Media Economics Research Articles

Research on the Food Service Industry in Central Taiwan

This study examined the changes in business models in the food service industry of Taiwan in the postpandemic era. After staying at home for a more prolonged period during the pandemic. More consumers choose to cook at home to save costs, leading to a booming homemade food market. This trend greatly increases the popularity of convenient meal kits, semi-finished products, and do-it-yourself (DIY) meal sets. It not only caters to consumers’ interest in cooking but also provide convenient and quick solutions for food preparation. Food and beverage businesses have successfully expanded their market reach by developing high-quality homemade food products and utilizing social media and e-commerce platforms for sales. The immediacy and wide audience coverage of social media economy have enabled influencers and food bloggers to directly demonstrate the use and effects of meal kits and DIY dining through live streams and short videos. This approach attracts large numbers of followers to purchase these products, thereby quickly enhancing product awareness and sales. Collaborating with social media has become an effective marketing strategy for food and beverage businesses because it increases brand exposure and allows for product adjustments and improvements based on immediate consumer feedback. This study aims to analyze the post-pandemic restaurant industry through the lens of business models. By conducting interviews with restaurant owners across various sectors in central Taiwan, the research will explore how they confronted the challenges during the pandemic and how they have adjusted their business strategies in the aftermath. The objective is to identify future strategies suitable for the Taiwanese culinary market. This study employs business model theory and interview methodology to investigate six companies within Taiwan's restaurant industry. Through comprehensive analysis, the research aims to determine how the restaurant industry should adjust its strategic direction in the post-pandemic era. The interviewed restaurants implemented various adjustments during the postpandemic period, including arranging for industry–academia collaboration, enhancing employee training and incentives, strengthening restaurant recognition and sense of pride among employees, diversifying dish presentation, improving customer service systems, providing customized services, increasing investment in social media, reinforcing supplier relations, and expanding into new distribution channels. The study results indicate that food and beverage businesses can further explore the potential of social media economy, develop more products suitable for online promotion, and continually optimize marketing strategies by leveraging data analysis and market research to meet consumer demands.

Capitalism, coronavirus, and war in the digital age: Interview with Radhika Desai

In Spring 2024, I met Radhika Desai for the first time at the London School of Economics and Political Science when we both held visiting positions at the Department of International Development as invited scholarly visitors. Although I had not expected her presence, I immediately recognized her after having been a reader of her works on geopolitical economy when developing my own ideas about the political economy of Chinese media and communications. I introduced myself and started talking with her, first at a coffee shop, then in a small office inside LSE’s Connaught House, and later at the Marx Memorial Library in London for a book launch party. Prompted by my questions rooted in the field of media and communication, Radhika Desai shared ideas from her newly published book, Capitalism, Coronavirus, and War: A Geopolitical Economy (Routledge, 2023), which is being translated into Chinese, her critiques about imperialism, globalization and essentially the world order after decades of neoliberalism, and, furthermore, her hopes for China, BRICS, and, ultimately, for the political left. Now, these conversations are turned into a dialogue piece, and with it I hope Communication and the Public readers will sense my gains from Radhika Desai, that is, to paraphrase from the famous line from the Communist Manifesto, in the digital age when all that is solid melts into ostensibly immaterial communication, man/woman is at last compelled to face with sober senses the real conditions of life and his or her relations with their kind.

Alternative Media: Free from State, Market, and Capital(ism)? On the Antagonisms of Alternative Media and the Alternative Economy

This work discusses the potentials, limits, and problems of alternative media in capitalism. It compares alternative media to commercial media and public service media. A model is introduced that compares commercial and non-commercial media projects. Its dimensions are the economy, work, production, and communication. Dilemmas of alternative media are analysed. As an example, a conflict at the Austrian free radio station Radio Orange is analysed. The paper discusses the political economy of alternative media. Alternative media such as free radio stations have set out to do media in a way that is different to capitalist media. In this context, the role of the audience as media producers and the rejection of the market, capital, and commodities are important aspects of alternative media. The analysis shows the problems and antagonisms that non-commercial, alternative media face in capitalist society. They struggle to establish independence from markets, capital, and the state. They face the problem of how to deal with these antagonisms which results in the alternative between adopting to capitalist pressures or operating as small-scale niche alternatives with small audiences and precarious labour. The paper concludes that material aspects and the political economy of alternative media need to be taken seriously. Not selling commodities and not paying wages puts many alternative media at a disadvantage vis-à-vis commercial media.

