Media Economics Research Articles

Across the Great Divide: Popular Music Studies and the Public

AbstractThis contribution reflects on the historical and present condition of the academic field of popular music studies' relationship to the non-academic public, particularly within the context of increased institutional demands for scholarly ‘public engagement'. I begin by discussing various reasons why a continued, sustained engagement with non-academic voices and communities should remain a central priority of popular music studies. I then move to a discussion of certain vantage points and modes of expertise that popular music scholars can offer to broader musical publics, particularly as relating to the political economy of commercial music media and urgent necessities of historical archiving and preservation. In closing, I argue that a renewed commitment to ‘public engagement' also offers a more robust engagement with our field’s own history, and might serve as a way of honouring its intellectual pioneers, many of whom did foundational work well outside the traditional boundaries of the academy.

What Makes a Reporter Human?

The objective of this article is to lay out a research agenda, named “Augmented Journalism”, to explore the future of news journalism in the context of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The article will determine what the critical epistemic components of this novel paradigm would be. “Augmented journalism” puts the focus on human-machine interaction, and the main question that arises from this context is “What makes a reporter human?” A broad intradisciplinary approach to human capabilities is needed, not just in the social sciences, in particular sociology, journalism studies, and psychology, but also in technical skills (computer science and user design), as well as in the operational context (media economics and management studies). The vision presented here stems from years of research into journalism practice, AI tools for news, news media business models and the Silicon Valley mindset. The underlying logic is that the future of journalism lies in its capacity to create value for the various sectors of stakeholders, from consumers to policy makers. The project will explore what makes the work of journalists valuable, what part consists of “human” capabilities, and how news work can be augmented with AI in order to stay relevant, but efficient.

Trend, Existence, Role and Function of National Private Television Media in the Context of Economic Welfare and Independence

This paper uses the framing analysis method, especially from the content approach, ideology and media economy which not only analyzes literary discourse but also describes the analytical and interpretative aspects of writing related to the existence and business of national private media in Indonesia. The results of the study provide an explanation of the meaning of media existence, media freedom raises the problem of the concentration of ownership of media companies (conglomerates), which changes the face of media freedom and the need for public information to become the freedom to control the media market. In terms of ideological attachment, the progress of television media cannot be separated from the ideological thoughts and interests of its media crews. Economically, the press is recognized as an economic institution, although its purpose is limited to the welfare of employees (Article 3 Paragraph 2 of the 1999 Press Law). The content of the Television Broadcasting Program, shows more packages and contents that are set according to the political and economic interests of the media owners and according to the ideological framework of the media crews. Meanwhile, from the organizational side, the media is more tied to the structure and hierarchy of power (which is built for the interests of the authority of the media owners) itself. Furthermore, from the culturalist side, the media has entered into the global industrial era, and there are structural boundaries that make not all the idealistic values ​​of the press can be realized

Das Flugblatt im Medienverbund der Frühen Neuzeit

Abstract One characteristic feature of the early modern media ensemble were the so-called ‘small’ and ‘occasional’ prints – a variety of pamphlet publications and single-sheet items that may be referred to as Flugpublizistik. In this article, one distinctive single-sheet variation, namely the early modern broadside with image and text parts, will be highlighted both as image transporting media and as a recycling product of the media ensemble. As is demonstrated using approaches from communication history and media economics, the early modern broadside with image and text parts is just another product of the most typical and constant processing of observed media-flows into new streams of media.

Economy and funding of European minority language media: Reality and impact of digitalization and economic crisis

This article investigates the economy of monolingual media systems in nine European minority language communities during 2009–2015, a period of strong economic crisis and accelerated digitalization. The main areas of study are three: The economic volume or weight of those media systems and its variation between 2009 and 2015; the current funding structure of the four media types (press, radio, TV and cybermedia); and the qualitative evaluation of media editors and managers on the effect of those two crises as well as the significance of the public aid. The nine European minority languages are Basque, Welsh, Galician, Irish, Breton, Frisian, Sámi, Corsican and Scottish-Gaelic. As for the findings, it can be highlighted that the economic volume or revenue of European minority language media is close to five hundred million euros per year, of which over ninety per cent is public funding, mostly devoted to broadcasting media. The conclusion set forth is that public funding should not be framed as aid but as a social, cultural and economic investment.

