Political economy of communications


The Political Economy of Communications, news, or media, is a particular branch in Communication studies or media studies which studies the power relations that shape the communication of information from the mass media to its publics. This concept has been developed by media and political economy scholars such as; Dallas Walker Smythe, Herbert Schiller, Graham Murdock, Peter Golding, Vincent Mosco, Dan Schiller, and Robert W. McChesney. PEC analyzes the power relations between the mass media system, information and communications technologies and the wider socioeconomic structure in which these operate, with a focus on understanding the historical and current state of technological developments.

Influences

One of the most early modern works in the political economy of communications are from Harold Innis', which were compiled in the book Empire and Communications. This directly inspired Marshall McLuhan, a colleague of Innis at the University of Toronto, who would later be made famous for the dictum "the medium is the message". Subsequent PEC approaches have been heavily influenced by Marxist thought and democratic politics, as it questions the powers residing within communications and the state necessary for democracy to be realized.
Political economy of communications was significantly impacted by economist Robert A. Brady’s teachings. Brady initiated a search of social practices and emerging authoritarian that were later on further created by Dallas W. Smythe and Herbert I. Schiller. Brady did not officially work with the structure of Marxist philosophy; he was rather focused on “the interaction of social and economic factors in a business. Lastly, after doing some research Brady concluded that the principal issue was whether planning and decision making within a company could adapt to decision making by majority of votes.

Central Characteristics and Main Topics of Study

There are four central characteristics that are integral in expanding the definition of political economy of communication. They provide the means to analyze an issue, technology or way of life when doing so through a political economic perspective. The characteristics are as follows:
  • History and Social Change: It is necessary to analyze the history of an issue or technology and compare it to the present day in order to find out who or what is responsible for the social change. Through this, one is able to attain a deeper understanding and identify patterns that will provide guidance and clarity for future transformations and social change.
  • Social Totality: This characteristic discusses the "big picture". It is necessary to look at a circumstance through various point of views and approaches other aspects such as economic, social and cultural to see what elements that society is lacking of and then find a solution to solve that.
  • Moral Philosophy: This characteristic serves to articulate morals that reside within economic and political economic perspectives. When employing this characteristic in analysis, it is necessary to assess the moral implications of a situation, and how it impacts society as a whole.
  • Praxis: The word is a combination of "practice" and "theory". This characteristic discusses the importance of action and intervention. By combining the knowledge attained from the three previous characteristics, it mean that we should know how to be flexible when applying this knowledge to reality and take action where change is necessary and suitable for society, and human civilization.  

The political economy of communications looks at a range of issues that affect society. Below are the main topics of study that political economists often discuss.
  • Capitalism: There are two main tenets that define a capitalist economy; Wage Labour and Production for Profit. Wage labour is when a person is hired to work for a company or business in exchange for a wage, or annual salary. Privately owned companies that manufacture and sell their own services or goods, and expect a profit in return are engaging in Production for Profit. Political economists are interested in capitalism as it is shapes production and distribution, and reveals power relations embedded in society. However, in some ways, as the capitalism raises problems like commodification and commercialization, PEC criticizes about capitalism.
  • Media ownership: Concentration of ownership in media industries as a result of convergence and media conglomeration under neoliberal economics have become a concern for media diversity and democratic discourse.
  • Support Mechanisms: Advertising, marketing, subscription, social media, and crowdfunding revenues are examples of economic support for media organizations. These mechanisms influence which content is or is not published, and the nature of the commodity, thus making these mechanisms relevant to PEC studies.
  • Government Policy: Policy regulates media ownership, affecting how media industries operate and the role they play in society.
  • Globalization: increasing the communication and interaction between countries to develop in every aspect. Especially in communication category, globalization helps the trading flow and the economic grow effectively. For instance, the Korean idol group SuperM had their first debut in the US in 2019, the group's popularity began to spread and attract many supporters. Therefore, SuperM's fans start to buy their album, goods and results in the trading flow runs smoothly.
  • Regulation: can be understood as policies, laws which are offered by the government to control every activity, especially in the market and trading flow. The most important thing is the activities of private industries and citizens will be interfered by government regulation heavily. Regulation helps to maintain the social order as without it, people who have more power will be the one control the society. However, with the overwhelmed involvement of the state, regulation might cause difficulties for private companies to run smoothly sometimes.
  • Neoliberalism: the less interference of the government in the operations of the market and trading flow. Neoliberalism is characterized by deregulating, encouraging privatization and decreasing trade barriers. Especially focus on the meaning of "freedom" and "agency".

    Journalism/News Media

Because journalism/news media is the core to a functioning democratic society, PEC works towards the goal of "healthy journalism."
Healthy journalism can be defined through four characteristics, outlined by Robert W. McChesney. The first characteristic is ensuring that journalists are thorough and exhaustive in reports of the elite. The second is ensuring that the news being produced keeps the needs of the larger public in mind, as their power resides in knowledge and not property, such as the elite. Thirdly, it must remain truthful, and has systems in place to guarantee this truth. Lastly, a range of opinions on a wide array of topics is required as to provide insight and depth on what is happening, what is to happen and what to do about it. Unfortunately for democracy, the current state of news media around the world and especially that of the United States, falls short of the general consensus among media scholars and democratic theory on what is considered to be healthy journalism. This is due in part to the overwhelming amount of public relations material being posed as news.
It is in the interest of PEC that journalism instead provide a "rigorous account" of those in power, meet the information needs of all classes and people, be truthful, and act as an early warning system that provides a "wide range of informed opinions on the most important issues of our time."
Propaganda: systematic thoughts, using information to influence audiences with the desire is to change their behaviors. The propaganda model can be made by anyone, who wants to advocate their thoughts. Different from the concept Ideology which operates unconsciously, propaganda is operated intentionally. The term propaganda model relates to news media, includes 5 filters which suggests how the news is "filtered" and edited into a content that suit with the demand and interests of those people who have more power and wealth, especially corporations and the government.
  • Size, ownership of the medium
  • Medium's funding sources
  • Sourcing
  • Flak
  • Anti-communism ideology

    New Media

are undoubtedly experiencing considerable changes in platform, technology, and economic structure as the digital era continues to shift people toward new media. Traditional financial configurations and business models have been destabilized by this transformation. However, new mechanisms of power have emerged from this more open system of information and news creation. The availability of information can now be skewed or influenced through "search, aggregation, and digital distribution infrastructures". Vincent Mosco's definition of political economic studies, where the "production, distribution, and consumption of resources, including communication resources” are essential, remains relevant in times of new media since a new network economy or society forms its own power relations.