Digital News Audiences in Mexico: Age Segment Analysis

This study aims to determine whether news consumption, media trust, interest in news, and political affinity are correlated with the generational segment of the market, measured by the age of the digital audience. Furthermore, this study seeks to verify whether age is associated with digital audiences’ paying attention to journalists or news brands. This research is based on a survey of 2,005 people in Mexico by YouGov in 2022, commissioned by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford as part of its annual Digital News Report. The statistical method used was the chi-square test of independence between qualitative variables. The results showed that age correlates with consumption habits, media trust, interest in news, and citizens’ political affinity for digital audiences in Mexico. Moreover, age relates to whether digital audiences focus on journalists or news brands in Latin America. This study delves into the characteristics of digital audiences in Mexico and contributes from a media economics, media management, and media marketing perspective. It also helps media organizations assess their market strategy, market segmentation, and target markets based on the characteristics of digital news audiences in Mexico.

The border spectacle during the pandemic: A bottom-up political economy of media within the American border regime

This paper explores the ‘border spectacle’, namely the production and diffusion of images of immigration, in contemporary digital journalism to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic public health crisis overlapped with the dual semantics of illegalisation/victimisation of migrants. This article addresses a gap in the field of political economy of the border spectacle, conducting a bottom-up analysis of the socio-economic and material conditions under which visual narratives of migration and borders are produced and diffused in the case of Mexico. The methodology combines virtual ethnography and in-depth biographical/life stories interviews with three female reporter/photojournalists covering migration issues in Mexico and the Americas and producing accounts that differs significantly from the hegemonic iconography of migration. By analyzing the data collected between 2020 and 2021, we explore the extreme violence, precariousness and health risks, as well as strategies of self-support characterising these media professionals’ experiences. The analysis helps understand the rationale behind the political economy of the media during the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown in Mexico, as well as how the media’s structural frame exposes, amplifies and mediates migration in terms of ‘infectious’ and, therefore, a threat to national communities already vulnerable to the virus. Finally, we highlight the conflict between the purpose of the reporters, who want to provide empathetic, first-hand accounts of migration, on the one hand, and the commercial interests of mainstream media, which tends to seek to follow a hegemonic framing, make some of these images viral to create moral panic against migrants, on the other.

AN INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTIAN FUCHS ON COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES

Christian Fuchs is Professor of Media Systems and Media Organization at the University of Paderborn. He is editor of the open access journal tripleC - Communication, Capitalism & Critique and publishes on the political economy of communication, digital media and society, media and society, information society theory and critical theory.

Analisa Ekonomi Media Radio Gen 103,1 FM

As conventional media, radio must be able to adapt and innovate to continue to attract audiences and maintain its business. One that is considered capable of adapting in the era of digitalization is Gen 103.1 FM, a radio in Surabaya managed by PT. Mahaka Radio Integra Tbk. Based on Nielsen data in January 2023, Gen FM has the largest exclusive listeners compared to other radio stations with the "young" segmentation (aged 20 - 34 years). Apart from that, when compared to other radio stations in Surabaya, Gen 103.1 FM is better able to adapt and take advantage of the digitalization era to improve its business economy. This is not only proven by its large number of followers (13,100), but also by its more varied social media advertising offerings compared to other radio stations. Therefore, it is important to know what Gen 103.1 Fm's business model is so that other radio stations in Indonesia can follow which are now starting to lose listeners. To analyze the Gen 103.1 FM digital radio business model, several literature reviews were used, namely media economics and radio media company business models with qualitative descriptive methods used. Data collection in this research can be collected using in-depth interview techniques with Gen 103.1 FM employees and direct observation of the business model implemented. From the results of this research, it is known that Gen 103.1 FM has a digital economic business model that is strong and different compared to other radio stations.

Komodifikasi Konten Media Penyiaran: Relasi Politik pada Program Media MNCTV (Lintas iNews)

Media is a public means that functions to fulfill society's need for information and is a pillar of democracy. However, in the industrial structure, media is no longer seen based on its use value. but focuses on the exchange rate in obtaining economic benefits. The media and press, as the 4th pillar of democracy and a tool of social control, continue to have their independence stripped away by economic and political interests. The aim of this research is to determine the power relations and dynamics of media content in the study of the political economy of media on MNCTV in the cross i-news program. The research method uses a qualitative descriptive research type using an approach to political economy studies. Primary data collection techniques through literature study regarding MNCTV data on cross-i-News programs, and secondary data through observation and literature on MNCTV. The results of this research can be concluded that MNCTV as a media corporation cannot avoid intervention by the interests of capital and power owners. Political Economy and Power Relations are two things that a media corporation like MNCTV must continue to play correctly in order to continue to win the competition between media.

