Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
• The Historical/Theoretical Foundations of Political Economy • Adam Smith defined political economy as the allocation of resources and was concerned with “how mankind arranges to allocate scarce resources with a view towards satisfying certain needs and not others” (Smith, 1776/1937: 14) PE focused on the production, distribution and consumption of wealth and their consequences Early political economists studies capitalism as a system of social production and how the resources were allocated in this arrangement In time, PE evolved as capitalism evolved PE added to its concerns the class analysis and Marx’s and Engel’s historical materialism thesis PE emphasized a radical critique of the evolving capitalist system through moral stance in opposition to the unjust characteristics of the system In the second half of the 19th century a fundamental shift occurred in the study of economic issues. • The focus changed from macro-analysis to micro-analysis • Emphasis was placed on individuals rather than societal concerns • Methods were drawn from the social sciences rather than from moral philosophy These fundamental changes also reflected on to the name of the discipline – from political economy to economics Today, although classical form of economics prevails, PE has also survived and evolved in different forms In terms of the political economy of communication, we are referring in general to a radical, critical and/or Marxian political economy In summary, a primary concern of political economists is with the allocation of resources within capitalist societies Through studies of ownership and control, PEs document and analyze relations of power, a class system and other structural inequalities These explanations set the stage for applying political economy to the study of communication • • • • • • • • • • • • Political Economy of Communications • • • • • • During 1940s and 1950s, US communication scholars focused primarily on individual effects and psychologically oriented research There was very little concern for the economic context in which media were produced, distributed and consumed In the 1950s and 1960s Dallas Smythe urged scholars to consider communication as an important component of the economy and to understand it as an economic entity Smythe presented one of the first explications of PEC in 1960 According to Smythe, the central purpose of applying political economy to communication was to study the structure and policies of communication institutions in their social settings Although Smythe’s discussion at this point did not include radical or Marxist terminology, it was a major departure from the kind of research that dominated the study of communication at that time • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • It was not until the 1970s that the political economy of media and communications (PE/C) was explicitly redefined but this time within a more explicitly Marxist framework AT this time, Graham Murdock and Peter Golding offered their formulation of the PE of Communication, stating that “the mass media are first and foremost industrial and commercial organizations which produce and distribute commodities (1973: 205-206) Therefore, PE/C is fundamentally interested in studying communication and media as commodities produced by capitalist industries (Murdock & Golding, 1973) Moving from here, Nicholas Garnham further outlined the approach in 1979, also drawing connections to Frankfurt School and noting that the PE of C invovles analyzing “The modes of cultural production and consumption developed within capitalist societies (Garnham, 1978: 123) A good deal of PE/C research has focused on the evolution of mass communications as commodities that are produced and distributed by profit-seeking organizations in capitalist societies A market model now dominates much of the media landscape This commercialization process has been accompanied by an ever-expending consumer culture, thus prompting the term cultural capitalism as a descriptor for the current period One concern for Political Economists has been the commodification/commercialization of media resources Increasingly, media and communication resources have become commodities – products and services that are sold by profit-seeking companies to buyers or consumers An obvious example is the development of various forms of “pay” TV, such as Digiturk, LIG TV etc… In addition, more and more of the media/communication landscape is filled with commercial messages. Ex. Product placement in Hollywood films Diversification has been another concern for the PE/C As media companies have expanded, new lines of business have been added in a process of diversification Today many huge media/entertainment conglomerates that are involved in a wide range of diversified activities dominate media/culture industries One such example among may others is Time Warner for instance Time Warner includes the following • Publishing • Film • TV production and distribution • Home video • Music • Cable networks • Cable systems • Computer services • Professional sports As media corporations have grown larger and more profitable they have also integrated horizontally • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Horizontal integration refers to adding companies that are in the same line of business Time Warner for example has added many magazines to its already sizable list of magazines that were owned by Time, Inc. Currently, Time Inc. publishes more than 140 magazines Not only have these media/communication conglomerates have expanded horizontally, but they have also integrated vertically Vertical integration means adding companies in the same supply chain or at different stages of production This has been possible with new distribution technologies and deregulation of markets For example, Time Warner, Warner Bross and New Line Cinema produce and distribute motion pictures that are shown on the company’s cable networks (HBO, Cinemax), and television network (Warner TV network) Another major concern for political economists of communications has been market concentration Although a competitive marketplace is the avowed goal of capitalism, there is an inevitable tendency for markets to become concentrated By documenting the actual level of competition (or lack of it), PE/C challenges the myth of the competitive marketplace under late capitalism Essentially, most of the media industries or sectors in the United States and around the world are dominated by oligopolies An oligopoly is a market form in which a market or industry is dominated by a small number of sellers (oligopolists) For example, an oligopoly that includes Warner, Disney, Universal, Paramount and Fox (all owned by giant media conglomerates) regularly receives 80% and 90% of the total theatrical film box office, in both the USA and many countries around the world These various trends have been investigated by political economists at various levels of analysis. These have included – National media systems – Specific media industries – Specific corporations and – International level of analysis Political economists in their analysis, are especially interested in the consequences of such media concentration For example – Availability and quality of news – Tabloidization of news – Homogenization of content in cultural industries More generally, political economists have analyzed these trends in relation to capitalism and power Closer, more in-depth analysis of media and communication organizations is necessary to – asses the precise mechanisms of corporate ownership and control and – examine trends of commodification, integration and diversification • • This analysis considers these developments in light of issues such as cultural creativity, diversity, equity, access, and democratic ideals The Walt Disney Company provides a good example for such analysis – – – – – The company has been known for producing children’s or family-oriented entertainment – It gained a somewhat sacred or pure image – Based in LA California – Produced short animated films that were distributed by other film companies and appeared and appeared before feature-length films in movie theatres around the world – They were not one of the major studios – The company grew with financial difficulties – Their reputation was for quality animation – using cutting-edge technological developments – Disney brothers were the first to set the foundations of diversification – They expanded to include television production and live-action feature films – In 1953 the company opened Disneyland – the first of many theme parks – At the same period they also started distributing their own films – At the end of the 20th century, Walt Disney Company was the second largest media conglomerate in the world – Now they had a wide array of domestic and international investments – The companies revenues for 2000 were more than $25 billion – Disney owns the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) – Broadcast TV stations – Radio stations and networks – Maintains partial ownership of several cable networks including 80% of ESPN and 38% of A&E and Lifetime – Walt Disney Studios produces films under the Touchstone, Hollywood Picture and Miramax labels – The company is involved in home video, recorded music, theatrical productions, and consumer products – It has more than 600 Disney Stores around the world where these products are sold – Disney currently has six major theme parks in USA and three others around the world – The company also owns extensive hotel and resort properties – Variety of regional entertainment centers – A cruise line – Sports investments – And a planned community in Florida called Celebration – The Walt Disney Internet Group includes sites such as ABC.com, Disney Online and ESPN.com A political economic analysis of the Disney Company would investigate the beneficiaries of their policies and motivations (shareholders and managers) It would require looking at mechanisms of control within the corporation that influence the production and distribution of its products and services A complete study would look carefully at large stockholders, their relation to managers, and the composition of the board of directors. Ties to other companies and institutions would need to be explored as well