Outside influences can significantly impact media content. Sources that journalists rely on, like government officials and interest groups, can shape coverage through the information they provide or withhold. Advertisers also wield influence as media organizations rely on advertising revenue, and may suppress unfavorable stories. Government policies like regulations and licensing can pressure media as well. Market forces also impact content as media organizations compete for audiences and adapt to new technologies to remain commercially viable. Overall, multiple social institutions outside of media organizations can influence the information that is reported and how stories are covered.

1. Influences On Media
Content From Outside Of
Organizations
BY
ABDUL WAKEEL KAKAR AHMED AZIZ KHAN FIZAN AHMAD
MIR

2. INTRODUCTION
 Media content is influences by inside and outside factors. So, we will discuss the
outside facters which influences the media content which include the sources of
information that becomes media content, such as special interest groups, public
relation campaigns, and news organizations themselves; revenue sources
(advertisers and audiences), other social instutions uch as business and
government; the economic environment and technology.

3. THE JOURNALIST-SOURCE
RELITIONSHIP
 The sources use by the journalists have more effect on mass media content.
 The content influences which journalist cannot include in thier news reports which they do not
know about the such event or story.
 The influence also accurs when sources withhold information or lie. This also influences the
news which is easier to get and cheaper to buyfrom other sources.
 Information from one source which Gandy call (information Subsidies) by monopolizing the
journalists time which have no chance to seek it from other alternative sources.
 In the crime news, the Police source is most often source, in which the Police vested interest in
crime news appearing in newspapers and in other media for more aid, increase in departmental
budgets and results in the strethening of Police view of the causes and solutions of crime
problems.
 The power inbalance between sources and writers may not always be in the favor of sources.

4. THE SELECTION OF SOURCES
 The journalists not only talk with the sources who are directly involved (Such as
airline officials who announce the plane crash) and also get information from
indirect sources (such as cosumer safety advocates) or layman opinion or
reactions.
 The economic and political sources influences the news reports than those who
lack power.
 The big businesses hire people to collect information and make it available to
media according to their own interest.
 The journalists contact those proper people who are easily reachble to offices.

5.  The officials sourees are preferred by the journalists such as govt officials, police
etc. because it is easily available and more believeable.
 The location of media orgisation also effects, foremost news events is cover by
the official sources.
 Some officical sourses give information but do not want to be personally
identified, which have some satisfaction or benefit from giving information to
reporter.

6. Interests groups
 Some interest groups seek to influence the media content by providing the
guidlines for covering topic of interests to the group.
 Sometimes one interest group lobby another, to persuade the mass media on the
first group behalf.
 Some groups criticize the media and changing the media content which goal is to
influencing the media content.
 The get on news agenda, calls to censorship and may cause the revision of
media practices or policies.

7. Public Reltions Campaigns
 Interest groups conduct the PR campaigns directly (press release)
and indirctly (calling media attention to the problem).
 Poor resorces interest groups cannot afford the advertisements to get
the coverages but the desinging and holding the event to get the
coverages, such as demnstration and protests.

8. The Target Audience
 As a result of these experiences , advertisers recognized that not all audience member are
equally important that, that segment of the mass audience most likely to buy an advertisers
products is called the ‘ Target audience’.
 They are defined in terms of demographics and psychographics ( like age, gender, education
and attitudes, life style).
 Here main question arrows ,How does media capture the “right” target audience for advertisers?
 It all depends on what target audience want and then gives it to them.
 In past decades newspaper faces decline in it’s circulation, Like between 1970-1980 it drops to
21% in USA according to (NAB).
 Newspaper organizations take a massive shift and focus on their other household coverage like
Magazines to attract high income professionals, whom professor “ Conrad Fink” calls the
“Champagne Crowd”.

