ZURn4107 Political Economy of Media

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2021
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Monika Metyková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Lenka Waschková Císařová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Lenka Waschková Císařová, Ph.D.
Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Bc. Pavlína Brabcová
Supplier department: Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Fri 10:00–11:40 AVC
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to introduce students to political economy approaches to the study of media and mediated communication. A political economy approach is characterized by the study of social relations, above all power relations, that constitute the production, distribution and consumption of resources, in the case of this course particularly focussing on communication resources. We will explore how the communication business operates, for example, how communications products move through a chain of producers to wholesalers, retailers, and, finally consumers, whose purchases, rentals, and attention are fed back into new processes of production. We will also explore political and economic processes that impact on the media, such as funding models and regulatory frameworks.
Learning outcomes
Students will be able to:
- understand key topics related to political economy of media
- analyze the ways in which the unequal distribution of material and symbolic resources impact on communication activities and how the funding and organization of cultural products influence the range of discourses and representations as well as access to these
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction to the course. 2. Which political economy of the media?
  • 3. Media and Society
  • 4. Media Industries
  • 5. Who Owns the Media?
  • 6. Researching Commodities and Media Organizations
  • 7. Globalization of News Industries
  • 8. Digitization and the search for new business and distribution models
  • 9. Rise of The Prosumer: Democratization of Media Content Making or Labour for Free?
  • 10. Media Professionals: Autonomous, Creative and Diverse?
Literature
  • Curran, J. (2011) Media and Democracy. London: Routledge.
  • Castells, M. (1998) The information age: Economy, society and culture at the end of millennium. Oxford. Blackwell.
  • Bagdikian, B. (2004) The New Media Monopoly: A Completely Revised and Updated Edition With Seven New Chapters, 20th ed. (Boston: Beacon Press).
  • HESMONDHALGH, David. The cultural industries. 3rd edition. Los Angeles: Sage, 2013, xx, 456. ISBN 9781446209264. info
  • MOSCO, Vincent. The political economy of communication. 2nd ed. Los Angeles: Sage, 2009, x, 268. ISBN 9781412947008. info
  • THUSSU, Daya Kishan. Media on the move : global flow and contra-flow. New York: Routledge, 2006, xiv, 267. ISBN 0415354587. info
  • HERMAN, Edward S. and Noam CHOMSKY. Manufacturing consent : the political economy of the mass media. New York: Pantheon Books, 2002, lxiv, 412. ISBN 0375714499. info
  • DOYLE, Gillian. Understanding media economics. 1st pub. London: SAGE Publications, 2002, vii, 184. ISBN 0761968741. info
Teaching methods
lecture, seminar, reading
Assessment methods
written assignments, written assignment
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2021, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2021/ZURn4107