What is diversification in media?
Diversification is how many different media products a company has. Most companies don't only have one product anymore as its bad business practice and its now easier to have more products. If that product one day became obsolete, the company would have to quickly make something new and rely on that succeeding. Investing in just one product used to be the norm for companies but its no longer sustainable, instead the new tactic is to have many products but invest in one or two successful ones slightly more
For example Disney owns both TV stations and theme parks, but in 2014 they relied more on their TV stations doing well as they made 56% of their profits. This doesn't mean Disney doesn't care for their other markets as theme parks are their second biggest profit at 20%, but they invest more in TV because of how much they make from it. The products themselves can vary in difference as well
Communication. (Year unknown) Diversification of Media Markets. Available at: http://communication.iresearchnet.com/media/diversification-of-media-markets. Accessed at: 07.10.21
Lumen. (Year unknown) Reading: Diversification Example. Available at: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/clinton-marketing/chapter/reading-diversification-example/. Accessed at: 07.10.21
What is the difference between Private ownership and public service media?
Private ownership is when a product is privately owned and is sustained by commercial revenue, mainly from the internet and TV. There are two types, multinationals and nationals. Multinational corporations can offer media access in areas where services are limited and national ownership provides press, television and radio. They can read, seen and heard across borders but they count as just one nation within the government jurisdictions. An example of a privately owned business is The Guardian, owned by The Scott Trust
Public service is something that is made, financed and controlled by the public, for the public. Because of how reliant they are on the public, the broadcast aims to entertain and educate all audiences. This type of media is usually established by the law and run for the public's benefit, often being news outlets. The BBC is the largest public service media in the UK and is funded by a TV license fee
EBU. (Year unknown) Public Service Media. Available at: https://www.ebu.ch/about/public-service-media. Accessed at: 12.10.21
Johnston, D. (2003) Encyclopedia of International Media and Communications. Academic Press. Accessed at: 12.10.21
Parliament. (2021) Public service broadcasting in the UK. Available at: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5801/cmselect/cmcumeds/156/15604.htm. Accessed at: 12.10.21
The Guardian. (2017) Who owns the Guardian? Our unique independent structure. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/about/2017/nov/17/who-owns-the-guardian-our-unique-independent-structure. Accessed at: 12.10.21
What is horizontal integration?
Horizontal integration is when a company buys out its competitor, normally one that's on the same level as them in the industry. This helps the company expand to more markets, being able to sell new and different products while reducing its own competition
Merging companies also merges their customers, bringing more clients together and expanding their customer base. This is good as it means more people would be interested in buying the new companies products because they'd be familiar with the companies they merged with already. In this way it is an artifical way to have more consumers and gain more revenue. However if the two companies merging don't synergise well with eachother, it can cause a huge loss of profit and value for both companies
For example, Disney bought Pixar in 2006 for $7.4 billion USD. The merger proved to be successful as Disney was struggling with the new film medium being digital and Pixar wasn't as famous as Disney was. Disney was known for its storytelling and Pixar was good with animating digitally, when they combined they both made more profits together
Smyth, D. (2019) Horizontal Integration Examples: 5 Companies That Made It Work. Available at: https://bizfluent.com/13721106/horizontal-integration-examples-5-companies-that-made-it-work. Accessed at: 08.10.21
Tarver, E. (2021) Horizontal vs. Vertical Integration: What's the Difference?. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/051315/what-difference-between-horizontal-integration-and-vertical-integration.asp. Accessed at: 08.10.21
What is vertical integration?