Media: Komodifikasi Keberpihakan Politik (Analisa Ekonomi Politik MNC Media Group)

Abstract: The mass media industry since the reform era has changed significantly, freedom of press had been widely opened, furthermore with technological advances and the birth of social media. Competitiveness in the mass media industry is tougher in market dominance. Media owners in Indonesia are competing to penetrate the market and secure their business positions by joining the politics, even the media itself is allegedly used by the owner as a commodity that can gain profit and become a propaganda’s tool for certain political interests. MNC Media Group is a media owned by Hary Tanoesoedibjo, a businessman and politician from the Perindo Party. Then, how does Hary Tanoesoedibjo commodify the MNC Media Group? Theory of Political Economy of Media, Vincent Moscow (1996) discusses the concept of commodification, explaining how the process of transforming goods and services with their use value into a policy that has an exchange rate in the market. The analysis by the author is to see at the relationships behind the production, consumption and distribution processes carried out by the MNC Media Group. Commodification of MNC Media Group is carried out through three types of commodification, namely; commodification of contents, audiences and workers. Commodification is made using the economy and politics by its owner, Hary Tanoesoedibjo which is carried out in the form of an integrated business unit, or a synergy between all business units, raising and builing a positive image for the owner by using legitimacy of the power relations.Keywords: Mass Media, Commodification, Power Relations

Digital labour: an empty signifier?

Since the early 2000s, the expression ‘digital labour’ has identified an influential theoretical proposition in the Marxist critique of the political economy of digital media, which sees the leisure-driven, unpaid activities of social media users as unremunerated forms of work contributing to Internet companies’ profits. Over the years, however, this expression has evolved into an umbrella term, used to describe a variety of practices and instances concerning the broader relationship between labour and digital technology – including paid work – often with little or no relation to the original theory. Reflecting on this evolution, this article argues that ‘digital labour’ has become a kind of empty signifier, unable to serve a clearly distinguishable critical or analytical purpose. Focusing on the emergence of platform labour, it shows how ‘digital’ and ‘labour’ have come to be largely inseparable dimensions and discusses the related implications.

Análisis de la transformación de los modelos de negocio periodísticos: propuesta de un nuevo framework para estudios de caso

The journalism industry is struggling to create sustainable business models for the digital age. Prior research in the field of media economics has broadly analyzed this challenge through case studies. According to extant research on management, a business model is comprised by components whose interactions convey the logic of creating, distributing and capturing the value developed by a firm. However, many journalism scholars have focused on new revenue streams, and not only is there a lack of holistic views, but value must be considered when applying the business model concept. In response to the aforementioned problem, this paper proposes a methodological tool that future researchers may use to analyze the business model of any news company. The method is based on a questionnaire (n=16) submitted to experts specialized in media business models, and the paper proposes a global framework aimed at improving comparisons between companies and gaining a better understanding of the success patterns for sustainable business models in order to foster innovation and knowledge transfer. This framework consists of a case file, research questions for six components of the business models, and research questions for a critical assessment of the links, interactions and synergies between them.

From non-player characters to othered participants: Chinese women's gaming experience in the ‘free’ digital market

ABSTRACT Globally, mainstream digital gaming has long been marked by compulsory (hetero)sexuality and hypermasculine gender norms, making it an ideal arena for exploring gendered power relations. This article critically examines how the participation of Chinese women digital gamers has taken on a distinctive shape in the context of newly emerging local online games that serve as an extension of the market mechanism. We examine the players’ experience of two games: namely, a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game, King of Glory (wangzhe rongyao), and an otome love simulation game, Evol LoveR (lian yu zhizuoren). Results of 31 in-depth qualitative interviews with Chinese women gamers show that Chinese women's gaming experience has been profoundly shaped by both changes and continuities in the norms governing Chinese women's participation in play, romance and sex. We conclude that Chinese MOBA and otome games are not isolated new media products, but actually part and parcel of a broader digital media economy which provides audiences and players with information and cues that reinforce the dominant view that women and men have fundamentally different characteristics.

