Essays on the Economics of Media Platforms Dries De Smet Please silence your mobile phone Public Defense Essays on the Economics of Media Platforms Dries De Smet Public Defense Overview SellersBuyers Overview Quantity? Price? 5 Overview Do newspapers write more about their advertisers? Do traditional websites gain from aggregators? Is the telephone directory regulation efficient? 1 2 3 6 Newspapers Do newspapers write more about their advertisers? newsworthiness Why are these articles in the newspaper? Why are these articles left out? Ideal newspaper Actual newspaper 7 Newspapers to please advertisers? Why are these articles in the newspaper? To the outsider's eye, this is very tempting. Advertisers have money, the media need money, so they must be vulnerable to some kind of pressure from advertisers. It's a fine theory, but its truth is limited Nick DaviesRichard Shortway The cold, hard facts of magazine publishing mean that those who advertise get editorial coverage 8 Newspapers Survey Flemish journalists Ive been working for 40 years as a journalist and I never felt any pressure. Not in the past, not now. Advertisers never reach us directly. But there is an enormous pressure to write about certain topics. to please advertisers? Why are these articles in the newspaper? 9 Newspapers Test for Flemish Newspapers 7 27 % 10 Aggregators Do traditional websites gain from aggregators? 1 23 11 Aggregators BuyersSellers Platform Advertisers 12 Aggregators Buyers SellersPlatform Advertisers Sellers 13 Aggregators Platform Aggre- gator Buyers Advertisers + - Sellers ? + - + Aggregators 14 - Importance advertisement revenues Importance market expansion ? + ? Pssst ? Directories ? ? Universal Service Obligation ! ! Is the telephone directory regulation efficient? Ensure that at least one comprehensive directory is available to end-users Directories AvailableComprehensive ? ? ! x 17 Conclusion Is the telephone directory regulation efficient? No 1.Availability 2.Comprehensiveness Do traditional websites gain from aggregators? Sometimes, but Websites might allow aggregators even if it is not profitabl Do newspapers write more about their advertisers? Yes, but 1.Magnitude is small 2.Little pressure on journalists 1 2 3 Essays on the Economics of Media Platforms Dries De Smet Public Defense