FINANCING STRUCTURE OF NEWSPAPER MARKET

Yıl 2013, Cilt: 13 Sayı: 26, 301 - 322, 01.12.2013

Tuğba Aydoğan

Öz

Although media are placed in different market structures depending on their
nature, it is not easy to determine this structure. The conditions requiring for full
categorization may both vary according to countries and regions and they are affected by
the nature of competition, existing institutional structures, technological developments
and company decisions.
It is known that media market does not compose fully competitive market where
homogenous commodities are produced. Media market offers goods and services for
different needs and demands though they may be substituted with one another and
consequently has an audience and reader mass preferring their products. This situation
directs market actors to choose to renew and differentiate their products for gaining
continuity and to activities including advertisement and promotion.
The fact that the obstacles before the entrance of media market are high is
caused by characteristics that determine market structure. Both the fact that first copy
costs, among typical characteristics of press industry are high and rapid fall of those costs
in later stages due to the saving provided by the existence of scale economies and
circulation spiral valid for the media market coming into the agenda are elements
composing main entrance obstacle. Big newspaper having circulation spiral harden the
power they have in the market by appearing more attractive to the readers, the chance of
small newspapers for surviving in the market disappears. The „S shaped life curve‟ of the
media composed of four stages is another explanation for product development of the
media. Birth (poor sales), adolescence (exponential state with continuous and high sales),
maturity (fall of distribution rate)-old age (stagnation in sales) and death (fall or complete
cease of sale). While the price effect plays role in launching distribution, fall in demand is
rather the consequence of cultural behaviors. For this reason media sale curve may be
risen by preparing strategy of restarting or performing renewal (Desmoulins, 1993: 16,
17).
Due to the fact that communication sector have scale economy characteristics,
the concept of natural monopoly is included in researches related to communication.
Characteristic of depth scale is in question for the media sector in addition to scale
economy. The concept of depth scale represents that saving is gained due to
diversification of outcomes because in the case costs are shared existence of a single
company rather than separate companies providing service increases efficiency (Geray,
2005: 161). This situation which we may define as scope economies as well, enables any
content produced for any media to be used in different sub-markets in the sector. It
represents the case that an interview may be published or broadcasted in a newspaper,
radio or television. For this reason operating in more than one segment in the sector de is
a strategy that educes average production costs. And the concept of synergy which the
trend of becoming holding is based upon relies on this view as well. Vertical
intensification which represents collection of activities including content, press,
distribution etc. in the media sector under the same roof reduces costs and is preferred.
Another significant characteristic of media market where mutual dependency is
high is product diversification. When press is in question the activities for product diversification vary. Different applications may be used in the times of making
newspapers available for readers, the contents may be prepared by adopting different
mottos suitable for certain ideologies, they may have formal differences including page
layout, headline or press technique or choose applications that could provide quality
diversification including giving more correct news, peculiarity of articles or news, share
allocated for ads. However the size of this differentiation is restricted to some degree to
the concern of losing the identity of the newspaper and the desire to remain as substitution
product.
The assumption of the neo-classical approach that competition arises in the price
due to each good and service having many purchasers and sellers and the intervention of
any actor cannot be in question in price oriented market does not realize in the media
market in this context.
In the case the costs are low and the sales figures and product price is high
circulation revenue increases in the media sector. Pricing policy of the media market is
determined by observing market price as required by its oligopolistic structure.
Furthermore determining nature of revenue expectation of newspapers and utility
expectation of the advertiser is in question. Although high price increases sales revenues
in the sector for newspapers, this may cause decrease in circulations. And depending on
this advertisement revenues decrease as well. Although low circulation decreases the
demand of advertisers it may cause decrease in circulation as well since it may affect the
interest of the reader in the newspaper. On this basis, it is found out that price competition
in the sector realize more often in the case that prices are low. The policy of increasing
revenue by increasing circulation through low prices and making use of circulation spiral
is generally implemented by companies with competition superiority particularly in terms
of production cost and distribution.
Whether the price elasticity of demand in the media market is high or low vary
among newspaper. Newspapers are not fully homogeneous products. There are
differences based on editorial characters. But those differences do not led to impassable
monopolistic power on the consumers. Additionally the purchasing habits of consumers
named as brand loyalty vary. It is found out that the demand elasticity of newspapers
having high amount of consumer income in the market namely the demand is rigid. Under
these conditions consumer surplus indicates the difference between the price agreed to be
paid for the product and the price to be paid for the product in the market. This difference
is high for some newspapers because the news contents and analyses of those newspapers
are valuable and important for their readers or followed by mass readers since they are
published under certain tendencies in ideological terms (Doyle, 2008: 129). The
newspapers of Radikal, Cumhuriyet or Zaman specified to have characteristics of
monopolistic competitive market in Turkey may be given as an example for this sort of
newspapers.
Picard determined in his study where he categorized media market that the press
sector is placed between oligopolistic and monopolistic markets. In the study the
newspaper industry is discussed from two directions within oligopolistic structure. When
the monopolistic companies gain profit over the expected profit margin, in order to keep those gains continuous, it struggles in fields of production with all aspects including price,
product diversification, quality, distribution and promotion of products. Verbal contracts
may also be entered as a result of recognition of share right in the market by the
companies for each other. The significant point here is not to missile about the price
(Picard, 1989: 32,33; Litman, 2006: 32).
The purpose of the essay is to examine the market structure on the basis of product
characteristics of newspaper market, to make emphasis on different market characteristics
that it contains, to mention about financing differences of newspapers and explained the
operation of market on these bases.
Traditionally written press is one of the most important segments within the
media market in addition to radio and television. Newspaper industry changing in line
with the development of electronic media provides its continuity from the consumption of
products as it is the case for all commercial sectors. However those products cause
differences due to their production and consumption and peculiarity. Media industry and
more particularly newspaper industry have a structure and process different from the other
sectors of the economy.

