Identifying Opportunities to Use Global Media

This memorandum is in response to the Board of Directors’ request to investigate recent negative coverage of our corporation and the resulting comments from local pressure groups in two of our main markets. This memorandum provides a comprehensive review of which media, pressure groups and political groups are most influential in each of the company’s main markets, the United Kingdom (UK), India and Africa, followed by recommendations concerning how the organisation can better manage its relationships with those groups in the future by developing innovative ways of using the media. The memorandum is organized into two tasks. Task 1 identifies the relevant domestic, national and international media in the UK, Africa and India followed by an evaluation concerning the respective importance of the media in influencing partners, opinion formers, stakeholders, customers and the public at large in these markets and the influence of pressure and political groups, and media owners, on the media’s perception of inter-organisational policy and strategy. Finally, Task 2 reviews the challenges and pressures faced by the media in reporting the activities which deliver inter-organisational policy and strategy and a description concerning how best to exploit the media’s constraints and time-critical requirements to promote a positive outcome. An assessment and evaluation of the inter-reaction between news, public and stakeholder opinion and inter- organisational policy and strategy and the impact of global news media, and propose innovative methods of utilising this to the benefit of the inter-organisational policy and strategy concludes the memorandum.
Task 1
Identify relevant domestic, national and international media
UK:
The UK enjoys a mature and sophisticated media infrastructure that is among the best in the world due in part to the use of English as the language for media content and production (Bromley, 2016). While the UK does not have any major global media conglomerates physically based in the country, UK activities are extensively covered at the international level by by Time-Warner and News Corporation (Bromley, 2016). In addition, there are several major domestic media organisations represented, though, including most especially the BBC (the largest news broadcasting organisation in the world, Bertelsmann and Reuters (Bromley, 2016). It is important to keep in mind, however, that although the media landscape in the UK is typically conceptualised as a consolidated entity, it is actually comprised of English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh elements that reflect the specific interests of different parts of the country (Bromley, 2016).
At present, there are more than 61 million Internet subscribers in the UK (UK communications, 2018). In addition, besides electronic media, the UK also has world-class mainstream media resources including television (there is a universal mandatory license fee assessed all television that supports the BBC) as well as extensive radio stations and landline and mobile telephonic communications (Bromley, 2016). Despite a continuing decline in readership, there are also still eleven newspapers actively published in the UK (the Daily Record and Sunday Mail are Scottish publications) (Bromley, 2016).
Africa (Nigeria):
Although the media landscapes in the UK and India (discussed below) are highly complex, the media landscape in Africa is even more challenging to analyze because it is not a monolithic nation with a consolidated communications entity but rather a collection of 54 different nations, each of which has its own media resources, pressure groups and specific areas interests. Therefore, this analysis focuses on Nigeria, the most affluent nation in Africa with the most sophisticated communications landscape at present.
Although there are only about 154,000 telephone subscriptions in Nigeria today, the country has extensive regional and national cable and satellite television resources and each of the country’s 36 states operate their own stations (Nigeria communications, 2018). In addition, local, regional, national and international coverage is also provided by a radio network that includes government-owned stations that broadcast their own programming except for news coverage (Nigeria communications, 2018).
In addition, Nigeria has nearly 48 million Internet subscribers representing more than one-quarter of the entire population (Nigeria communications, 2018), but these communications resources are constrained by an inadequate infrastructure including frequent power shortages and outages (Toesland, 2017). Besides the foregoing communications resources, Nigeria also boasts a number of daily and weekly newspapers, including Punch, the Nation, Nigerian Tribune, Business Day and the Daily Times of Nigeria that provide domestic, national and international news coverage.
India:
With more than a billion subscribers, India has the second-largest number of telephone subscribers in the world today (India communications, 2018). Domestic, national and international services are provided by this extensive telephonic network. Likewise, India ranks third in the world in terms of Internet subscribers with more than 374 million users at present (India communications, 2018). The largest public television network in the country, Doordarshan, operates approximately 20 local, regional and national services together with a growing number of privately owned and operated television stations that are distributed through satellite and cable services to more than 200 million viewers (India communications, 2018). A modern radio network also provides extensive local, regional, national and international news coverage broadcast to every corner of India; however, the Indian government retains control over the AM radio frequencies which are limited to the All India Radio Network (India communications, 2018).