Vertical integration is when a company acquires another in the production process while they're both in the same industry. The company acquired can either be before or after the other company in the supply chain. Companies can do this to strengthen its supply chain and reduce production costs. There are two type of vertical intergration, backwards and forwards. Backwards integration is when a company buys another that makes a product for the acquiring company to use, for example a car company merging with a tire manufacturer. Forwards integration is when a company merges with another in the post-production process, an example being a car company acquiring an automotive dealership
This intergration allows for better control over the production process because the two supply chains can better communicate with eachother. This can also help with the companies being able to supply to higher demands and overall give them better flexibility. Backward integration reduces costs and the leverage that other suppliers could have over a company. Forward integration gets companies more revenue while also getting closer to the customers in the supply chain
An example for vertical integration is Amazon. Its a marketplace for both buyers and sellers and the company also sells their own products while distrbuting everything. This means it technically has three stages in the supply chain because it sources products, markets them, then sells it on its website and distributes the product
Boyce, P. (2021) Vertical Integration Definition. Available at: https://boycewire.com/vertical-integration-definition/. Accessed at: 09.10.21
Corporate Finance Institute. (Year unknown) Vertical Integration. Available at: https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/strategy/vertical-integration/. Accessed at 09.10.21
Tarver, E. (2021) Horizontal vs. Vertical Integration: What's the Difference?. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/051315/what-difference-between-horizontal-integration-and-vertical-integration.asp. Accessed at: 08.10.21
What is multinational?
Being multinational is when a corporation has other facilities in another country than its home country. Multinational companies usually have offices and sometimes factories in different countries with a centralised head office, that office being where all the other offices coordinate global management. Doing this diversifies the companies investment
These corporations can have a positive effect on their countries economy as they bring money to them. Multinational companies have reduced transportation costs when they sell to countries they have an office in. They also have better market information and intelligence because of this. However its common for manufactoring outside the USA to have negative effects on the economy because it give others in the country fewer job opportunies and moves those jobs overseas instead. Another problem is that multinational corporations can also develop into a monopoly for their products. Because these companies have so much range and can control the competition, they can increase prices for their consumers and stifle the competition. Multinational companies also demand alot of environment to upkeep its offices, depleting the natural resources around them
Nestle is a multinational food & drink coroporation, being the largest food company in the world since 2014
Chen, J. (2021) Multinational Corporation (MNC). Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/multinationalcorporation.asp. Accessed at: 09.10.21
NK. (2021) Top 10 Best Multinational Companies of the World. Available at: https://top10best4u.com/top-10-best-multinational-companies/. Accessed at 09.10.21
Tutor2u. (Year unknown) What is a Multinational Company (MNC)?. Available at: https://www.tutor2u.net/business/reference/what-is-a-multinational-company-mnc. Accessed at: 09.10.21
What is an independent company?
An independent company doesn't publicly trade on the stock market and are usually owned by a small group. These types of companies can belong to a sole proprietor, a partnership or a group of other owners. As these companies are private, only the people within the company can choose how much of the stock they share
Unlike larger companies, independent companies have more options and can choose more freely. Independent companies can also have a personal business plan without having to go through the stress of being accepted by other shareholders. This means that as long as they have a steady stream of profit, independent companies can upkeep their values within and outside the company without ever having to change them. However when it comes to expanding their business, independent companies are limited on what they can do due to how much money it could cost them. Because these businesses are (most likely) new and independent, it has to build up its own brand and trust with the consumers on its own. As its stock isn't publicly traded, the independent business often doesn't benefit from a new surge in a stock market
An example of an independent company is 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. Pictures
Ellis, J. (Year unknown) What Is an Independent Business?. Available at: https://www.wise-geek.com/what-is-an-independent-business.htm. Accessed at: 09.10.21
sophbennett1234. (2014) Media Ownership. Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/sophbennett1234/media-ownership-34624125. Accessed at: 11.10.21
What is a conglomerate?