9. The Target Audience
 Fink says that that newspaper have cultivated high income readers by designing their content structure
primarily for them.
 Like wise “Cantor and Jones (1983)” stated that magazine with working class audience published different
fiction, than a magazine with a middle class audience.
 Its an assumption that journalist’s objectivity would also compromised by advertisers, funded medium
would also draw the journalist’s attention towards the audience he or she is writing for.
 According to “David Altheide (1976)” Low ratings are often blamed on the news staff. they may lose their
job if they don’t produce such product which may accepted by audience.
 Another big problem is that Journalist have a little knowledge or incorrect information about their audience
they communicate with, according to Smith (1977) circulation and advertising sales departments generally
provide a picture of the audience for which they are writing for.

10. Advertiser’s Muscle
 Muscles of Advertiser’s relates to the influence of advertiser on media and it’s content.
 Because advertisement revenue is crucial to the commercial mass media, bigger the advertiser,
the more muscle it has.
 As (Jamieson & Campbell 1983) states that “Advertiser who are not afraid to use their financial
muscle to protest what they perceive as unfair treatment by the news segment of the mass
media”
 Modern multinational and advertisers have considerable power to suppress public message
which they don’t like.
 For instance, International Tobacco Companies wouldn’t allow media to show any content which
portray smoking injurious to health.

11.  Elizabeth Whelan (Exec. Director of American Council on Science & health Stated that “ I
have been told several times by editors to stay away from smoking topic while writing for
health topics for women magazines.
 Tobacco companies a long history of influencing the media content “ In 1957 Reader’s
digest published an article about the health effects of smoking which results in subsequently
withdrawn of advertisement by American tobacco company,
 Like wise billboard industry and film makers are also affected by those tactics of advertisers
 Film producers are often paid by advertisers to display smoking as an appropriate behavior.
 Weis & Bruke 1986 stated that “Tobacco companies offer to help underwrite film making
costs, in return film maker agrees to portray the key characters in the film as smokers.

12. Advertiser Created Television
Programming
 In 1980’s , A remarkable change was observed in children’s television programming-
the advent of advertiser created show.
 Advertisers show popular characters from children’s television on a long run turned
into toys. Later on each sold separately.
 In late 1980’s federal communications and commission and marketing have created
a favorable environment for children’s program length commercial, whose primary
function is to sell toys.

13.  Advertiser created program represent a new phase in relation among
advertisement and mass media.
 It is not limited to the children’s programming but Videocassettes, disc and
channels are filed with content produced by advertisers.
 According to Janus (1984) Advertisers created programs so skillfully that other
commercial information intervene the audience in such that they even didn’t
notice it or this information cant not be avoided or removed ultimately.

14. Government Controls
 In ideal situation, Government didn’t exert pressure on media, In reality it is not
possible, lets see how.
 First and for most factor is that the media itself Is one of the major advertiser for
private media organization.
 On international level there is also a chance that government of all countries exert
pressure over the mass media.
 In such countries where majority media is privately owned government exert
pressure through constructing the rules and regulations , taxes and licenses.

15.  When we talk about the western countries, their media would be influenced too,
like America , Canada and Greece also control their media but their influence
would not be on massive scale.
 Likewise in regions like Middle East, China , Latin America, Eastern Europe their
media is totally controlled by their government.
 According to Peter Galliner (1989), Government shouldn’t interfere the democratic
right of people’s freedom of speech, by controlling the media.
 Proceeding with this , In 1988 British organization BBC and independent radio
would be banned by home secretary due to Irish conflict.

16. First Amendment Freedoms
 First Amendment to the constitution declares : “ Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise there of ;
or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for redress of grievances.”
 The major point is that , the constitutional protection for the print media did not
carry over to television and radio.
 The First made the government a Laissez-Faire reviewer of the print media.

17.  For Broadcast media situation is bit different, they have a compulsion to get a
license, and government give license to those to which they believe will serve the
public interest.
 According to Michael G (President of NBC 1988) “Broadcasting is not a second
class citizen, when it comes to First amendment right. It is a ninth class citizen.
 Not only Broadcast media but all type of medium is highly pressurized by
politicians and government officials.
 At last very famous line Gartner Sum up the scenario “ Broadcasting today is
essentially a public policy laboratory in which the congress feels it can play with
impunity.”