It is also noteworthy that in sharp contrast to the print media industry in many other countries, newspaper publication and readership remains strong in India today and newspaper circulation has actually increased since 2016 to 62 million today, representing an impressive 60% increase (Zehra, 2017). This significant growth in newspaper circulation rates has been attributed to several factors, including increased disposable income and literacy levels, the perceived credibility of the printed word and the fact that newspapers are delivered directly to subscribers homes (Zehra, 2017).
Evaluate the importance of the media in influencing partners, opinion formers, stakeholders, customers and the public at large
Besides the general public, pressure groups and consumers, the organisation’s partners also include manufacturing and distribution concerns as well as local government administrations and aid agencies, but the importance of the media in the UK, Africa and India differ somewhat as discussed below.
UK
Given the world-class status of the UK’s communications infrastructure, it is reasonable to suggest that the media has a profound impact on the perception of the organisation by its stakeholders. This importance, however, varies according to news source. For example, UK consumers may be more influenced by social media platforms compared to traditional mainstream media sources due in large part to the growing distrust of these sources. For example, major global media conglomerates in the UK, most especially News Corporation, have come under fire in recent years for their shady and even illegal news-gathering tactics. In this regard, Bernal (2015, p. 2) reports that, “Several books were published about News Corporation in the United Kingdom between 2012 and 2013 following the well-known phone hacking case, which highlighted the illegal methods used by journalists to get hold of information about celebrities, politicians and victims of scabrous events.” In each of these books, the point was made that the scandals had a negative effect on the public’s perception of the credibility of these news sources (Bernal, 2015).
Africa (Nigeria)
The explosive growth in digital communications in Nigeria in recent years indicates that this news source has assumed new importance and relevance in terms of how negative and positive coverage of organisations is perceived by stakeholders. While the electronic communications infrastructure in Nigeria remains constrained as described above, its influence has become far more pronounced as growing numbers of businesses and individual consumers rely on these resources to the exclusion of traditional mainstream media (Ericsson, 2016). These trends suggest that the organisation’s focus should be directed at social media platforms and other digital communication resources.
India:
In some ways, the communications landscape in India resembles that of the African continent since there is such diversity involved. This diversity and the country’s enormous population make it difficult to evaluate the relative importance of the media in influencing partners, opinion formers, stakeholders, customers and the public at large. In this regard, Stein (2016, p. 2) emphasises that, “In comparison to Europe or North America, India's communication landscape is neither well documented nor well understood, leaving its citizens at a disadvantage when it comes to assessing the role and influence of information, communication and media in political, economic and social life.” Notwithstanding these challenges, though, the sustained growth in print media readership and Internet usage indicates that these media resources has become far more influential in the past few years, a trend that is expected to continue well into the foreseeable future.
Evaluate the influence of pressure and political groups, and media owners, on the media’s perception of inter-organisational policy and strategy
Environmental pressure groups such as the Animal Liberation Front, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace have a significant effect on the media’s perception of inter-organisational policy and strategy to varying degrees in each of the three countries of interest in this memorandum. There are also a number of prominent political groups in each jurisdiction that are also influential. For instance, there are numerous political groups in the UK with representation in Parliament, including the Conservative Party, Co-operative Party, Democratic Unionist Party
Green Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, Scottish National Party, Sinn Féin, Social Democratic, UK Independence Party, Ulster Unionist Party, and the Labour Party, each of which has its own political agenda (Political parties in Parliament, 2018). Moreover, there are even more political groups in Nigeria where there are currently 68 parties recognized with the top three being All Progressive Congress, Peoples Democratic Party and All Progressives Grand Alliance (Political parties in Nigeria, 2018). Likewise, there are 36 political parties active at present in India, with the most influential being the Bahujan Samaj Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, Communist Party of India (three separate parties), Indian National Congress, Indian National Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and Nationalist Congress Party (Political parties in India, 2018). Taken together, it is clear that there are numerous pressure and political groups that exert significant influence on the media’s perception of inter-organisational policy and strategy that must be taken into account when formulating an effective communications strategy and these issues are discussed further in Task 2 below.
Task 2- 1500 words
Research and review the challenges and pressures faced by the media in reporting the activities which deliver inter-organisational policy and strategy.
