The organization level is distinguished from media routines in describing the influences of the larger organized entity within which its workforce operates, including occupational roles, organizational policy, and how the enterprise itself is structured.

1. Organizational influences on
media content
Fiza Zia Ul Hannan
Ph.D. Scholar

2. Overview
“The impact of both the entertainment and the news aspects of
media content have been widely studied.” – (Referral: Pamela J.
Shoemaker & Stephen D. Reese in Mediating the Message,
Chapter 1, p 01)

3. Overview… contd.
Infrastructure of Mass Media Studies
CONTENT INFLUENCE STUDIES
PROCESS & EFFECTS STUDIES
1)Most of the books on mass media research cover studies deal with
Process & Effects Studies where audience receives media content
alongside societal reformation. It is equally essential to give relative
consideration to Content Influence Studies.
2)A scientific thorough analysis is needed while studying media content.

4. Overview… contd.
What is Media Content?
It is defined as an entity bearing a complete quantitative and qualitative
series of verbal and visual information by a disseminator (Media).
QUANTITATIVE
This includes attributes of media package that are countable.
QUALITATIVE
This includes attributes of media package that are infact a description.

5. Overview… contd.
Hierarchical Influences Model
In accord to authors, this framework comprises five levels of influence on
media content - hierarchically arrayed from the macro to micro:
SOCIAL SYSTEMS (Ideological / Regional Norms)
SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS (Sources)
MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS (Internal Factors)
ROUTINES PRACTICES (Labor Culture)
INDIVIDUALS (Media Workforce, Reporters, Journalists, News Writers &
Editors)

6. Overview… contd.
Hierarchical Influences Model
“Hierarchy of Influences are a key concept which suggests that there is
something about the model that gives it significant value for research, and
we assume that this lies in its theoretical utility.” – (Referral: Franklin,
Richardson, Hamer, Hanna, & Kinsey in Handbook of Journalism Studies,
2005)
(Kindly refer to the provided hand-out)

7. Review
What is an organization?
“An organization can be defined as the social, formal, usually economic
entity that employs the media workforce in order to produce media content.”
– (Referral: Pamela J. Shoemaker & Stephen D. Reese in Mediating the
Message, Chapter 7, p 120)
“The action of organizing something.” – (Referral: Oxford Dictionary of
English, 2018)

8. Review… contd.
“A social unit of people that is structured and managed to meet a need or to
pursue collective goals. All organizations have a management structure that
determines relationships between the different activities and the members,
and subdivides and assigns roles, responsibilities, and authority to carry out
different tasks. Organizations are open systems - they affect and are
affected by their environment.” – (Referral: Business Dictionary, 2015)
“The organization’s structure gives it the form to fulfill its function in the
environment.” - (Referral: Nelson & Quick, 2011)

9. Review… contd.
“The term organizational structure refers to the formal configuration between
individuals and groups regarding the allocation of tasks, responsibilities, and
authority within the organization.” - (Referral: Galbraith, 1987; Greenberg,
2011)
“Organizations, teams, and individuals are bound together in a multilevel
system. Teams don’t behave, individuals do; but they do so in ways that
create team level phenomena.” – (Referral: Kozlowski & Klein, 2000)

10. INFLUENCING ORGANIZATIONAL LEVERAGE IN A
COMMUNICATING SPHERE
Labor
Organization
Workforce

11. INFLUENCING ORGANIZATIONAL LEVERAGE IN A
COMMUNICATING SPHERE … contd.
1) The organization level is distinguished from routines in describing the influences
of the larger organized entity within which the individual operates, the larger
context of the routinized activities, which includes occupational roles,
organizational policy, and how the enterprise itself is structured.
2) Organization’s set routines for their workforce on the basis of following:
 OWNERSHIP
 MISSION/GOALS
 INTERNAL STRUCTURE
 TECHNOLOGY/MACHINERY
 COMPETITION/TRENDS IN MARKETS

12. THE KEY PARTS OF AN ORGANIZATION
Strategic
Apex
Operative Core
Support Staff
Techno-
structure
Middle Line
(Kindly refer to the provided hand-out)

13. MULTI-FUNCTIONAL POWER DISSEMINATION IN A NEWS
ORGANIZATION
Reporters
News writers
Photographers

14. MULTI-FUNCTIONAL POWER DISSEMINATION IN A NEWS
ORGANIZATION … contd.
This chart helps in conceptualizing the following:
1)An organization functions as a centralized unit.
2)The designated roles are shared as per experience and knowledge (know-
how).
3)Implemented policies are circulated through a proper channel.
4)All members of an organization represents themselves as building blocks
of a structured system.