The impact of artificial intelligence big data technology on the development of media economy information security

With the rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data (BD), they provide people with new ways and tools in information acquisition, processing and dissemination. The purpose of this study is to deeply discuss the influence of AI and BD technologies on the development of Information Security (InfoSec) in media economy, and analyze the opportunities and challenges it brings. Firstly, the evaluation system of the influence of BD technology on the development of InfoSec, a media enterprise, is constructed. Then, this study discusses the development mode of the multilateral platform of media economy supported by BD technology. Finally, taking S company and X platform as examples, this study analyses the influence of BD technology on the development of InfoSec and the development mode of media economy supported by BD technology. The research results show that with the support of BD technology, the proportion of InfoSec products in enterprises has reached 0.2426, and the InfoSec score of S company has reached 77.74, reaching a high level. The profit margin of digital network media is three times that of traditional media. The number of users of multilateral digital media economic platform X has increased by 21%, and its turnover has increased by 54%. AI and BD technologies have brought opportunities and challenges to the InfoSec development of media economy. While applying these technologies, it is necessary to take effective measures to protect users’ privacy and strengthen the information review and verification mechanism to ensure the sustainable development of media economy. The uniqueness of this study lies in the construction of a comprehensive BD technology impact assessment system and the discussion of the development model of multilateral media economic platform, which provides a powerful reference and guidance for media enterprises. In addition, this study also reveals the positive influence of BD technology on InfoSec and the development of media economy, which provides beneficial enlightenment for the future development of media industry. In response to the challenges of privacy and InfoSec, this study puts forward important policy and practical suggestions to ensure the sustainable growth of media economy and the protection of users’ rights and interests. Therefore, this study has important contribution and innovative value in both theory and practice.

Unravelling the credit market shocks and investment dynamics: A theoretical and empirical perspective

This paper investigates the underlying credit market shocks that historically affected business investment in the Slovenian economy. In contrast to the existing literature, we explore more profound structural shocks beneath the credit demand and supply shocks. For the purpose of structural identification, we propose a theoretical model of the credit market that reveals the credit market imperfections on the side of credit supply as well as liquidity demand. The theoretical structure justifies our set of identifying restrictions, further evaluated with the structural Bayesian VAR model. Our results confirm the relevance of loan supply shocks for the business investment activity, suggesting the existence of credit market imperfections. Furthermore, business investment is strongly conditioned by liquidity demand shocks, which explain a significant part of the variation in investment activity. Even though loan supply shocks constrained the investment activity in Slovenia during the financial crisis, the results of our analysis suggest that banks predominantly reacted to the increasing financial risk as opposed to the changes in their profit functions. Based on the results, we may conclude that in the common monetary area, fiscal policy should implement country-specific measures to effectively address the business sector's expectations regarding the economy's medium- and long-term development.

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION

Natela Beridze E-mail: nat.beridze.1983@bsu.edu.ge Doctor of Social Sciences in Mass Communication, Professor St. Tbel of the Patriarchate of Georgia School named after Abuserisdze University Batumi Georgia https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5439-0550 Edward Mikeladze E-mail: edu-777@bsu.edu.ge Academic Doctor of Economics, Professor St. Tbel of the Patriarchate of Georgia Abuserisdze Educational University Batumi Georgia https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5746-3351 Abstract: Information management in modern Georgian mass media is a completely new research and innovation. In this article, for research purposes, we talk about the functions of information media, and as a recommendation, the ways and methods of manipulating people through information communications are discussed. Peer technologies are also considered significantly for research. As we know, the media is mostly engaged in covering such issues as: education, health care, poverty, current events in the world. However, we should also not forget that the media plays a major role in fostering national self-awareness. The media is the main informant, a kind of transfer for the society on social, economic, political and cultural issues both inside and outside the country. "Communication affects culture, although it contributes to social and economic development. It mobilizes society and demands the appropriate attention from them." (Wilmer Shrem) The main function of information media management is the development of an organizational structure that facilitates the provision of correct information to the public. Media has a great influence on society, especially this influence is observed on human psychology. If for a long time the society thought it unbelievable to achieve various goals through the media, today it can be considered a normal occurrence. This was caused by the development of technology and the entry into the field of mass communication of the economy. The media can both lower people's worldview and its decline, informational regression. Thus, information management is the process of functional management of information. Its essence lies in the fact that a clear result is obtained by coordinating information, which is possible through top managers. Keywords: information management, PR technologies, advertising, manipulation, media economy, electronic technology. JEL classification: Q1; 01; 03