A conglomerate is a company that owns smaller companies that're usually in different fields of products. The company that owns the others is called the parent company. These businesses can easily diversify their products and medium with minimal risk as they're often large and cover a lot of range. Some conglomerates own companies that do all the labor in a supply chain for a single product. The smaller businesses work independently from eachother
Conglomerates have less problems with finance as they can share their stakes and costs with the other smaller businesses that work in other industries. The smaller companies can support eachother which helps the conglomerate gain more profit. If one of the companies in a conglomerate doesn't do as well, the other companies (specifically ones performing better) can help keep profits steady. This is why conglomerates often invest in internal captial markets. However with conglomerates it's very easy for a conglomerate discount to happen. This is when a conglomerate becomes too big and its collective stock value becomes lower than its individual companies. Another problem is that this business practice is quite hard to manage due to diversification. If there are too many different companies in a conglomerate it requires more people effcient enough to manage it, which can cost a lot. It's also difficult for investors to properly analyse how the smaller businesses inside are performing due to how some conglomerates announce their finances as an overall sum
Google is an example of a conglomerate and has been one since 2015, it's parent company is Alphabet. Google has many smaller businesses such as Google Maps, Gmail and Google Home
MasterClass. (2021) What Is a Conglomerate Business? 6 Global Conglomerates. Available at: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/conglomerate-business-explained. Accessed at: 11.10.21
Sarokin, D. (2018) An Example of a Company Conglomerate. Available at: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/example-company-conglomerate-14699.html. Accessed at: 11.10.21
What is media convergence?
Media convergence is the process of a product replacing the need of another (usually older) product and making the older product less useful as a result. It's called this because it's converging (making) seperate technology for one overall product that can do at least most of the things the seperate technology could. The three C's (computing, communication and content) are also a part of media convergence, it's from the internet becoming popular
Media convergence allows for instant updates on the news even while someone is on the go or in another country entirely. It's easier to target a specific audience as content producers can customise their content to be whatever they want. This is also good as anyone can become a creator online. Media convergence has also made digital marketing beneficial as it's economical. But because of how diverse and constant your audience can be, it's hard to be able to respond to them all. This also works both ways with the audience being overwhelmed with so much information suddenly being available to them, this is especially true for the elderly as they also have to learn how everything works. People who don't have internet don't benefit from media convergence either as they literally can't access the information. It's also likely that something can malfunction
An example of media convergence are smartphones. Phones have made carrying a camera in everyday life redundant as phones have a camera app that's just as good. Phones are a convergence of computing, communication and content (which is called the three C's).
Flew, T. (2017) Media convergence. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/media-convergence. Accessed at: 11.10.21
Study. (Year unknown) What Is Media Convergence? - Definition & Explanation. Available at: https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-media-convergence-definition-explanation.html. Accessed at: 11.10.21
Team Leverage Edu. (2021) Media Convergence. Available at: https://leverageedu.com/blog/media-convergence/. Accessed at: 11.10.21
What is a monopoly and what is an oligopoly?
When a large company is the only one to produce something with there being no substitute that's close enough, it's called a monopoly. Pure monoploies are rare as it happens when there's no other substitute. Lack of competition means that the business could make the products cost as high as they want for the consumer, which angers them but because there is no competition they don't have any other choice but to comply. Monopolies are usually extremely bad, so much so that there are anti-trust laws to prevent it. However they can exist if they benefit their consumers and follow the law, some monopolies are owned by the government. An example of a legal monopoly is the United States Postal Service, it has a monopoly on first class and advertising mail and access to mailboxes
An oligopoly is the opposite as it's when a few companies have products that are similar but slightly different. No single company has the upper hand this way and because there's competition, companies have to be moderate of it's prices. When a company sets a price, most of their competition will also do the same price or even be priced lower than the other. Companies can also help eachother in oligopolies to stave off non-established businesses entering their market. An example of an oligopoly is the book publishing market as they have a main five: Penguin Random House, Hachette Livre, HarperCollins, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster.
