Authors
Abstract
Received: 10/11/2015
Accepted: 01/25/2016
Extended Abstract
Introduction and problematic of research: we start our argument with an axiom, i.e., today's world needs timely and accurate information. Accordingly, there is a severe competition in media arena between written media, visual media, audio media and digital media to attract audiences (Zillmann, 2006). The multiplicity of media provides faster access to news and information resources for different manners leading to competition between various media. In such circumstances, newspaper that must pay more managing costs while suffering from less flexibility becomes more vulnerable. Some factors such as being time-consuming, expensiveness of publishing has worsened such problem. Also Managers of some newspapers do not have experience in economic areas and do not know much about how to run a business institution in such a competitive area. Accordingly, they always look for financial assistance from other organizations. Such financial assistances usually lead to being susceptible to influences that affect newspapers and their managing policies. This procedure leads to a distancing of newspapers from their prophecy of informing and transparency and fair criticism in society (Asada, 2007).
Rapid access to cyber space and the rapidness of spreading the news causes the superiority of digital and visual Media over written ones. The fact that how written media can preserve their audiences and then increase them and maintain themselves as a business institution in a competitive markets and sustain themselves and have profitability, has become the most important problem of a media manager.
Looking into the world of newspapers, it becomes evident that because there is a lack of suitable returns not to mention the political situations that affect media especially written media, there is a lack of tendency among nongovernmental newspapers not to invest in this area. The issue of how to increase the social-economic position of newspapers in nongovernmental areas and increase the attention of audiences and increase the number of audience and have economic benefits is the central issue of this article.
Theoretical Framework: There are a number of articles on the issue of media ownership that refer to the question of how to increase the influence of media on audiences. We are going to review some of these articles here in order to come up with a framework that addresses the issue in Iran.
Authoritarian media system theory
Among managing and media ownership systems, authoritarian system has the longest history and geographically speaking is the most widespread system. After invention of print media, the foundation of this theory started to grow. Publishing a work took the path of an agreement between the publisher and the power source, through which the power source provides a copyright and the publisher protects it. The Authoritarian theory accepts that there are some sets of specific principles in various aspects of an organized society that covers functions and goals of such society (Mathew, 2007).
Media freedom-oriented system theory
Based on Media Freedom-oriented System Theory, important functions of mass media include informing and entertaining and then making a foundation to provide financial support, and guarantee financial independence of media by promoting major sales and incomes from commercial activities (Wildman, 2006).
Basically the most important goal of media, as the theory predicts, is to help discovering the truth and to cooperate with solving political issues. Freedom- oriented system theory maintains that if media are not multiple and diverse, then some of the information that reach people may be wrong or irrational.
Theory of social responsibility of the media
This theory approves the importance of the role of media in serving the political system and informing people and protecting individual’s freedom but also argues that the media so far have not done their task well. Although the media has the role of serving the economy but such a service is not more important than consolidation of democratic practices and provision of public knowledge. This theory accepts the fact that the role of media is to offer entertainment but argues that it must be a good entertainment.
Our theoretical framework is based on a synthesis that combines major elements of aforementioned theories. It should nevertheless be mentioned that because there are some unknown elements in the nature of research problem we leave some doors open to further theoretical debates that will come out of this grounded-theory-based research.
Methodology: The methodology of this research is based on Grounded Theory. In this theory the main form of gathering data is interviewing with media managers, investigators, and professors of media management.
Some primary interviews were done with 12 people which were open interviews and unstructured. Following, and based on the answers to the questions and following coding the primary interviews, we came across with some new information and used them in coming research questions and changed the questionnaire’s structure. All of the questions were relevant to the main question of the investigation. The information extracted from these interviews was then analyzed in accordance with three sections of coding, i.e., open, pivotal and selective.
Findings and discussion: Some of the research results refer to a model based on which the position of nongovernmental media should be strengthened. This model composed of six dimensions (propositions) as follows: 1-the formation of suitable political mechanisms to assist privatization of newspapers, 2- designing proper economic mechanisms, 3- formation of some legal mechanisms, 4- modifying cultural mechanisms, 5- modifying research mechanisms, and; 6-once five previous propositions are met then they will help the promotion of nongovernmental media and newspapers.
This article tries to discuss the cause of failure of private sector in newspaper cases and to offer proper solutions to increase the socio-economic position of private sector in the newspaper industry. The government must determine its duties vis-a-vis media in areas of management and policy-making. The most important task of the government is to determine its policy-making framework.
Making a clean economic environment in which the private sector can have investment, also drawing a managerial orientation for entrepreneurial bodies, and helping media managers to change their framework from a traditional media market to a completely competitive market that needs direct and correct decisions, can improve the socio-economic position of the media and can increase the speed of the country’s progress. Meanwhile the media practitioners need to change the structure of their thought and attitudes and are in need of legal protections so to operate in safe and confident environment. This will give them a brighter future and help them to perform their job of informing in a consciences way.
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