Lotz Reading Question 2

The commercial system is vastly different than the non-commercial system mainly in its profit-driven roots. Although it may seem like only one difference, it plays a role in every aspect of the way media is created and thus, how the culture is affected by that media. In a commercial system, a prospective show or program needs to promote itself to networks and the network has to believe it can be successful before it can be aired. Therefore, these producers and networks have to understand what people want and what kind of audiences will watch these programs. Networks are always looking to get headlines and have people talking about their shows; they need unique and interesting programming to stand out from the other stations. On the flip side, a non-commercial system doesn't have a profit-driven mindset and this allows them to minimize the amount of time they spend on promoting their shows and focus more on the educational quality and the meaning of their programming. Instead of making what the audience will watch and pitching it to someone looking to make money, they create something that will inform the audience and disregard if they have a large audience. As long as they are serving a certain portion of the audience they are satisfied, it is not a race to the top, but more of a challenge of quality and fulfilling the societal need. This article focuses on how commercial programs are promoted before they reach the audience. Promotion of non-commercial programs is not nearly as crucial since it is less interested in profit and more interested in filling that need.