(Against a) Theory of Audience Engagement with News

ABSTRACT Audience engagement has become a key concept in contemporary discussions on how news companies relate to the public and create sustainable business models. These discussions are irrevocably tied to practices of monitoring, harvesting and analyzing audience behaviours with metrics, which is increasingly becoming the new currency of the media economy. This article argues this growing tendency to equate engagement to behavioural analytics, and study it primarily through quantifiable data, is limiting. In response, we develop a heuristic theory of audience engagement with news comprising four dimensions—the technical-behavioural, emotional, normative and spatiotemporal—and explicate these in terms of different relations of engagement between human-to-self, human-to-human, human-to-content, human-to-machine, and machine-to-machine. Paradoxically, this model comprises a specific theory of audience engagement while simultaneously making visible that constructing a theory of audience engagement is an impossible task. The article concludes by articulating methodological premises, which future empirical research on audience engagement should consider.

A Memória e a Era Digital

O digital expandiu as possibilidades da memória e as suas tecnologias para um plano que nos suscita algumas questões e uma primeira refl exão face ao seu paradoxo essencial. Em síntese, a incerteza que nos propomos discutir neste artigo prende-se com essa contradição que se coloca face a uma mnemotécnica que tanto nos garante essa expansão da memória como o seu fechamento ou as suas disfunções. Um paradoxo entre o arquivo aumentado e a impossibilidade de memória. A dualidade memória vs. esquecimento regressa assim num contexto tecnológico mais complexo, com implicações radicais na perceção da política contemporânea (falsas memórias, câmaras de eco), nos media (pós-verdade, factos alternativos) economia (ideologia do clickbait, desmemoriação) ou no apagamento da própria história (perda do arquivo da web). A memória vertiginosa que nos traz o digital é assim também uma espécie de não-memória.

Book Review: “Understanding New Media”, 2nd Edition (2018) by Eugenia Siapera

With the first edition of this work conceived well over a decade ago and the present edition published just about a year ago, there is still much to understand about technologies and new media intellectually and empirically. Dr Eugenia Siapera’s work “Understanding New Media”, 6 th Edition eases the task for readers by providing comprehensive and readable information about much that we need to know on the concept ‘new media’, its variants and their relationships with the social and other non-social elements of society. Diversity, hegemony, production, consumption, theories and political economy are some of the key themes Dr. Siapera examined critically in her work. Because of the importance she attaches to the issue of political economy, the author dedicated a whole chapter (Chapter 2) to political economy of new media. Using critical discourse analysis approach, we reviewed chapters 1, 2 and 5 only. This is because of the critical importance of the analysis provided in these chapters on some of the most intriguing topics in media studies and research such as issues surrounding the concept of new media, the influence of political economy on media content dissemination and consumption as well as the negative uses and effects of new media in society, especially on young users.

Digitalization: A Strategic Approach for Development of Tourism Industry in India

The aim of the present study is to identify the factors that propel tourism industry to opt for digitalization and establish a hierarchical relationship among them. The paper further seeks to address how digitalization impacts various stakeholders in tourism industry. Also, various challenges that are arising in course of digitalization in tourism industry are identified and suggestions have been made to resolve these issues. The study makes use of interpretive structural modelling (ISM) to develop a strategic framework related to digitalization in the industry. MICMAC (cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification) analysis is used to identify the nature of the factors identified in the framework developed. The results of strategy adopted conclude that customer demand for digitalization, growing essence of sharing economy and presence of social media are important contributors to the enhancement of digitalization in tourism industry. The study highlights the implications for the strategy makers as the outputs from ISM di-graph will allow them to identify and focus more on factors driving the digitalization system and address the various shortcomings in the process effectively.

