A New Tool for Measuring Concentration in the Media Industry (The First Approbation of a Theoretical Development)

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Sergey S. Smirnov

PhD in Philology, Associate Professor at the Chair of Media Theory and Economics, Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

e-mail: smirnov_s@rambler.ru

Section: Media Economics

The paper presents the historical background, theoretical underpinning and methodology of creating a new tool for measuring concentration in the media industry. Conceptually, the development of SMCI (the Synergetic Media Concentration Index) appears to be an extension of the idea realized by MOCDI (the Media Ownership Concentration and Diversity Index). The first results of calculating the new index in an assessment of the market environment in the Russian media industry are provided. As a starting object of measurement, the author selected federal television, the largest and most transparent segment.

Keywords: media industry, segment, concentration, index, revenues, audience, number of media outlets
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