Hall, M. (2021) Monopoly vs. Oligopoly: What's the Difference?. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/121514/what-are-major-differences-between-monopoly-and-oligopoly.asp. Accessed at: 11.10.21
White, M. (Year unknown) Oligopoly Examples, Meaning and Characteristics. Available at: https://examples.yourdictionary.com/oligopoly-examples.html. Accessed at: 11.10.21
UK Media Industry: Structure and Ownership
The Sun and Daily Mail are the two most dominant titles
working within the newspaper industry, having a fifth of daily
circulation shares. The average circulation of The Sun in 2020
is 1,102,263 while the Daily Mail had 1,028,879 in the same
year. Since 2018 newspapers in the UK have had a declining
circulation of its daily prints. The coronavirus has also not
helped in this regard and compared to all the average
circulation last year for everyone in the newspaper market,
all companies rounded together have had a significant 23.59%
drop from last year. The least affected by this drop have been
the Guardian and the Daily Mail
Specifically sales on Sunday were less affected by lockdown,
but it is still declining every year. Sunday circulation has been
dominated by The Sun and the Mail, together counting as half
all of the Sunday papers sold in 2020
However three major publishing companies have been dominating the market recently, having over four-fifths of print sales all together. These publishers are DMG Media, News UK and Reach Plc. The share of the national newspaper market that these three companies own have almost risen to 90%. Most big newspaper companies are family owned like the Murdochs, Rothermeres and Barclays. These three families controlled an estimate of 68% of the national newspaper circulation
Employment rates for the journalist, newspaper and periodical editor positions have staggered from 2018. 2017 and 2018 had the highest employment rate with 16k employees. The worst year was 2015 with only 8k employees. This is partly because of the rise of digital publishers and the internet. A study of the fall of newspaper journalism and digital publishers in the US shows that newspaper journalism quickly became less popular around the time the internet was becoming more popular, in the year of 2008 around October. The same would eventually happen in the UK but just at a later date, the fall of newspapers was inevitable in a sense
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News UK did a study on how much it contributes to the UK. It contributes almost 1% to the UK’s gross value. The company also has 3.7% of total UK employment. In 2012-2013 it gave over £1.66 billion to the UK GDP. This also generates another £4.3 million to the rest of the economy per £1 million. In 2015, newspapers had made £4.8 billion revenue from advertising and circulation, had 87,500 jobs and contributed £5.3 billion to the UK economy in that year
However recently Rupert Murdoch (who technically owns the Sun from the News UK) said the value of the Sun newspaper had gone down to zero. This is because of Covid-19 and one-off phone hacking. Murdoch had lost £200 million due to this as well. The revenue from the Sun and the Sun on Sunday had fell by 23% from £419.9 million to £324 million by the end of June 2020. More than £164 million (80%) of those losses were from phone hacking, having to pay £52 million to civil claimants and £26 million to “UK newspaper matters”. Despite the one-off circumstance, the publishers of the Sun don’t think the titles will return to positive growth again
Most newspaper companies are focusing on digital technology instead of traditional printing as sales are plummeting in that medium. However they aren’t completely abandoning traditional newspapers either as it’s good for advertising and for premium segment readers. It is important for companies to diversify its business but not just focus on one as while digital dominates revenues by over 80% of the market, print has only fallen by 1% and is still viable. Publishers are also looking into consumer-centric business models as they believe that they may do better than just going digitally, and might also strengthen their customers' loyalty to the company
Digital newspapers are looking for new ways to gain money as advertisements don’t pay very well and can possibly restrain the market’s growth. Recently the new strategy is to get money directly from the readers by having a subscription model. Revenue from digital advertising is expected to grow more as they already have over a 5% growth rate in the market. However bigger companies, like Google and Facebook to name a few, have a larger market share and the digital advertising market is disrupted because of them. Overall digital-first publishers are looking into creating in-house data and ways to exploit the digital market
