1. Political Economy Perspectives
Lecture 4
Political Economy Perspectives

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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.

11. 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

12. 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.

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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?

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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

32. 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.

33. 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

34. 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

35. 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

36. 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

37. 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