The political economy of the media

Question 1

The political economy of the media: what is it?

Answer 1

• Approach to media studies focusing on its relationship to political & economic organisations : how they shape the media, its production, circulation and distribution
• Attention at media ownership & financial support
• Roots in marxist theory

Question 2

Media concentration (or consolidation)

Answer 2

• Share of the mass media being owned by fewer and fewer organizations/individuals
• Affects media diversity (content and support) and democracy

Question 3

Two risks of media commercialization

Answer 3

1. Media outlets echo the political views of their readers
2. Media outlets echo the view of their shareholders/owners to receive funding

Question 4

Political economy and commercialisation

Answer 4

Political economy “follows the money” when tracing the independence of a new organisation

Question 5

Fox News example
- Fall of Fox

Answer 5

Fox News called Joe Bidens 2020 presidential election which angered its audience - this caused a decline in its viewers. At the same time, Trump (who was a former advocate for Fox News) has been advocating for extreme right wing news sources that have been dominating Fox News… For Fox News to regain their prominence, they have to reevaluate their editorial stance

Question 6

The Frankfurt School

Answer 6

Group of German philosophers influential in the field of critical, social and culture studies - took interdisciplinary approach

Question 7

The Frankfurt School and Political Economy

Answer 7

• Political economy was influenced by Frankfurt school: making it interdisciplinary/studying its different relationships
• investigated culture in light of marxist theory (capitalists profit from labourers)
• interested in how economic structures help shape the production, distribution and consumption of cultural products – and how this economic process affects the cultural significance of those products in society

Question 8

**Important
Frankfurt School: the media as commodity and cultural products

Answer 8

• finding media- and culture industries unique because they produce both commodity and cultural products: products that have economic value (commodities) and cultural significance
  E.g a tv show/film can be sold BUT can also carry cultural significance
  E.g work of art can carry cultural significance but also sold as any other commodity

Question 9

Culture Industry

Answer 9

• critique of commodification: emergence of “culture industry”: profiting from culture artifacts and commercialising culture in order to appeal to mass audiences (by homogenising and simplifying cultural artifacts)
  E.g Fast fashion? Music industry, movies, massed produced artwork

Question 10

Democratic media
- Pickard

Answer 10

• Mass media is not a democratic media: media that is driven by commercial interest does not serve the interest of ‘the people’ – can effect society negatively by providing poor-quality information for what needs to be well-informed decisions
• Democratic media is a media accountable to the public (diverse voices and ideas)

Question 11

Marxist theory

Answer 11

Views the economy as driving force for social and cultural change (media industries are part of a broader capitalist system, just like any other industry)

Question 12

Critique of the political economy approach

Answer 12

• (Boyd) Views audience as passive audience (oversimplifies process): audience often dismisses dominant media messages
• Takes too much of an economical approach, neglects social, cultural, political and technical influences
  E.g audience taste and preference, state regulation
  -Primary focus on U.S/Western World: neglects other parts of the world