The overarching challenge and pressure faced by the media is remaining sufficiently profitable by generating advertising revenues and subscriptions sales in order to remain in business. Unfortunately, this need frequently translates into sensationalising what would otherwise be regarded as business as usual. A second imperative involves accurate reporting of activities that deliver inter-organisational policy and strategy as well as informed views and opinions concerning their implications for different stakeholder groups. In this regard, the News Manual for Journalists points out that, “Journalists are professional people, trying to work within a code of professional ethics. This includes the need to be fair to all parties involved in any news story” (Pressures on journalists, 2017, p. 58). In addition, there is always the potential for vested interest groups and political parties to attempt to subvert news coverage that may place them in a bad light in any jurisdiction. For example, the Manual goes on to caution that, “Ministers will often put pressure on public service journalists to report things which are favourable to the government (even when they are not newsworthy) and not to report things which are unfavourable to the government” (Pressures on journalists, 2017, p. 58). Finally, both public and private sector interests may attempt to bribe journalists to report the news in one way or another depending on their needs (Pressures on journalists, 2017).
Describe how to exploit the media’s constraints and time-critical requirements to promote a positive outcome.
In today’s 24-hour news cycle, time-critical requirements mean that journalists are required to file stories on a regularly scheduled basis. These time-critical requirements, though, adversely affect the ability of journalists to double-check their facts and statistics for accuracy as well as reporting on other views about a given issue of interest. Nevertheless, there are some steps that organisations can take to exploit these constraints, including most especially the timing of press releases. Press releases that are published early in the day and early in the week have a greater likelihood of being picked up by mainstream media outlets while those published later in the day and later in the week have a correspondingly smaller likelihood of receiving attention from the media.
Assess and evaluate the inter-reaction between news, public and stakeholder opinion and inter- organisational policy and strategy.
It is reasonable to posit that politicians are always running for re-election and the political parties they represent are likewise vulnerable to inordinate pressure from groups that have a strong voice in the media. Therefore, the extent to which the opinion of stakeholders is influenced by the media will likely be the extent to which inter-governmental policies and strategies are affected. In addition, the potential also exists for the inter-reaction between news and popular opinion to be inordinately influenced by global media systems that are dominated by a few major actors. For instance, Kaul (2011, p. 38) makes the point that, “Global media systems have been considered a form of cultural imperialism. Cultural imperialism takes place when a country dominates others through its media exports, including advertising messages, films, and television and radio programming.” Although it is also reasonable to suggest that media cannot affect the outcome of a policy initiative in isolation of other forces, it is essential to keep in mind that the cumulative effects of news on public and stakeholder opinions can have a profound effect to the point where changes are made or initiatives cancelled altogether.
Evaluate the impact of global news media, and propose innovative methods of utilising this to the benefit of the inter-organisational policy and strategy.
A century ago, the global news media began to experience the benefits from long-distance electronic communications using the telegraph and telephone, allowing for the rapid news reporting of events that occurred at the local, regional, national and even international levels. Since that time, the revolution in communications has created a global news media that is virtually ubiquitous today and which can report the news instantaneously. There have been some significant changes in the global news media in recent years, however, that continue to reshape this media landscape. In this regard, Kaul (2011, p. 37) points out that, “The influence of media and particularly electronic media on social change is considered to be of paramount importance. Media such as satellite television, the Internet, computers, mobile phones etc. are among the primary forces behind current restructurations of social and cultural geography.”
There are a number of significant benefits for multinational corporations that can be realized by taking advantage of these trends on global media. For example, Kaul (2011, p. 38) adds that, “Electronic media facilitate an increased interconnectedness across vast distances and a temporal flexibility in social interaction.” Consequently, by incorporating various electronic media resources into communications strategies, multinational corporations can optimise the effects of their efforts to effect meaningful changes in formulating inter-organisational policy and strategy.
Furthermore, there is a growing body of evidence that multinational organisations that receive coverage from global media sources can develop and sustain a competitive advantage over those that do not. As Kaul (2011, p. 38) concludes, “The transnational news services with a global or regional reach, such as CNN, BBC World, Euronews, Sky News, and Star News, have come to be regarded as the town criers of the global village [and] their continuous, on-line, and live distribution of news to all corners of the world has become emblematic of a world in which place and time mean less and less.” Although the effectiveness of the global media in actually distributing timely news to “all corners of the world” differs from country to country, the three nations evaluated herein have experienced explosive growth in these communication resources and it just makes good business sense to take advantage of these resources to the maximum extent possible.


References
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