Europe is the biggest market for newspapers with Asia being the fastest growing one. The reason why is because printing and digital media are getting bigger. There’s also a desire for readers to become more educated and they read newspapers and digital content to do this. This helps the market grow in both a traditional and digital way. This also makes the Indian market stand out as there’s still active interest in printed newspapers unlike in the USA and UK, where the digital market has overtaken everything else. However, global readers are also aware of the fake news from internet sources and there’s a chance they can turn back to printed newspapers for authentic news
Printing was slowly dying out and the pandemic only made it worse. Circulation hit its lowest point in 2020. The newspaper ad revenue in America had totaled to $8.8 billion which compared to 2019’s $12.45 billion is almost 30% less. Larger newspaper companies are shifting their focus onto digital with smaller businesses having a harder time
The industry in general is very competitive. It’s a fragmented market as there’s few companies that have a big hold in it and many companies are competing to be one. Companies are focused on having a loyal audience and trust between them as it’s a huge part of possible success
Adgate, B. (2021) Newspapers Have Been Struggling And Then Came The Pandemic. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2021/08/20/newspapers-have-been-struggling-and-then-came-the-pandemic/. Accessed at: 18.10.21
BLS. (2016) Employment trends in newspaper publishing and other media, 1990–2016. Available at: https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/employment-trends-in-newspaper-publishing-and-other-media-1990-2016.htm. Accessed at: 18.10.21
Doyle, C. (Year unknown) The impact of News UK on the economy and well-being of the United Kingdom. Available at: impactsurvey.news.co.uk/report.html. Accessed at: 18.10.21
Greenslade, R. (2016) News publishers contributed £5.3bn to the UK economy in 2015. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2016/dec/14/news-publishers-contributed-53bn-to-the-uk-economy-in-2015/. Accessed at: 18.10.21
Merwe, B. (2020) Who owns the media? Top newspaper, website and magazine owners charted. Available at: https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/digital-diversity-or-age-of-consolidation-media-ownership-2020/. Accessed at: 13.10.21
Modor Intelligence. (2021) Newspaper Industry - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 impact, and Forecasts (2021-2026). Available at: https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/newspaper-industry. Accessed at: 18.10.21
Sweney, M. (2021) Rupert Murdoch writes down value of Sun newspapers to zero. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/jun/11/rupert-murdoch-writes-down-value-of-sun-newspapers-to-zero. Accessed at: 18.10.21
Watson, Amy. (2021) Employment in journalist, newspaper and periodical editor positions outside the creative industries in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2011 to 2019. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/384919/journalists-newspaper-and-periodical-editors-employment-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/. Accessed at: 13.10.21
Media contract types research
Full time is normally a job that has 8 hour days and 40
hour weeks, or at least 32 hours. These jobs also usually
have a weekly schedule. There isn't a set time for all full
time work and can depend on the job, for example offices
business hours are from 9am-5pm
Part time is working for less hours than a full time worker,
around 35 hours or less a week. Part time has you
working less but also getting paid less than full time for
that reason. Part time also might work on the weekends
and it doesn't have a set schedule unlike full time
normally does
Freelance jobs have a person working for themselves
instead in a company and are completely self-employed.
Freelancers have a lot more freedom on what they
choose to do they can: set their own work hours, spend
time on different projects, bill clients and also pay their
own employment and business taxes. When they work for
a company, they are considered contractors
Fixed term contracts are an agreement between the
employer and employee. They have an employment
contract for organisations that can end on a specific date.