Happily Ever After?: Vertical and Horizontal Mergers in the US Media Industry

This article provides an economic analysis of recent vertical and horizontal mergers in the US industry for audio-visual media content, including the AT&T–Time Warner and the Disney– Fox mergers. Using a theory-driven approach, we examine economic effects of these types of mergers on market competition, focusing on digital media content distribution. In doing so, we address three research questions: (1) Is the current development of the industry with its recent merger activity concerning? (2) Would vertical or horizontal integration be more preferable for overall welfare and competition in this industry? (3) What are implications for antitrust policy? We conclude from our analysis that in the already highly horizontally concentrated US market for audio-visual content the process of further vertical integration creates concerns from a competition policy perspective. Moreover, even though horizontal concentration on some of the market stages may be anticompetitive as well, vertical integration is likely to be more harmful. As a consequence, we recommend a stricter approach to vertical merger control in this industry, as well as a more active abuse control against already vertically integrated media companies. competition policy, antitrust, industrial economics, digitization, media economics, institutional economics, industrial organization, mergers, vertical integration, horizontal integration

Competency-based approach to journalism education: Western experience and Ukrainian practice

In the article a competency-based approach to journalism education in the context of journalism transformation is presented. Digitization of the media industry, convergence of the functions and tasks in the field of communicative professions, intensification of media influences and media effects caused the need for journalism education revision. The appeal to competency as a basic term of the theory of education made it possible to update that set of knowledge, skills, professional qualities and values that make up the basic model of the journalistic profession. According to Z. Weischenberg’s classical model, journalism competency as a target function of journalism education has complex architectonics and integrates four components: professional competence, communication competence, special / industrial knowledge and social orientation. Each of the core competencies is transformed under the influence of new conditions of the profession realization, their relative importance changes. Thus, instrumental skills are changing under the influence of participatory journalism models. Participatory journalism requires a completely different content production algorithm. It requires the skills of information verification, interaction with amateur contributors and officials, involved in the process of solution of problems of different scales and directions, communication with an active audience, which is driven by an increased feedback factor in communication. At the same time, the knowledge segment of journalism competency becomes more important in connection with the emergence of a whole block of media-oriented disciplines: media psychology, media economics, media law, etc. The analytical component of the journalistic profession, caused by new information inquiries and the needs of the society, is increasing. The need for media marketing knowledge, which is gaining new sense and guidance as a result of the transition of the media to the digital platform, is being updated. Proactive competencies that allow journalists to continuously adapt to changes in the media industry also become a significant component of the competency model.

Book Review: Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of Mass Media

Book Review: Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of Mass Media

Production Studies of Race and the Political Economy of Media

Production Studies of Race and the Political Economy of Media

Local Film Production in the Philippine Cordillera: Processes, Motivations, and Constraints

The local film production industries in the Philippine Cordillera region have been thriving since the 1980s. In Baguio City, Benguet, and Mountain Province, local filmmakers have already produced various cinematic forms such as documentary films, feature (short and full length) films, music videos, and animated films for various purposes. Utilizing political economy of media as a framework, this paper provides a preliminary exploration of the processes involved in the local production of those types of films in Baguio, Benguet, and Mountain Province. It also discusses the motivations and constraints that influence or inform the decisions and activities of local filmmakers in terms of content and production.

Informality in the Time of Platformization

In this chapter, I argue that formalization, not as a simple economic fact ascertained by licensed product sale but as a force determining the performative temperament, stands at odds with the ‘vernacular’ media in general, and Bhojpuri media in particular. That is why, even as online views multiply and offline data kiosks continue to thrive, the performative informality of the live concert continues to mobilize millions across remote villages, small towns, and big cities. What can be rendered in terms of new technologies and platforms enabling specific sort of publics must not overwrite another adjacent trajectory—that of informality, as a performative excess, as a cultural cache of communitarian solidarity particularly built around language affinities, as a visceral aspect of music economy, seeking its life outside the formal straitjacket. The live concerts then stand not in opposition to, but adjacent to, the platformization and formalization of the media economy.

Time

Time