Understanding EU media through data – statistics

What the chapter covers

Introduction: the media and data

Sources

Classifying and gathering

Statistics

Data

Probability

Statistical inferences

P value, or ‘the observed level of significance’

Data description

Preliminary investigation: are newspapers and print products in decline in the EU?

The context and the data questions: using qualitative methods

Politics

Economics

Social or societal factors

Culture

History

Linear and non-linear ways of looking at data

Learning objectives

When you have completed this chapter you will be able to:

Appreciate key statistical concepts that can be used in the assessment of the European media market.

Outline and illustrate the debates surrounding market definitions in both global and European terms.

Identify some of the keywords used by statisticians and the useful concepts they illustrate.

Link statistical inferences to market analysis.

Themes

Below you will find a simple statement or series of statements around the six themes. They should not be read as a given fact. They are more like hypotheses which need to be proved, discussed, debated and then used in your own analysis of the subject. The ideas and approaches in this book are always to be considered with an open mind, this is important in university study and is what makes it distinct from pre-university study.

Diversity of media

Often it is only through strong statistical evidence that we can begin to understand the diversity of the media across the EU. Table 1.2 at the end of Chapter 1 shows us the degree of convergence and diversity in the EU member states in relation to size of populations, wealth (GDP), educational attainment and so on. All this data is important in measuring societies and their engagement with the media.

Internal/external forces for change

Measuring societies through data collection is an important aspect of statistical work, but so too are comparisons. As we shall see in Chapter 3 on economics, the data is often really valuable in comparative work, especially when we are beginning to review markets, media penetration and changes in consumer behaviour. At the same time, we need to know how debate and interpretation of statistics are used, and this is a very important part of our critical understanding. On the surface the data may seem to be reasonably clear, but underneath lie real dilemmas that are both interesting and in need of investigation.

Complexity of the media

In the major debates occurring across the EU about the role of the market in media provision, measuring activity gives us an indication of the media trends. This is where the complexity of the media can often be found. In newspaper publication, for example, private provision is normal, but there are many exceptions where some newspapers receive state subsidy (France and Luxembourg amongst others). In the broad sweep of analysis, is this relevant? Being so small a percentage of activity it is probably not statistically important for the EU overall, whereas the fact that newspapers are overwhelmingly controlled by the private sector is significant. However, this is not the case for public sector broadcasting, especially television in Europe which comes out of a public sector history. Herein lies a real quandary over the future of public broadcasting and its impact upon society. This has traditionally been measured by audience ratings. Assessing the impact of the media from both public and private sectors demands a careful balance of quantitative and qualitative views and this is where statistics can be an essential tool.

Multi-levels

The extent to which the media is seen to be developed nationally, trans-nationally and even globally often comes down to a judgement on percentages. The over-riding presence in the market of US audio-visual production, estimated at about 70% (see Chapter 11), is an important piece of evidence for policy-makers let alone advertisers. Measuring this aspect of the media again is a statistical need.

European integrative environment

The degree to which the EU member states’ media has been integrated can be qualitatively judged but also, crucially, quantitatively measured. In all the heated debates about EU governance and the media, the data is very useful and is often a revelation in terms of European integration. We can measure, if we define properly, the amount of EU film-making, for example, and its reception by European consumers. We can judge where mobile use is being changed by EU policy-making on price per call by looking at correlations. Correlations can be used in many ways: minutes used by month of data collection linked to post-policy change or phone company implementation.

Cultural values

Measuring cultural values may seem difficult. However, with differences in language and consumer behaviour across the EU, these are also important elements that we need to reflect upon when using statistical arguments in addition to the standard qualitative literature-review based interpretations.

Essentials

Media policy and media business decisions rely upon collecting and interpreting data. Misinterpretation and poor-quality judgement can spell make or break for a media product. From producers to consumers, we rely on data to decide what to listen to, what to read and what to watch and see. Equally making EU policy judgements and then interpreting them and translating the measures into the national context, all need some level of measurement and data analysis.

Although this chapter is not designed to make us statisticians, data is increasingly used by the media analyst and the media practitioner. It is useful to have some critical background to the subject when we are judging trends, particularly when doing comparative work across the EU. This is the purpose of this chapter.