the study of the political economy of the media in the twenty-first century abstract This discussion presents a brief overview of the establishment and expansion of the study of the political economy of media and communications, followed by attention to some of current directions of this approach. Themes and concepts developed by political economists of the media are reviewed, as well as internal and external critiques of the approach. Recent developments are discussed, including the growth of integrated studies, the return to classic Marxist themes, integration of digital technologies, and attention to policy and activism.Julie Webber is associate professor in the
Running through the revolution in European thought that came to be known as the Enlightenment were three central ambitions. The first was to develop new accounts of the natural and social worlds that were empirically grounded and expressed in rationally informed theoretical systems. The second was to replace the arbitrary power of kings and despots with a system of government in which every adult participated in political debates and decision as a free and equal citizen. And the third was to provide a nonreligious basis for moral action that would balance the pursuit of personal interests against the demands of the common good.Political economy was, from the outset, caught up in all three projects. For its early practitioners, like Adam Smith, theoretical and empirical questions about how to organize economic life and balance markets against state intervention were inextricably bound up with questions about the constitution of the good society. Marx, who presented his magnum opus, Capital, as a critique of political economy, shared this ethical concern, but argued forcefully that it could only be pursued by abolishing capitalism. Other socialists opted for a more gradualist approach in which the negative impacts of capitalist dynamics would be disciplined by strong public regulation and countered by substantial investment in public services.
Studying the political economy of communications is no longer a marginal approach in media/communication studies in North America and some parts of Europe. Increasingly, the study of political economy is crucial to understanding the growth and global expansion of media and information industries. Thus, more researchers have turned to this perspective as a necessary and logical way to study these developments. This article will discuss the foundations and some of the major works in the study of the political economy of media and communications (PE/C). The focus is mostly on North American and Britain, with some European references. The discussion is intended to present an overview of the development of this approach, as well as providing a few examples of research representing the perspective. A brief discussion of the approach's relationship to media economics and cultural studies also will be included.
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