Platformlar ve Ekonomi Politiğin Eleştirisi

The study of platforms, or multi-sided markets, has seen exponential growth in economics, media studies, social sciences, and humanities. However, the critical political economy of media has been relatively quiet, with notable exceptions in areas such as platform capitalism, imperialism and especially platform labour and gig work. However, traditional Marxian production, often taken as the starting point, relies on the labour theory of value and struggles to capture all platform specificities. Due to their integrated understanding of production and circulation of value, I will argue that New Readings of Marx and Open Marxism help study platforms as linchpins of internet user lifeworlds and the global economy. In this literature, capitalism is analysed as a historically specific social form of production. Additionally, these approaches can address some theoretical problems that occasionally occur with related Marxian theories, such as unpaid digital labour, rent, and techno-feudalism. In that sense, this paper aims to contribute to the critical political economy of the media and the study of platforms by bringing previously neglected theoretical approaches to the centre stage and unpacking platforms as social forms of production and circulation in contemporary capitalism.

Research on predicting the driving forces of digital transformation in Chinese media companies based on machine learning

Chinese media companies are facing opportunities and challenges brought about by digital transformation. Media economics takes the evaluation of the business results of media companies as the main research topic. However, overcoming the internal differences in the industry and comprehensively predicting the digital transformation of Chinese media companies from multiple dimensions has become an important issue to be understood. Based on the “TOE-I” theoretical framework, this study innovatively uses machine learning methods to predict the digital transformation of Chinese media companies and to analyze specific modes of the main driving factors affecting the digital transformation, using data from China’s A-share-listed media companies from 2010 to 2020. The study found that environmental drivers can most effectively and accurately predict the digital transformation of Chinese media companies. Therefore, under sustained and stable economic and financial policies, guiding inter-industry competition and providing balanced digital infrastructure conditions are keys to bridging internal barriers in the media industry and promoting digital transformation. In the process of transformation from traditional content to digital production, media companies should focus on policy changes, economic benefits, the decision-making role of core managers, and the training and preservation of digital technology talent.

The political economy of media on the Metro TV station in Indonesia

The political economy of media on the Metro TV station in Indonesia

PLATFORM POWER, XR, AND THE METAVERSE: NEW CHALLENGES OR OLD STRUCTURES?

While social media platforms continue to dominate the ways in which people connect using computational devices and digital media, a transition towards more immersive platforms and experiences is underway. Extended reality (XR) is the umbrella term for media that enable experiences in augmented, mixed, and virtual reality. Through XR technologies, new digital spaces are being developed that combine features of existing digital platforms with elements of the immersiveness of gaming, sometimes referred to informally as ‘the metaverse’. Notably, many of the corporations behind the dominant social media platforms are active in the XR economy. Meta has garnered much attention in this regard, but Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Sony have all either entered the market or have been reported as having XR/metaverse ambitions. Through a multiple-case study of three companies—Meta, Epic Games/Unity Engine and ROBLOX—this paper maps out key dimensions of the emerging metaverse economy and shows how the platform characteristics of XR providers, similar to the current social media economy, can enable the concentration of social and economic power around a few actors. We propose that in the transition to a more immersive digital era, to enable a competitive, vibrant and fair XR economy, policymaking and governance must proactively address the issue of concentrated platform power. The paper concludes with a discussion of potential policy and regulatory pathways for taking up this challenge.

Critism of Toxic Masculinity in The Power Of The Dog Movie Based on Social Context

The mass media is often able to raise and reveal portraits of reality and gender realities that develop in society. Film is one of the mass media that usually uses discourses related to gender reality to be used as a medium to influence society and convey criticism of social practices within it. The Power Of The Dog movie seems to use the discourse of Toxic Masculinity which is used to convey criticism of masculinity in men. This study aims to find out and dismantle further texts regarding criticisms of toxic masculinity developed in the movie and their relationship to the current social context. This study uses a qualitative approach with critical discourse analysis by Norman Fairclough through its three-dimensional analysis stages.
 The results of this study indicate The Power Of The Dog movie has presented and developed criticism of various aspects, contexts and social phenomena regarding toxic masculinity. First, there are still many cases of gender-based violence in society. Second, the increasingly massive movements/actions to fight for gender equality in global society. Third, the dominance of the patriarchal system is still strong, which negatively shackles and harms society. Fourth, many people or communities are starting to realize the importance of understanding gender equality in the system of people’s lives. Fifth, the intuitive context related to the media economy (financial) and institutional characterizations in the movie, basically have represented what is called a typology of autocratic leadership.
 Keywords : Toxic Masculinity, Patriarchal Domination, Gender, Social Context

