Media Business Models: Breaking the Traditional Value Chain

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.