Political Economy Perspectives Lecture 4 Political Economy Perspectives

Introduction Adopts a fundamentalist Marxist approach Sees media as instruments of the capitalist class Sees the products of the media as determined by the capitalist mode of production. Media, therefore, seen as promoting capitalist class ideology

History of Political Economy Has roots in the Enlightenment, a period of significant scientific and technological developments in Europe, leading to social, political and economic upheavals (development of capitalism, the Industrial Revolution; transformation from agricultural to commercial, manufacturing and industrial societies) An attempt to: i. Explain the social changes taking place ii. Explain the best conditions for economic development iii. Examine how society should be organised in the changing environment

History of Political Economy 1. Classical Political Economy Develops towards the end of the 18th century Is associated with writers such as Adam Smith; David Ricardo; John Stuart Mill, among others It explained changes in society by examining capitalism Their ideas include: i. Capitalism is the best way to generate wealth ii. A free market, not protectionism, is the best system iii. Private ownership is central to capitalism iv. Possession of land is not as important as possession of labour (prioritise division of labour) v. Advocating for free speech: private ownership and a free market seen as promoting a free press

History of Political Economy 2. Marxist Political Economy The ideas of the classical political economists were challenged as: The inequalities inherent in capitalism created conflict in industrial societies Ownership of the media was increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few capitalists Marx acknowledged that capitalism could create wealth, but: It created inequalities in the distribution of resources One class owned the means of production That class used its power to promote its interests The media were used to promote that class’ ideology

Theoretical Influences 1. Marxism is therefore the main theoretical influence on political economy perspectives Political economy theorists are influenced by Marx’s ideas on: Base and superstructure Commodification Ideology

Theoretical Influences 2. Frankfurt School ideas about: i. The industrialisation of cultural products ii. The public sphere, ie, subscribe to Habermas’ concept of a public arena that is: Accessible, ie, open to all groups in society Diverse, ie, has a range of expressions Representative, in which all groups can recognise themselves Political economists use such an ideal as a yardstick to measure existing systems and formulate alternatives 3. Cultural studies, ie, some political economists incorporate cultural studies ideas about i. Construction of meaning into texts (preferred readings) ii. Consumption of texts being influenced by several factors affecting audiences

Context 1. Deregulation Relaxation of ownership rules and of rules governing content, especially in broadcasting Deregulation has been particularly prevalent in broadcasting, leading to: An increase in the number of channels available These channels operate according to market rules Increased competition has led to the creation of content aimed at attracting audiences and advertisers

Context 2. Changing Ownership Patterns The trend in the media is the concentration of ownership in the hands of a few large companies becos of: i. Horizontal integration, ie, taking over or merging with companies producing the same products ii. Vertical integration, ie, entering into mergers and acquisitions to control production and distribution iii. Diversification, ie, mergers and acquisitions to acquire non-media interests

Context iv. Technological convergence, which has led to mergers and acquisitions involving companies that previously existed in separate communication sectors. v. Expansion beyond national borders, leading to dominance of global media industries by a few large corporations These developments have led to cross-media ownership, in which companies have interests in more than one medium.

Context 3. Increased commercialism, ie, commodification of media products, ie, creation of products primarily for profit This is the result of: i. Deregulation ii. Increased competition in the media iii. Declining consumer demand for some media products iv. Increased consumer resistance to advertising This has led to: The creation of media products that will attract audiences and advertisers An increase in advertising content in the media The blurring of lines between advertising and other media content

Context 4. Increased management of the flow of information by corporations, through i. Creation of broadcast, print and online corporate communication aimed internally and externally ii. Corporate communication increasingly taking form of news and other media products iii. News management, ie, control of news agenda by corporate press officers.

