Theoretical framework for Newspaper Business

Tagged: Business & Management

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2.0 Introduction

Print media were regarded as a powerful and economical means for information dissemination. Newspapers are regarded as society’s “mirror,” helping to reflect current events and pleading for public attention. Indian newspapers have seen significant growth because of the internet and mobile devices, and they are becoming increasingly popular as information sources. Therefore, it will only be necessary for the publishers when they release content that is both useful and well-liked by the target audience (Ali, 2013). According to statistics, people prefer reading publications in their native languages. Thus, regional publishers try to publish editions in new cities where a sizable population is literate in those languages (Khan et al., 2014).

2.1 Theories and its definitions

2.1.1 User and Gratification Theory

The most influential theory in media research is the User and Gratification theory. The theory of wants and pleasure is another name for it. U&G’s philosophy focuses on how media consumers use the medium. The thesis focuses on the media’s effect and impact on its audience. U&G is a well-known media usage theory used to examine how people use mass media, the internet, and social media. It helps understand how people use media and their motivations (Chen & Chan, 2017). The author further noted that studies related to the relevant theory also looked at the psychological process of audience exposure to various forms of mass media. According to U&G, the fundamental idea is that people’s decisions regarding the media they consume are driven by their desire to satisfy a wide range of requirements.

2.1.2 Agenda setting theory

The foundation of agenda-setting theory lies in psychological and social ideas. Humans require orientation, which can be thought of in terms of the relevance and uncertainty humans encounter. A thorough examination of the psychology behind agenda-setting effects has led researchers to conclude that NFO is only one component of the explanation for why agenda-setting happens (McCombs & Stroud, 2014). Numerous studies have shown that media coverage affects the political agendas of different parties’ issue priorities but that the media’s ability to define political agendas depends on several variables. Nevertheless, depending on the particular study, the precise circumstances under which the media influence the political agenda tend to vary (Sciarini & Tresch, 2019). Politics, in general, and agenda setting, in particular, can benefit from social media: The swift development of social media, notably the social networking website Twitter, has opened up new channels for political agenda-setting that have an increasingly noticeable impact (Lewandowsky et al., 2020). The increasing adoption of social media has made it possible to apply agenda-setting theory to a broader range of media outlets and more efficiently to various content beyond the conventional concentration on public affairs. Academics can study salience transfer between a wide range of agenda types. Numerous operational definitions of these agendas are evolving, even within the dominating news media agenda public agenda dyad. The movement of the most important current topics from the news media to the public agenda, as these evolving agendas are determined by a more excellent range of content and communication channels, will only be one of many agenda-setting processes (Akanda & Haque, 2013).

2.1.3 Analysis of content

In a structured manner, content analysis is regarded as text analysis. It examines both the formal aspects and the content of the communication. The underlying ideas and meanings of text elements like words and sentences are uncovered with pattern analysis (Yang & Miller, 2008).

To make observations on the message being transmitted, texts are empirically tagged using a coding system developed by the researchers. The research method for choosing the questions related to communications is thought to be content analysis. Communication content was transformed by systematically applying categorization rules to data being compared and summarized (Babbie & Wagenaar, 1999). The agenda-setting effect is less pronounced for obtrusive concerns that people can see firsthand and for other issues that the audience is well-informed about. When people have enough political understanding to refute the media’s assertions, the press has limited influence over the agenda (McCombs & Reynolds, 2002). Additionally, the content analysis uses both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

Kumar and Sarma (2015) analyzed the effectiveness and difficulties with the Indian English and Vernacular newspapers. The purpose of this study was to investigate how technology affects daily newspapers. Increased advertising must be made in the print sector. Since the advertisers are reliant on it and occasionally they may respond negatively, this could be challenging (Kumar & Sarma, 2015). To grow its readership, the print sector must expand into new areas and publish material relevant to various demographics and age groups. The developed markets, whose readership is declining, find it challenging to implement this.

2.1.4 Media and Modernity Theory

Through creating and applying a distinctive social theory of communication media, Thompson addresses these and other concerns in this crucial new position. He argues that the development of communication technologies has altered the spatial and temporal structure of social life, resulting in new kinds of activity and contact unrelated to being in the same place. The effects of this transformation are extensive and touch on many aspects of our lives, from the most private parts of private experience and self-education to the changing nature of authority and visibility in the public sphere (Thompson, 1995). Furthermore, supporting domestic producers of goods for export in the real sector of the economy, particularly science-intensive businesses that serve as the cornerstone of economic modernization, is one of the critical tenets of the nation’s development plan.

The media is a temporary component of society and culture and an independent entity that stands and manages its interactions with other social and cultural institutions. The dual nature of this structural connection creates a variety of preconditions for the usage and interpretation of media messages by senders and recipients under particular settings, which in turn affects interpersonal interactions. The context of a mediatizing society and culture must therefore be considered while discussing traditional problems regarding media use and media effects (Hjarvard, 2008). By employing communication media, we can engage with people with whom we do not share a shared space-temporal framework. These unique spatial and temporal attributes and the unique features of the medium utilized will impact our contact’s nature.

Concepts of societal repercussions are also addressed in the mediatization notion. The term “mediatization” defines the function of media changes in a broader sense. Distinguishes between processes in four ways to demonstrate how media affects human contact and communication. First, the capacity of human touch is expanded to account for both location and time; second, social activities that were previously carried out in person are replaced by media (Krotz, 2007).

Therefore, it is clear from the discussion above that technical advancements, distribution channels, brand perception, advertising, and newspaper copy sales are the aspects that have an impact on the newspaper industry’s financial performance. The study’s theoretical framework is depicted in the picture below.

Figure 1: Theoretical framework for Newspaper Business

References

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• Ali, S. (2013). A Study of Consumer Behaviour & Loyalty In Print Media – Challenges & strategic prescriptions with Special reference to English, Hindi, Marathi News Paper readers-Mumbai. Journal of Research in Commerce & Management, 1(4), 64–70. https://www.abhinavjournal.com/images/Commerce_&_Management/Apr12/9.pdf
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• Sciarini, P., & Tresch, A. (2019). The political agenda-setting power of the media: the Europeanization nexus. Journal of European Public Policy, 26(5), 734–751. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13501763.2018.1458890
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