International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

Media rely on different combinations of revenue from consumers and advertisers to pay production costs and earn a profit. Reliance on either revenue source is determined by the characteristics of the media good, and by consumer and advertiser demand for the good. Consumers select media products that meet needs such as entertainment or information for decision-making. Advertisers in turn select media that reach potential customers for the advertised products (→  Markets of the Media ; Media Economics ; Economies of Scale in Media Markets ). Individual consumers use a mix of media products to meet a range of needs, but the mix is dynamic ( Lacy 2000 ). Changes in existing media products, or the introduction of new products, can change their media mix. Consumers select media products because of embedded characteristics , such as speed of delivery and quantity or quality of information ( Litman 2006 ). Different media, such as →  Television , →  Newspapers , and the →  Internet , have different proportions of desirable characteristics. Consumers use these characteristics to select a mix of products that gives them maximum utility within the constraints of time and income ( Litman 2006 ; →  Consumers in Media Markets ). Changing patterns of consumption mean some forms of media lose revenue that others gain. These changes can be understood with models of media economics. These models ... log in or subscribe to read full text