These can also be seasonal or casual employees that
work for a set period of time, specialist employees or
someone covering for maternity leave. On completion
workers are a type of a fixed term contract. They work
until they are finished with their project or task
Casual employment is when an employee only works
when they're needed, but there's no guarantee they'll
work again with the organisation in the future. While the
employee isn't working for the employer they have no
active relationship or obigations with eachother. Casual
employees don't get paid when they're not working
though, only for the times they have worked
Cision jobs. (Year unknown) The Telegraph, Senior Technology Reporter: fixed-term contract. Available at: https://www.cisionjobs.co.uk/job/104598/the-telegraph-senior-technology-reporter-fixed-term-contract. Accessed at: 19.10.21
Google. (2021) Digital News Reporter - Freelance Shifts. Available at: https://www.google.com/search?q=newspaper+freelance+jobs. Accessed at: 19.10.21
Google. (2021) Newspaper Delivery Opportunities - CB 10 and CB11 postcodes Saffron Walden and surround. Available at: https://www.google.com/search?q=newspaper+part+time+jobs. Accessed at: 19.10.21
Google. (2021) The Times and The Sunday Times , Assistant Travel Editor. Available at: https://www.google.com/search?q=newspaper+full+time+jobs. Available at: 19.10.21
Government. (Year unknown) Fixed-term employment contracts. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/fixed-term-contracts. Accessed at: 19.10.21
Government. (Year unknown) Part-time workers' rights. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/part-time-worker-rights. Accessed at: 19.10.21
Indeed Editorial Team. (2021) What Is a Full-time Job?. Available at: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/full-time-job. Accessed at 19.10.21
Job England 24h. (2021) Digital Consumer Reporter - Casual Shifts. Available at: https://jobengland24h.com/digital-consumer-reporter-casual-shifts-job17915. Accessed at: 19.10.21
Jobsite. (2021) What is a fixed-term contract?. Available at: https://www.jobsite.co.uk/advice/what-is-a-fixed-term-contract. Accessed at: 19.10.21
Mighty recruiter. (Year unknown) Casual Employment. Accessed at: https://www.mightyrecruiter.com/recruiter-guide/hiring-glossary-a-to-z/casual-employment/. Accessed at: 19.10.21
Reynolds, B. (Year unknown) What are Freelance Jobs? A Guide to Freelancing. Available at: https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/what-are-freelance-jobs/. Accessed at: 19.10.21
Media employment opportunities research
Creative roles create content and ideas to make a finished
product. They can work in all types of different mediums, online
platforms, TV and radio to name a few. These roles sometimes
work together as a group. In general though there are a lot of job
opportunies and many things you could do with creativity, with
there also being set jobs if that's too worrisome. This industry is
extremely important and contributes more than £80 billion a year
to the economy
Technical roles focus more on equipment and fixing them. It's
important that people with technical jobs know what they're doing
and understand the equipment they use, whether that be a
camera or a computer software. The more experience someone
has with their technology, the more higher valued they are for
companies. At least 78% of media businesses would hire someone who has technology experience over someone who doesn't, no matter what their role was. Technical roles are important as everyone has moved over to the internet
Administrative roles oversee the company's digital presence and
communicate with others, usually in social media but its not just
there. They work with all types of media to engage audiences and
promote the business. They can respond to any complaints by
their consumers and also do research on other competition in the
market. Because media administration is such a new job, many
people have a hard time defining it
Legal roles deal with the law and sometimes advertising. They
advise others on contracts and if they can use copyrighted
materials, like an image or a music track. Socialising and
knowledge is an important part of the job. Everything they work
with is topical and relevent, however this also means it's
unstoppable. Long hours and working out of office hours for quick
phone calls are common
Careermap. (Year unknown) Everything you need to know about creative & digital media apprenticeships. Available at: https://careermap.co.uk/careermag-creative-digital-media/. Accessed at: 19.10.21
CWJobs. (2020) What tech skills does the media industry value?. Available at: https://www.cwjobs.co.uk/recruiter-advice/what-tech-skills-does-the-media-industry-value. Accessed at: 19.10.21
Indeed. (2021) Newspaper Design Jobs in England - 2021. Available at: https://uk.indeed.com/Newspaper-Design-jobs-in-England?vjk=cb0a7d0d6d351d27