15. THE ORGANIZATION: GOALS, ROLES AND STRUCTURE
GOALS
“When former high-ranking employees of media organizations
recount their experiences they speak from an important
organization-level vantage point.” – (Referral: Editor Joyce, 1988)
In order to compete over rival platform with rest of the media
conglomerates, to grasp latest trends within routines, it is essential
for a specific media organization to keep in consideration its mission
and goals.

16. THE ORGANIZATION: GOALS, ROLES AND STRUCTURE
… contd.
GOALS
Behind every claim of being a public servant and an unbiased info-
disseminator, every media organization is primarily economic-
oriented.
Secondary goal of an organization to achieve professional
recognition amid audience.

17. THE ORGANIZATION: GOALS, ROLES AND STRUCTURE
… contd.
Economic Constraints
The fourth and final diversion in the research arena of Mass Media put
specific emphasis upon media organizations and their role in fulfilment of
ethical values.
In current scenario, it is believed that media is preferably concerned more
about earning revenues than considering its role over serving audiences.

18. THE ORGANIZATION: GOALS, ROLES AND STRUCTURE
… contd.
ROLES
Media corporation workforce comprises front line employees, a mid-level staff and
an executive-panel.
Opinions and decision-making capability of media workforce is determinant of its
designated roles. The recruitment procedures in an organization are a clear-cut
example of opinionated media employers.
“Efforts to apply discipline in an organization are difficult at best, and seemingly
impossible in situations where the impetus for a discipline response is unacceptable
performance.” – (Referral: R. Eugene Hughes in Organization′s Definition and
Assumptions: A Basis for Developing Reasonable Access to Discipline Actions, 1994)

19. THE ORGANIZATION: GOALS, ROLES AND STRUCTURE
… contd.
STRUCTURE
1)Most Media are owned by a handful of corporate media giants.
2)Media owners or their appointed top executives have the final say in what
their organization does. The owner influence can be good or ill.
3)Changes in ownership depicts a clear influence. Usually it comes in the
form of a corporate take-over, bringing along varying policies, schedules,
routines, styles, objectives and ofcourse content.

20. THE ORGANIZATION: GOALS, ROLES AND STRUCTURE
… contd.
STRUCTURE
Organizational Paradigm of Wall Street Journal - (Referral: Pamela
J. Shoemaker & Stephen D. Reese in Mediating the Message,
Chapter 7, p 127)
(Kindly refer to the provided hand-out)

21. INTRA-ORGANIZATION: HOW CONTROL IS PRACTISED?
Most control is straight-forward and accomplished through a reward
system. Promotions and salary raises go to the workforce that
shows skilled performance, meanwhile the one, that does contrary,
gets demoted or fired.

22. INTRA-ORGANIZATION: HOW CONTROL IS PRACTISED?
… contd.
“…never forget that we are putting out family newspapers in conservative
communities. We should never forget that it should be a prime consideration
in story and photo selection, in editing, and in cutline and heading writing.” –
(Referral: A memo to news staffers, 1989)
Media organizations often find themselves controlled by non-media elites.
While experiencing to work for any specific organization, Journalistic
practices get mold over the period of time.
Dutifully followed organizational routines exempt the chances of getting
irrelevant content.

23. INTRA-ORGANIZATION: HOW CONTROL IS PRACTISED?
… contd.
Newsgathering and writing is a task of front-line employees. However,
further gate-keeping is enforced upon the content by mid-level staff. By
eliminating one news story, an editor causes a reporter to self-censor
subsequent (future) ones.
Front-line employees are at stake of conformity exertions.
EXCEPTIONAL: Reporters can only sideline work performances of their
editors provided if they have, an adequate knowledge about the subject in
concern, and, a great pack-support.

24. Summary
1)The primary goal sought by most of the media organizations is economic profit.
2)From executive panel to front-line employees, all gate-keep media content on self
behalf.
3)News organizations face boosting economic pressures that are now a direct
influence upon journalistic approach and practices.
4)Organizational policies and work routines are dependent upon its ownership.
5)Regardless of the medium, the ultimate power lies in top management (either part of
the board or accountable to it).
6)Lastly, organizations solely are not that influenced by their internal infrastructure;
external factors also play a card in molding media packaging.

25. References
Pamela J. Shoemaker & Stephen D. Reese in Mediating the Message.
Fred C. Lunenburg in Organizational Structure: Mintzberg’s Framework in International
Journal of Scholarly, Academic, Intellectual Diversity, Volume 14, Number 1, (2012).
R. Eugene Hughes in The Organization′s Definition and Assumptions: A Basis for
Developing Reasonable Access to Discipline Actions (1994).
Roger D. Wimmer and Joseph R. Dominick in Mass Media Research, an introduction.
Steve W. J. Kozlowski and Bradford S. Bell in Work Groups and Teams in
Organizations, (2001).