Context 5. Government participation in the media through i. Advertising, ie, Western governments are among the major advertisers in the media ii. Provision of public information through press conferences, speeches, reports, press releases, etc iii. Increased use of spin in the news media

Context 5. Worsening social inequalities There is unequal distribution of wealth that has led to a gap between: i. Men and women ii. Different racial and ethnic groups iii. Rich and poor iv. ‘Developed’ and ‘developing’ nations This means there is unequal access to media The gap has been widened by new technologies

What Political Economists Study Issues studied include: i. Economic determinants of media ii. Link between ownership/control and content of media products iii. Work practices and ideologies of media professionals and their impact on the content of media products iv. Development of the media under capitalism Extension of corporate power Commodification and commercialisation of media Consequences of these developments

Overview of Ideas 1. Economic base determines media contents and messages The media are controlled by owners and advertisers, who own means of production Owners and advertisers determine media contents and messages 2. Becos the media are determined by the economic base, media structures tend towards concentration 3. This concentration extends beyond national borders, leading to global control of media

Overview of Ideas 4. These developments have implications that include: Increased commercialism of media Commodification of media products and audiences Reduced diversity in media contents and messages Emphasis on the prevailing consensus, ie, the political, economic and cultural status quo Marginalisation of alternative voices Less emphasis on public interest function of media and more on profit and interests of owners and advertisers

Differences Within Political Economy Political economists agree that national and global media are controlled by a few large corporations However, there are differences over the relationship between ownership and control and media content There are two approaches to this within political economy, ie, the instrumental approach and the structural approach Both are influenced by Marx, whose work shows evidence of both instrumentalism and structuralism Instrumentalism in Marx has two variants: i. The specific variant focuses on individual capitalists and the way they use the media as instruments to promote their interests and protect their power and privilege ii. The general variant sees the media being used to promote the interests of capitalists as a class

Differences Within Political Economy Structuralism in Marx is demonstrated in the belief that the structure of capitalism limits power of owners. According to Marx: i. Capitalism has a momentum of its own and capitalists don’t have complete control over it ii. It is subject to economic crises, ie, it’s the subject of booms and slumps iii. These characteristics, which are inherent in the nature of capitalism, limit the control of owners

Instrumental Approach There is a direct relationship between ownership and control and content 1. At a specific level, instrumentalists examine the control exercised by individual capitalists or organisations on media content and messages. They support this view by pointing to: The survival of individual/family ownership of the media The concentration of ownership in the hands of a few corporations with clearly capitalist interests They believe that these owners i. Have interest in increasing profits ii. May have interest in promoting their views or values They, therefore, study how: Owners use their control to promote their ideologies Conglomerates use the media to protect their economic interests

Instrumental Approach 2. At a general level, the instrumental approach says owners use the media to promote the interests of capitalists as a class They support this by pointing to research that suggests that: i. Most media content legitimates the central values of capitalism ii. Owners of the media have common interests with capitalists in other sectors

Criticism of Instrumental Approach 1. It’s seen by some critics as descending to the level of conspiracy theory by portraying capitalists as working together to manipulate the media 2. Seen as ignoring differences that divide capitalists 3. It’s difficult to obtain empirical evidence about what happens within media organisations 4. Seen as too simplistic becos it describes a causal relationship between control and media content and messages 5. Ignores the influence of media professionals and consumers

Structural Approach Says there is no direct relationship between ownership and control and content; and that there are limits to control Impossible for owners to directly control media production, they have to also rely on media professionals, who have a degree of autonomy Analyses how the mode of production limits the choices/actions of owners and media professionals Doesn’t focus on individual owners but on owners, managers and workers and how they are limited by the nature of capitalism Therefore, they focus on how economic structures determine/shape the activities of owners, managers and workers They believe to understand the media, you have to understand the context within which they operate The approach addresses some of the criticisms directed at the instrumental approach

Structural Analysis Examines economic structures within the media, ie, underlying structures that shape/determine content. These include 1. Structures within media organisations. It investigates: i. Division of labour into social classes ii. The nature of the product, which services the system of material production through: Advertising Providing market intelligence Playing a part in corporate communication Playing a role in capital-labour relations

Structural Analysis iii. Influence of media professionals, ie, those with the specialised skills and functions in the production and distribution of media products Believe researchers should ask: Who are they? How are they selected and trained? What are their class origins? How are they organised? What are their ideologies? How do these factors affect what they produce?