Linkedin. (2021) Team Administrator (Managing Editor's Office). Available at: https://uk.linkedin.com/jobs/view/team-administrator-managing-editor’s-office-at-mail-on-sunday-2744580897. Accessed at: 19.10.21
Lloyd, J. (Year unknown) Employment and job roles in the creative media sector. Available at: https://sites.google.com/site/understandingmedia162/employment. Accessed at: 19.10.21
Lmvalentinemedia. (Year unknown) Employment opportunities and Job roles in the Media Industry. Available at: https://lmvalentinemedia.wordpress.com/creative-media-sector/employment-opportunities-and-job-roles-in-the-media-industry/. Accessed at: 19.10.21
Media Administration. (2019-2020) Defining Media Administration. Available at: https://mediaadministration.com/category/defining-media-administration/. Accessed at: 19.10.21
News UK & Ireland. (2021) Employment Legal Counsel. Available at: https://www.newscareers.co.uk/vacancies/1484/employment-legal-counsel.html. Accessed at: 19.10.21
Targetjobs. (Year unknown) Media law: area of practice. Available at: https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/law/media-law-area-practice. Accessed at: 19.10.21
Totaljobs. (2021) Newspaper Jobs in London in October 2021. Available at: https://www.totaljobs.com/jobs/newspaper/in-london. Accessed at: 19.10.21
Woods, L. (2018) Job Description of a Social Media Administrator. Available at: https://careertrend.com/facts-5711030-job-description-social-media-administrator.html
Mind map
Creative
- Social media coordinator
- Advertising creative
- Video or film director
- Set designer
- Cinematographer
Newspaper Jobs
Administrative
- Media Administrator
- Publicity manager
- Marketing assistant
- Communications Admin
- Recruitment Admin
Technical
- Radio production
- Camera operator
- Lighting director
- Gaffer
- Sound engineer
- Web designer/social media
Legal
- Media Lawyer
- Legal Counselor
- Media Paralegal
- Commercial Associate
- Social Media Executive
Media jobs research
Editorial assistants, as the name implies, help others with editing. Their responsibilities can range from correcting errors and getting the rights from another company to use their materials to being a personal assistant for other editors and dealing with customers on the phone. It is possible to be a freelancer while having this job. At the beginning the salaries are around £15k to £23k, average salaries are around £26,500 and long time (working for several years) salaries can range from £23k to £40k. Higher salaries can come from larger publishing houses. It will always depend on the publisher but the dress code and work environment for this job is usually informal. This is a full time job as there are 37-39 work hours per week. Work is usually at an office but working from home is an available option as more and more magazines go online. Freelance work comprises of proofreading, translating, copy-editing or writing and styling. It's possible to get this job through a university course, an apprenticeship, getting specialised training (like with the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading, known as CIEP) or by just working towards the role. English, journalism and media studies are the preferred subjects. For entry its required to at least have 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (one of them has to be English) and 2 or 3 A levels (or equivalent). Amy Mae made a video that shows the day of an editorial assistant
Magazine journalists mostly research and write news articles. They can also deal with trade publications (business-to-business magazines) and shops customer magazines. Other responsibilities are attending conferences, conducting interviews and proof reading their own work within a deadline. It is possible to be a freelancer in this job but most usually work for companies. Freelancers have to pitch their ideas to other companies constantly to be able to stay afloat though. Salaries can range from £15k-£26k but for most it goes as low as £12k. Senior staff can earn up to £18k-£35k and freelancers heavily depend on the quality of their work, but the average is £700 per 1k words in a large magazine or £420 for smaller ones. To succeed in this job you're expected to have good writing and communicative skills as you will work with others and to also have some IT knowledge like with HTML and Photoshop. Working hours can be irregular and long due to deadlines and travelling is common, sometimes to the point where you may have to sleep elsewhere for a day to continue working. People usually do minimum wage internships and smaller jobs to work their way up to getting this job. Speculative applications are the main way to get this job and most apply to another editor working in the magazine company. This role mostly isn't advertised and there are many freelancers that work as this job. For the most part freelancers have to rely on directories to find a job. There aren't many official training structures for it either so pre-entry experience is extremely valued. Previous experience can be done unpaid or paid, in student magazines, for internal TV circuits or even from somebodies own blog. In this video Alastair Stewart talks about studying journalism and how important it is
