Institution

The study of institutions is very important because the role shapes the form of any text being made. In order to analyse the relationship between the text and the target audience, we need to think about how this influences both the production and the recieving of the text. You need to be able to identify the institution that has made the text (for unseen exercises you will be told the name) and to know enough about that institution to be able to assess how this has affected the way the text is shaped. An example of an institution is Time Warner.

What is an institution?

The institution is responsible for a text that is the body which made the text. The shape of a media institution and the texts it creates is usually formed by a trade-off between 4 crucial influences: money (or lack of it), Ownership (and the degree of control this involves), Artistic or social otivations (wanting to produce certain texts) and Target audience (needing to attract a particualr audience or being dependent on substaining a particular audience.)

For example a broadcast institution may be required to provide a certain number of factual programmes or programmes for a particular social group. This would have a significant impact on scheduling and on the production process. A small independent producer may want to amke big budget action/ adventure movies but may have limited funds and thus have to compromise on special effects.

Identification of an institution:
1. What institution created a particular text

2.How this institutional context has shaped the text

3.What ideologies are therefore established in the text

4.What institutional codes and conventions are used in the text.

Types of institution

Media institutions can broadly be divided into three types: commercial, public service and independent.

Commercial institutions have to make money to survive newspapers have to see advertising space and sell copies; boradcasters have to generate advertising revenue. They cannot afford to produce texts which will attract small audiences-especially niche audiences as the advertisers will want to access to large and stable audiences.

PSB
The BBC is a different type of organisation a public service broadcaster which is required to provide a public service when boradcasting and not be driven by commercial influences. In other worlds, the BBC must provide a range of programmes for different social groups, including minority groups and niche audiences, without needing to justify this programming commercially.

Independent institution
In general, independent organisation are essentially commercial since they need to all sufficent copes (eg magazines) or sell their programme to a TV channel for broad cast fo example. Their motivation may well be less commercial but most independents have to sell their texts somehow, in order to survive.

News corp- World's third largest media conglomerate (behind the disney company and time warner company) as of 2008, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009. The company's chairman, chief executive officer and founder is Rupert Murdoch.