Media Business Models

The business models of traditional media are experiencing a profound crisis. One of the core issues of this crisis is the increasing breakdown of the value chain model – a model based on the numbers of readers, viewers, and users which the mass media can «sell» in exchange for advertising revenue. These formerly stable models of the media value chain are now in perpetual flux, requiring adaptation to the rapid changes in technology and the volatility of user preferences. Can media companies cope with these new circumstances and at the same time fulfill their traditional roles? This volume addresses this question, and others, to explore scenarios, phenomena, and developments which point to new configurations arising from new media business models, innovative ways in which media practitioners engage their audiences, intercontinental media phenomena, user-generated content, and the general disconnect between print and online media paradigms. Contributors point to a way out of the general bewilderment, providing answers to frequently asked questions, and ideas for new guidelines and solutions.

Author Biography

Klaus Zilles (PhD, University of Heidelberg) is Associate Professor in the Blanquerna School of Communication Studies and International Relations at Ramon Llull University in Barcelona, Spain. His published books include Rolando Hinojosa: A Reader’s Guide (2001), En la frontera: I migliori racconti della narrativa chicana (2008), and Life Without Media (2013), co-edited with Joan Cuenca and Eva Comas. Joan Cuenca (PhD, Ramon Llull University) is Asociate Professor in the Blanquerna School of Communication Studies and International Relations at Ramon Llull University in Barcelona, Spain. He is a founding member of the research group ESTISMA (Strategy and Issues Management in Public Relations and Corporate Communication). He is the author of Auditorías de Relaciones Públicas (2012) and a co-editor of Life Without Media (2013).