The Media Economy

This fully updated third edition analyzes the media industries and their activities from macro to micro levels, using concepts and theories to demonstrate the role the media plays in the economy as a whole. This textbook breaks new ground through its analysis of the rapidly changing and evolving media economy from two unique perspectives. First, the book explores how media industries function across global, national, household, and individual levels of society. Second, it assesses how key forces such as technology, globalization, regulation, and consumer aspects are constantly evolving and influencing media industries. This new edition incorporates thoroughly updated theory and research as well as expanded case studies that include examples from international markets such as Asia, Europe, and Latin America. It builds on the contributions of the previous edition by providing new references and current data to define and analyze today’s media markets and offers a more expansive assessment of streaming business models as well as the effects of Covid-19 on the media economy. Written in an accessible style and presenting a holistic global perspective of the role of media in the global economy, the textbook provides crucial insights for students and practitioners of media economics, media management and media industries.

How are “grey market” imports changing media industries? What is the role of piracy in developing new markets for movies and TV shows? How do jailbroken iPhones drive innovation? The Informal Media Economy provides a vivid, original, and genuinely transnational account of contemporary media, by showing how the interactions between formal and informal media systems are a feature of all nations – rich and poor, large and small. Shifting the focus away from the formal businesses and public enterprises that have long occupied media researchers, this book charts a parallel world of cultural intermediaries driving global media production and circulation. It shows how unlicensed, untaxed, or unregulated networks, which operate across the boundaries of established media markets, have been a driving force of media industry transformation. The book opens up new insights on a range of topical issues in media studies, from the creative disruptions of digitisation to amateur production, piracy and cybercrime.

The Media Economy analyzes the media industries and its activities from macro to micro levels, using concepts and theories to demonstrate the role the media plays in the economy as a whole. Representing a rapidly changing and evolving environment, this text breaks new ground through its analysis from two unique perspectives: 1) Examining the media industries from a holistic perspective by analyzing how the media industries function across different levels of society (global, national, household, and individual); 2) Looking at the key forces (technology, globalization, regulation, and social aspects) constantly evolving and influencing the media industries. Building on the contributions of the original text, this Second Edition provides new references and current data to define and analyze today’s media markets. To understand the role of media in the global economy, the insights included here are crucial for media students and practitioners.

Handbook of Media Economics provides valuable information on a unique field that has its own theories, evidence, and policies. Understanding the media is important for society, and while new technologies are altering the media, they are also affecting our understanding of their economics. Chapters span the large scope of media economics, simultaneously offering in-depth analysis of particular topics, including the economics of why media are important, how media work (including financing sources, institutional settings, and regulation), what determines media content (including media bias), and the effects of new technologies. The volumes provide a powerful introduction for those interested in starting research in media economics. Helps academic and non-academic economists understand recent rapid changes in theoretical and empirical advances, in structural empirical methods, and in the media industry's connection with the democratic process Presents the only detailed summary of media economics that emphasizes political economy, merger policy, and competition policy Pays special attention to the economic influences of the Internet, including developments in social media, user-generated content, and advertising, as well as the Internet's effects on newspapers, radio, and television

How the media are organised and funded is central to understanding their role in society. Critical Political Economy of the Media provides a clear, comprehensive and insightful introduction to the political economic analysis of contemporary media. Jonathan Hardy undertakes a critical survey of political economy scholarship encompassing worldwide literature, issues and debates, and relationships with other academic approaches. He assesses different ways of making sense of media convergence and digitalisation, media power and influence, and transformations across communication markets. Many of the problems of the media that prompted critical political economy research remain salient, he argues, but the approach must continue to adapt to new conditions and challenges. Hardy advances the case for a revitalised critical media studies for the 21st century. Topics covered include: media ownership and financing news and entertainment convergence and the Internet media globalisation advertising and media alternative media media policy and regulation Introducing key concepts and research, this book explains how political economy can assist students, researchers and citizens to investigate and address vital questions about the media today.

The rapid growth of electronic commerce, along with changes in information, computing, and communications, is having a profound effect on the United States economy. President Clinton recently directed the National Economic Council, in consultation with executive branch agencies, to analyze the economic implications of the Internet and electronic commerce domestically and internationally, and to consider new types of data collection and research that could be undertaken by public and private organizations. This book contains work presented at a conference held by executive branch agencies in May 1999 at the Department of Commerce. The goals of the conference were to assess current research on the digital economy, to engage the private sector in developing the research that informs investment and policy decisions, and to promote better understanding of the growth and socioeconomic implications of information technology and electronic commerce. Aspects of the digital economy addressed include macroeconomic assessment, organizational change, small business, access, market structure and competition, and employment and the workforce.

Media Economics: Theory and Practice focuses on the basic principles of economics in the business sector and applies them to contemporary media industries. This text examines the process of media economics decision making through an exploration of key topics, such as industrial restructuring, regulatory constraints upon media operations, and changing economic value, providing key insights into media business activities. With the structure and value of media industries changing rapidly and sometimes dramatically, this text moves beyond a basic documentation of historical patterns to help readers understand the mechanics of change, offering insight into the processes reproducing contemporary trends in media economics. Thoroughly updated in this third edition, Media Economics focuses on the primary concerns of media economics, the techniques of economic and business analysis, and the overall characteristics of the media environment; and explores contemporary business practices within specific media industries, including newspaper, magazine, television, cable, movie, radio advertising, music, and online industries. New for this edition are chapters on the advertising, book publishing, and magazine publishing industries. Chapters contributed by expert scholars and researchers provide substantial discussions of the crucial topics and issues in the media industry sectors, and emphasize both domestic and international businesses. Offering a thorough examination of the economic factors and forces concerning the media industries, Media Economics is appropriate for use as a course text for advanced media management and economics students. It also serves as an indispensable reference for scholars and researchers in media business arenas.

`This book provides an extremely well written and informative introduction to the subject of media economics, characterized by clarity in the explanation of concepts or frameworks and by a balanced discussion for the respective positions in areas of debate' - Paul MacDonald, Roehampton Institute Understanding Media Economics provides a clear, precise introduction to the key economic concepts and issues affecting the media. The book: explains the fundamental concepts relevant to the study of media economics; considers the key industrial questions facing the media industries today; relates economic theory to business practice; covers a wide range of media activity - advertising, television, film, print media, and new media; and looks at the impact of economics on public policy. Understanding Media Economics offers a stimulating perspective on the contemporary media environment. This book will be an essential purchase for all students of the media and mass communication.

There is a small and growing literature that explores the impact of digitization in a variety of contexts, but its economic consequences, surprisingly, remain poorly understood. This volume aims to set the agenda for research in the economics of digitization, with each chapter identifying a promising area of research. "Economics of Digitization "identifies urgent topics with research already underway that warrant further exploration from economists. In addition to the growing importance of digitization itself, digital technologies have some features that suggest that many well-studied economic models may not apply and, indeed, so many aspects of the digital economy throw normal economics in a loop. "Economics of Digitization" will be one of the first to focus on the economic implications of digitization and to bring together leading scholars in the economics of digitization to explore emerging research.