Magazine features editors make sure the content of a magazine is quality in that it's engaging yet informative. They are the ones in charge of the overall appearance of the magazine including the artwork for it, editing and re-writing articles if it doesn't meet up to quality standards and managing the writing staff. Freelancers are rare with this job, but it can be done. The salary depends on the type of magazine being worked on and it's location, because of this it can also differ significantly for each magazine. Small magazines pay around £15k but the usual range is £20k-£40k for most publishers, large national publications offer at the higher range. Seniors earn around £35k-£65k. There are some late nights for deadlines and weekly publications but overall this job works until 9am-5pm like most do. These hours are also flexible, less demanding and more sociable than usual editors are. Smaller publications are more likely to give out part-time work. Networking and office work are the most common things these editors do. The dress code is both smart and casual. There is a lot of responsibility in this job as you have to manage the most visibly important part of the magazine (overall appearance and how engaging the articles are), which can cause stress. Travelling isn't a huge part of the job but there can still be nights where you have to sleep out of your house. Even though most people with this job have degrees, non-graduates can also get this job. However it is noted that this job isn't an entry level one and requires experience and training mostly instead of school education. Working for a specialist magazine can require a degree in the specialised subject. Postgraduate qualifications (especially ones in journalism) can be helpful but not necessary. The more experience you have in this field of work, the higher valued you are. Competition for this job is high which is why most turn to entry-level jobs with work experience already. Speculative employment is also common. Experience with photography, HTML and a second language can also be useful when applying for this job. In an episode of Fashion Unzipped, the host (Charlie Gowans-Eglinton) talks to Caroline Barrett about being a magazine editor and the work that comes with it
AGCAS editors. (2020) Editorial assistant. Available at: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/editorial-assistant. Accessed at: 20.10.21
AGCAS editors. (2021) Magazine features editor. Available at: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/magazine-features-editor. Accessed at: 30.10.21
AGCAS editors. (2020) Magazine journalist. Available at: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/magazine-journalist. Accessed at: 28.10.21
Amy Mae Reads. (2020). A Day in the Life of an Editorial Assistant | Penguin Michael Joseph. [Online Video.] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZNDDLb7U3A. Accessed at: 30.10.21
National Careers Service. (Year unknown) Editorial assistant. Available at: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/editorial-assistant. Accessed at: 20.10.21
The Telegraph. (2019) Fashion Unzipped: A day in the life of a magazine editor. [Online Video.] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZhwH7ptERg. Accessed at: 30.10.21
University of Sunderland. (2016) Alastair Stewart on studying Journalism - University of Sunderland. [Online Video.] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLRNxFg4Zas. Accessed at: 30.10.21
Mind map
current skills & qualities:
+ research
+ camera & editing
+ writing
+ experience with adobe software
+ time management
short term goals (until end of term):
+ get better with practical skills (cameras, camera equipment, ect.)
mid term goals (1-5 years):
+ get a distinction
+ possibly get an apprenticeship
long term goals (5 years +):
+ work as a researcher or in marketing
+ work in either music, books/printing or art/creative industry
To be a researcher, having degrees is sought after. I'd have to have good research skills and be ready to share my knowledge with other researchers. I'd also have to be able to sift through thousands of data to find things that are relevant to the situation. There are many ways to become a researcher as there are many different types
AGCAS editors. (2021) Academic researcher job profile | Prospects.ac.uk. Available at: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/academic-researcher. Accessed at: 09.03.22
Vitae. (Year unknown) What is an open researcher?. Available at: https://www.vitae.ac.uk/doing-research/open-research-and-open-researchers/what-is-an-open-researcher. Accessed at: 09.03.22