iieiiei1eWrkers - Leicester Research Archive - University of Leicester

In summary then, we can say that the government's regulatory efforts in the
1970s focused primarily on advertising content without seriously reforming the
structure of ownership and control or instituting any system of public
accountability, leaving the fundamental question of (lie quantity and quality of
programme production unresolved. It was however, the dynamics of the media
industries and the economy in general that prompted the commercial network to
change. In the 1980s particularly, military radio that had so far yielded little
to any political/legal constraints embarked on a process of reform in response to
external economic pressures. This is our next topic of discussion.
4.3 Radio and the Contour of a Media Industry in Transition
As demonstrated in the previous section, commercial radio stations are business
enterprises and as such are subject to the logic of profit niaximisation. They
are either wholly or partially supported by the inflow of advertising revenue.
Working within this context, they compete against one another for the largest
share of the market. The discussion in this section focuses on the economic
constraints in the media industries in relation to the development of commercial
radio. There are two main areas that we shall explore; the extent of control by
advertisers throughout the industries; and the increasing control of large
corporations in the major media such as, television, the press, and the music
industry.
How does control of the media circumscribe (heir content? Is the
relationship a question of setting the parameters of production or is it an
ideological apparatus for those who own the corporations? The latter part of
this section provides a sketch of the range and direction of cultural products in
the niedia industries resulting from structural constraints and from the dynamics
of the economy in general.
Radio and economic constraints within the media industries
In a commercial media system advertisers are eager to have a combination of
media channels at their disposal, not so much for 'creative advertising', as
the industry would have us believe, but rather for reason of cost-effectiveness.
Both advertisers and advertising agencies seek the lowest cost per thousand
members of the target group for the product being promoted. This can be
achieved either through the national medium which holds the largest share of
(lie undifferentiated market, or through specialised outlets which reach those with
high spending power. During the 1960s and 1970s when television was still an
urban medium, radio was seen as the most cost-effective medium to reach the
mass audience.
(northeast) network, put it; 19
As Rungtanakiat, a radio entrepreneur of the 2nd Region Army
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