Custom essays on Political Economy

Thinking about political economy perspectives on media markets, we should state that they remain relevant for analysts of today. Theories of media objectively are interdisciplinary in their nature; interdesciplinarity becomes the most important feature of mediaeconomics by entering into scientific concepts of integrated economic and journalistic article. From consideration of the major concepts of mediaeconomics, we should briefly dwell on the basic terms, around which this discipline is working.
It is obvious that the main focus of mediaeconomics – is micro, because it is primarily specific media industry and media market, the behaviour of producers and consumers of media products. However, it is important to remember that at the microeconomic factors directly affect the macroeconomic effects of the order. This is true for all sectors of the economy, but it is doubly true for the media industry, which is due to the specifics of the goods produced by enterprises of the media in a special way is included in public life and macroeconomic processes.
Historically, in Anglo-Saxon world media research paid considerable attention to the analysis of property relations and economic control over the media. Paying attention to micro-economic processes and phenomena, the researchers, among them we can find Balnaves & Donald injected in analysis of a broad political-economic perspective, find out how the division of power in society is projected on economic relations in the media and, consequently, the behaviour of media companies in their markets. (Balnaves & Donald, 2001) Thus, was created the political economy of media.
Political economy – is the science of industrial relations between people and the economic laws governing the development of historically successive socio-economic formations. For the media we can talk about the analysis of how the power relations in society shape the production, distribution and consumption of resources, the media industry. It is important to emphasize that it is in studies of economic convergence of the media there is a special Political Economy and Economics that it is not surprising because of the special role of the media in society and the dual nature of the market Media.
The specific challenge facing the modern journalist and perspectives of their work are that they should have at least a general idea of two related but still separate from each other’s disciplines. On the one hand, it must be functioning media in a macroeconomic context, which focuses on political and economic tradition of media research.

On the other, any journalist, not even aspiring to work in the commercial department of media companies need to have ideas about micro-economic situation in the media industry. Cohen mentioned that is what directs our attention to mediaeconomics – economic discipline, dealing with issues of economy, i.e. maximum use of what are media companies. (Cohen, 2007) This means the practical use of the material (buildings, equipment, finance) and intangible (information, people – journalists, managers, technical professionals and support staff) resources, which leads to maximum efficiency of media industry in particular and the media industry as a whole.
It is necessary to mention that media serve as both the economy and, as important social institutions of modern democracy, and how the industry production values, perceptions and ideas, and how the industry of leisure time, inseparable from modern society. The indivisibility, interrelation of these two disciplines allows us to consider them in unity, the actuality and relevance of integrated term, which brings together political economy of media and economy – mediaeconomics. In proposing this concept for the reader, I stress that mediaeconomics – is an interdisciplinary area that includes the elements of mediaeconomics (the behaviour of producers and consumers of media, the theory of market media structure’s competition) and the political economy of mass media (influence of government and society in media production, distribution and consumption of resources in mediaeconomics).
Thus, based on all above said it is necessary to conclude that for the media we can talk about how the power relations in society shape the production, distribution and consumption of resources, the media industry. It is important to emphasize that it is in studies of economy there is a special media convergence of political economy and Economics, which is not surprising because of the special role of media in society and the dual nature of the media market.
In the political structure of society, the media plays a significant role, acting as a social institution, which implements the mobilization and recreational functions. From this point of view, the “media markets” understand the public space in which journalists and media companies in a variety of social ideas and concepts, popular audience, who is, citizens of the society. The combination of the words “the marketplace of ideas” is not as absurd as it involves a free exchange of ideas between different social forces and agents, similar to the exchange of goods and services on the market. According to all above said we should say that political economy has real perspectives on media markets.

Works cited:
Adorno T. & Horkheimer, V. ‘The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception’, in The Dialectics of Enlightenment. New York: Heder and Heder, 1972.
Alt, J. and Kenneth, S. Perspectives on Positive Political Economy Cambridge [UK]; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
Balnaves, M., Donald, J., Donald, S. The Penguin Atlas of Media and Information. Key Issues and Global Trends. Penguin Reference, 2001.
Cohen, B. ‘The transatlantic divide: Why are American and British IPE so different?’ Review of International Political Economy, Vol. 14, No. 2, May 2007.
Groenwegen, P. “political economy” and “economics”, The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v. 3, pp. 904–07, 1987.
Krueger, A. “The Political Economy of the Rent-Seeking Society,” American Economic Review, 64(3), June 1974.
Mayer, C. “In search of Stability: Explorations in Historical Political Economy”, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1987.
McCoy, D. “The Elusive Republic: Political Economy in Jeffersonian America”, Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina, 1980.
Mosco, V. The Political Economy of Communication. Rethinking and Renewal. London, Sage, 1996.
Picard, R. Media Economics. Concepts and Issues. London, Sage, 1989.