18. Regulations and Laws in the United States
 Regulation of the broadcast industry evolves when the Federal Radio
Commission was establish which later on becomes Federal Communication
Commission(1934).
 There were three early decisions which directly affect the ownership of media:
1. The media would be privately rather than government owned
2. That limited terms instead of indefinite length licenses.
3. There would be both public and government stations.

19.  In 1949 FCC adopted Fairness Doctrine to protect public interest against media.
According to this media would behaved as “ Trustee” of public.
 Late on in 1959 Congress amend the 1934 Communication act “ to exempt equal
time regulation for political candidates appearing in regular newscast.
 FCC introduce more and more controls on media but the result was not more
diversity in content.
Later on FCC study showed that Fairness Doctrine’s net result was to chill free
speech.

20. Regulations and laws in the United States
 As a result, FCC finally entered in a period where they repealed Fairness Doctrine
and other regulations
 Killory & Bozzelli argue , that less government interference in broadcasting will
give far better assurance to the public who are the beneficiaries of a free press.
 This absence of regulation had a strong influence on media content:
1. Tabloid TV independently produced shows which emphasize murders, personal
lives, scandals because lack of gatekeeping of new standards.
2. Children’s Programming , the deregulatory has created a favorable environment
for advertiser to created such content which helps them to sell their toys and
products relevant to the children heroic celebrities.

21. Government policies and actions
 Information specialist:
There are 3000 U.S government workers who produce public information about
government competence and efficiency and government policies affect the content of
media in various ways.
 Less overt influence:
This type of influence includes news leaks, backgrounders and off the record interviews
can be used very effectively to set the agenda.
 Relationship with CIA: (Paltz and Entman;1981)
CIA gives tips to media about foreign matters coverage and media provides cover to CIA
agents.
 U.S Policy:
Policy affects media content, coverage of China in New York Times and Washington
Post was like “ the more the government favors U.S China relations the more media
wants the same” (Chang; 1989).

22. The Market Place
 In U.S each media operates in commercial market and compete.
Competition
 In Newspapers:
 In every market many newspapers compete for advertisers and readers and create monopoly.
 (McComb; 1987) compared 10 newspapers in U.S to find difference in graphics and found out that all same circulation size newspapers
were similar and the newspaper with smaller size was a bit modern in comparison to other 9 newspapers.
 (Entman;1985) compared 91 newspapers and found that competition doesn’t creates diversity in their content.
 In Television:
 T.v stations rarely operate in monopoly systems for revenue they find their own audience and grab their attention by working on their
content quality.
 Content in television has more diverse information unlike newspapers.
 After the invention of cable network increase in channels quantity has reduced diversity of content.(Gitlin ;1985)

23. Market characteristics
 A social culture of a community affects its media content and practices of its journalist.
 Larger newspapers which has larger market size have more spontaneous news, have their
own content and mostly contain exposes.
 Smaller newspaper that has smaller market size rely on feature and big news stories
because of lower budget, its goal is to become community’s voice.
 (McCombs; 1972) says that according to Scripps’ Constancy Hypothesis “amount of money
spent on media is relatively constant” spending in new comes at the cost of older one.
 Coverage of U.S and Canada depends on their percentage of trade with each other.

24. Institutional Affiliation
 Directors of large U.S media organizations have a web of affiliation with outside
media power structure i.e membership in business, trade association, social clubs
etc
 All influential newspapers have common ideology called corporate liberalism to
stabilize long term capitalism
 (Han;1988) media corporation board of directors are interlocked with board of
directors of non-media corporations.
 Financial institutions make changes in media decisions by varying their stock
ownership.

25. Technology
 Media content is also influenced by technology. New mass media can cover larger
geographical area, media practices are mainly alike so journalists can move from
one org. to other.
 (Randal;1979) newspapers that use full electronic editing have few eroors in
spelling, punctuation and typography.
 (Janus;1984) one standard message designed at headquarters could be
transmitted to all countries of distribution.
 Visual editing have removed the issue of language diversity and illitercy. Around
the globe.

26. Thank you