Structural Analysis iv. Process of production and distribution Media products: Need expensive technology and people with skills Expensive to produce but cheap to reproduce They have a novelty value, ie, they must be new and innovative to be attractive They are not destroyed in consumption They need efficient distribution and marketing As a result, they need large amounts of investment This is believed to have led to concentration and internationalisation to maximise profits

Structural Analysis 2. Media Industries Need to make profits, which is seen as having contributed to the increased concentration and internationalisation of media Competition between media producers has also shaped media content Reliance on advertising has had a major impact on media content Reliance on certain kinds of sources in the news media has an impact on media content

Structural Analysis 3. Consumer Markets Examines consumer demand for finished products and how this shapes/determines media content. Factors shaping content include the fact that: Consumer demand is not determined by the need for subsistence but by psychological and symbolic needs Demand is determined by status competition, ie, competition for certain products to attain social or cultural status

Structural Analysis 4. Media Texts i. Texts have meanings structured into them These meanings are determined by socio-economic factors discussed above ii. The interpretative frames used to extract meaning from texts is determined by socio-economic structures iii. The translation of meanings into action will also be determined by socio-economic structures

Critical Political Economy Critical political economy, however, says a comprehensive analysis should take both an instrumental and a structural approach Approach is taken by writers such as Golding and Murdock, who believe that: i. The instrumental approach is necessary to investigate owners and their interests ii. A structural approach is necessary to investigate the limits and pressures affecting owners iii. The economic base shouldn’t be seen as explaining everything in the media. iv. However, the economy shapes the environment within which the media operate but is not the single factor that explains everything

Critical Political Economy Critical political economy studies: 1. Production of media products, which is controlled by large corporations and shaped by their interests and strategies The power of these organisations has been increased by: Deregulation and privatisation Technological convergence, which is removing the barriers between different communication sectors Their control is exercised in two ways: A large part of media production is done by conglomerates with diverse interests ii. Corporations in non-media sectors exercise control as advertisers

Critical Political Economy The effects of this include: i. Commodification of cultural products, which can be minimised through public intervention ii. Reduction of media plurality as conglomerates put up barriers to market entry iii. Reduction in the diversity of cultural goods in circulation iv.

Critical Political Economy 2. Political economy of texts, ie, the economic determinants of the representations seen in media texts Believe the economic structures of production promote certain cultural forms over others This imposes constraints, including: i. Prioritises specific narrative formats ii. Narrows the range of social and cultural values portrayed in media texts This, therefore, marginalises other narrative formats and ideologies

Critical Political Economy 3. Political economy of consumption Believe such an analysis enables them to show how material/economic inequalities lead to cultural inequalities. This attacks the liberal pluralist ideal of consumer sovereignty, which political economists is impossible becos of: i. Material barriers such as access to resources and disparities in income and disposable income. There are disparities between social groups in ownership of resources and this leads to disparities in the ownership of media products ii. Cultural barriers such as family dynamics, access to leisure time and ability to interpret and effectively use media products

Critical Political Economy 4. How relations between the state and the media affect the range of expressions and ideas circulating in the public arena Political economists note several recent developments: i. State agencies have become major users of communication tools ii. Govts have become major producers of information iii. Increased subsidisation of cultural enterprises

Critical Political Economy Examines the impact of these developments, ie, how the government is using its power This includes examining: Govt agenda building through advertising News management by govt spin doctors How subsidisation might give govt influence over content

Criticism of Political Economy Perspectives Comes mainly from liberal pluralists, cultural studies and postmodernists Criticism includes charges that: i. Deterministic ii. Ignores power of audiences to determine what is produced, ie, consumer sovereignity iii. Ignores power of media professionals iv. Fails to distinguish between different types of media v. Audiences seen as passive receivers vi. Obsessed with production and ignores how media are consumers vii. Postmodernists see media producing cultural forms that empower individuals