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Production, distribution and circulation in a global context | Recall questions on production, distribution and circulation, why production is the riskiest stage, windowing and staggered release, globalisation and glocalisation, the cultural imperialism argument and its critics, and international co-production. | 13 |
| The specialised and institutionalised nature of media production | Recall questions on specialised and institutionalised production, the division of labour, commissioning, production companies and broadcasters, gatekeeping, house style, formats, unions, freelance workforces and newsroom routines. | 12 |
| Conglomerate ownership and vertical integration | Recall questions on media conglomerates, subsidiaries and vertical integration, monopoly and oligopoly, concentration of ownership, mergers and acquisitions, the UK public interest test, and the effect of conglomerates on independents and plurality. | 14 |
| Horizontal integration, diversification and synergy | Recall questions on horizontal integration, diversification and its risks, synergy and cross-media promotion, brand extensions, owned intellectual property, licensing and merchandising, and how franchises earn across divisions. | 12 |
| Curran and Seaton: concentration of ownership and plurality | Recall questions on Curran and Seaton's political economy approach, their claims about concentration of ownership, the range of opinion and creativity, media plurality, the policy remedies that follow, and the criticisms of their view. | 14 |
| Curran and Seaton on the internet and the news oligarchy | Recall questions on why Curran and Seaton see continuity rather than rupture online, the forces that constrain the internet, and what they mean by a news oligarchy. | 12 |
| Hesmondhalgh: risk, public goods and the reliance on big hits | Recall questions on Hesmondhalgh's cultural industries, his four reasons for their high risk, media products as public goods, reliance on big hits and overproduction, sequels, cancellation and piracy, and a criticism of his account. | 14 |
| Hesmondhalgh: repetition, copyright and digital labour | Recall questions on Hesmondhalgh's account of repetition through stars, genres and franchises, format sales, copyright and imposed scarcity, and his argument that digital technology has sped up work, commercialised leisure and increased surveillance. | 12 |
| Commercial funding: advertising, subscription and freemium models | Recall questions on advertising and subscription funding, the audience as product, freemium models and microtransactions, mixed advertising and subscription tiers, paywalls, product placement and sponsorship. | 13 |
| Public service broadcasting and not-for-profit funding | Recall questions on public service broadcasting and its purpose to inform, educate and entertain, the BBC's licence fee and Royal Charter, universality, Channel 4 as a publisher-broadcaster, production quotas, market failure and not-for-profit funding. | 14 |
| Marketing and the maintenance of national and global audiences | Recall questions on marketing campaigns, above-the-line and below-the-line marketing, teaser trailers and viral campaigns, brand identity and audience data, localised campaigns, fanbases and live events, and maintaining an audience over time. | 13 |
| Technological change and the shift to digital distribution | Recall questions on technological convergence and digitisation, cheaper production, disintermediation, collapsing exhibition windows, on-demand viewing, data-led commissioning, the long tail, algorithms, mobile viewing and broadcasters' own players. | 13 |
| Ofcom and the UK regulatory framework | Recall questions on Ofcom and the Communications Act 2003, the Broadcasting Code and its sanctions, the watershed, due impartiality, broadcasting licences, regulation of the BBC and on-demand services, and the Online Safety Act 2023. | 14 |
| Press, advertising and age classification in the UK | Recall questions on IPSO and the Editors' Code, whether press regulation is statutory, what a regulator can require, and the bodies classifying advertising and age-rated media. | 15 |
| Livingstone and Lunt: the citizen and the consumer | Recall questions on Livingstone and Lunt's study of Ofcom, the audience as consumer and as citizen, the languages of choice and rights, the regulation each requires, the tension between them, and a criticism of the model. | 15 |
| Individual producers, convergence and the limits of regulation | Recall questions on who counts as an individual producer, how platforms let one person reach a mass audience, the prosumer, crowdfunding, and what all this does to regulation. | 14 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
OCR A-Level Media Studies Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 1,986 questions with their answers.