Anahtar Kelimeler

the newspaper industry, financial structure, hurriyet newspaper

GAZETE PİYASASI FİNANSMAN YAPISI

Öz

Medya piyasasının homojen malların üretildiği tam rekabet piyasasını oluşturmadığı bilinmektedir. Medya piyasasında birbiri yerine ikame edilebilirliği olsa da farklı ihtiyaç ve isteklere yönelik mal ve hizmet sunmakta ve dolayısıyla kendi ürünlerini tercih eden bir izleyici ve okur kitlesine sahip olmaktadır. Bu durum piyasa aktörlerini süreklilik kazanmak adına ürünlerini yenileme, farklılaştırma yoluna gitmeye; reklam ve promosyon gibi faaliyetlere yöneltmektedir. Birbirlerinden editoryal karakterlerine dayanan farklılıkları tüketiciler üzerinde aşılmaz monopolististik bir güç oluşturmamaktadır. Bazı gazetelerin haber içerikleri, analizleri okuyucusu için değerli ve önemlidir ya da ideolojik açıdan belli eğilimler çerçevesinden yayınlanmakta olmaları nedeniyle okuyucu kitleleri tarafından takip edilmektedir (Doyle, 2008: 129). Türkiye’de monopolcü rekabet piyasası özellikleri taşıdığı belirtilen Radikal, Cumhuriyet ya da Zaman gazeteleri bu tip gazetelere örnek gösterilebilmektedir. Makalenin amacı gazete piyasasının ürün özelliklerinden hareketle piyasa yapısını incelemek, içerdiği farklı piyasa özelliklerine vurgu yapmak, gazetelerin finansman farklılıklarına değinmek ve buradan hareketle piyasanın işleyişini açıklamaktır. Geleneksel olarak yazılı basın medya piyasası içinde radyo ve televizyonun yanında en önemli mecralardan biridir. Elektronik medyanın gelişimi ile değişen gazete endüstrisi sürekliliğini her ticari sektörde olduğu gibi ürünlerinin tüketiminden sağlamaktadır. Ancak bu ürünler, üretimi ve tüketimi, özgünlüğü gereği farklılıklara neden olmaktadır. Medya endüstrisi, daha küçük çapta gazete endüstrisi ekonominin diğer sektörlerinden daha farklı bir yapıya ve işleyişe sahiptir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Gazete endüstrisi, finansal yapı, hürriyet gazetesi