This lecture series introduces students to how audiences are measured in the media industries and why this matters. It begins by explaining the basic economics of audience measurement and how the industry is organised. It then explores key criticisms, including ‘audience commodification’ and advertising fraud. The course then looks at how audience measurement developed in the twentieth century, initially serving newspapers, magazines, and radio and television stations, and then websites. This helps students understand how today’s methods evolved. Next, the series examines media audience measurement in the twenty-first century. As well as describing contemporary methods of multiplatform audience measurement, the course examines the disruption caused by streaming, social media, and new online companies, and the responses by governments and the legacy media ecosystem. Finally, students learn how audience data are used in practice—by advertisers and marketers, but also by researchers and policymakers. Overall, the course provides an accessible introduction to how media audiences are measured, why, and with what consequences.
- المعلم: Liselotte Drescher
- المعلم: Neil Thurman