Sick kids versus whom? Childhood disability and charitable campaigns on Instagram

Platform media are changing the disability charity landscape. This paper employs a hybrid critical disability studies – platform media studies lens to explore the SickKids VS campaign, aiming to ‘fight’ childhood illness and disability. Employing a social media thematic analysis, we analyzed social media content distributed through the campaign, consisting of images, videos, and captions ( n=620). We found three dominant narratives: heroic sick kids, crumbling infrastructure, and informational content. Each trend, we argue, emerges within a changing platform mediascape, whereby charitable audiences must be cultivated and curated over a long-term process, rather than in a single moment, as in telethon fundraising. We ask how disability is framed in each of those narratives, and how disability studies might respond to these formulations in the political economy of platform media. We end by exploring the strategies disability studies can take to combat the marginalizing effects of such charitable campaigns.

Cinematic journalism: the political economy and ‘emotional truth’ of documentary film

ABSTRACT News organizations in recent years have embraced documentary film. From streaming ventures to Academy Award nominations, newsrooms are producing documentaries to reach new audiences and maintain their relevance in changing media cultures. This study examines documentary’s surging popularity among news outlets and addresses two questions: How does the political economy of media affect filmmakers’ editorial decisions and aesthetic choices? And, how do seemingly commonplace audiovisual and production techniques – such as music, lighting, sound design, and directing – complicate journalistic norms? Drawing on in-depth interviews with journalistic filmmakers (n = 24), the study offers three findings: the political economy of digital media is altering the production and distribution models for documentary, creating ethical dilemmas for filmmakers; the relational dynamics among filmmakers, participants, and audiences significantly inform the ethical frameworks that filmmakers use; and the ‘emotional truth’ of documentary storytelling forces filmmakers to reevaluate their conceptions of objectivity and neutrality. The study illuminates the relationship between documentary and journalism, and details how filmmakers are navigating the increasingly-blurry boundaries between these fields.

Ekonomi Politik Media dalam Perspektif Komunikasi dan Sosial-Budaya

Harold Innis and Marshall McLuhan recognized the fact that technologies have a communicative dimension in and of themselves and play an important role in the formation of political economy. The economic field clearly cannot be separated from capitalism; and capitalism and industry are two things that cannot be tolerated. Furthermore, culture is one of the most interesting contents to be "sold" and is often massified by the media to generate huge profits by media capitalists. This study aims to discuss how the political economy of media is viewed from a communication and socio-cultural perspective. The study in this article uses a descriptive-qualitative method, using literature review as a data collection technique. The results show that the political economy of (mass) media is closely related to power and control over mass media content. This control is carried out through a communication process, where the messages conveyed by the mass media aim to influence the audience's perception, sometimes also to guide the audience's attitude towards an issue, especially social and political issues. One content medium that is considered effective for gaining financial resources is culture. Massified culture becomes a powerful weapon for media owners to gain profits and wealth; where culture is no longer viewed from an aesthetic perspective alone, or how culture conveys truth, but is seen as a "tool" to gain profit alone.

MEDIA DISCOURSE AND INTERNAL CONFLICT OF JAVANESE POWER IN YOGYAKARTA

This paper attempts to reveal how the local media, Kedaulatan Rakyat, produces discourse on the Yogyakarta palace’s internal conflict involving Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X and his siblings. The Special Region of Yogyakarta as a province in Indonesia has a special government system that is different from other regions. The governor of Yogyakarta is not elected by the people like in other regions in Indonesia but is determined by the DPRD based on who serves as the King of the Yogyakarta Palace. This phenomenon becomes interesting when there are differences of opinion among the people and within the Yogyakarta Palace regarding the acceptance of women leaders. The conflict began to arise when Sultan Hamengku Buwono X issued the Sabda Tama and Sabda Raja (Sabda Raja) which were interpreted as the Sultan’s way to pave the way for his daughter to become heir to the throne. The Sultan’s younger siblings opposed the female king to rule in Yogyakarta, so an internal conflict arose. The research method used is a qualitative method with a critical discourse analysis approach using the Norman Fairclough model to analyze news texts related to the Yogyakarta Palace’s internal conflict from the Kedaulatan Rakyat Daily. From the results of the research, it was found that the Kedaulatan Rakyat Daily produced discourses on internal conflict in the Yogyakarta palace by representing the ideology and interests of Sultan HB X’s younger siblings. This local daily newspaper also commodified internal conflict in the Yogyakarta palace as events that were produced and disseminated to the public for the benefits media economy.