This document discusses the political economy of mass communication and its various definitions and approaches. It begins by defining political economy narrowly as the study of power relations influencing production, distribution, and consumption of resources. It then outlines classical, American, European, and Marxist traditions of political economy. The classical tradition focused on social change and the totality of social relations. The American tradition views political economy in terms of institutional and technological constraints benefiting corporations and governments. The European tradition emphasizes class power and struggle. Marxism places labor at the center and sees the media as determined by the economic base and disseminating the dominant ideology.

1. N A M E : S H A H A B A L I
S U B M I T T E D T O : S I R J U N A I D G H U R I
I I U I
M E D I A S T U D Y
M S - 2 N D
Political Economy of mass
communication

2. Vincent Moscow 1995
 Narrow definition: Study of the power relations
that influence the production, distribution and
consumption of resources.
 “Ideology is the Power”
 What is the relationship of ideology with the means
of production, distribution and consumption of
resources?

3. Ideology is the Power
Media is ideological institution
Media is cultural production

4. Classical Approaches of political ideology
 Classic Political economy political economists of
18/19th Centuries included Adam smith, David
Ricardo, J.S Mill and Karl Marx.
What exactly the political economy ??
The focused on social change and historical
transformation.
Examined social whole the totality of social relations
that make up life particularly the integration of politics
economics.

5. Values in Early political economy
 Self Interest
 Materialism
 Individual freedom
 Resistance to commodification labor
 Extension of democracy in all aspects of social life

6. Political economy of Communication
 According to American Tradition (Schiller & Smyth)
 Political economy is defined is defined in two
different dimensions Such as Institutional approach
and Marxian traditions
 Institutional:
How institutional and technological constraints shape
markets to the advantage of corporations and
government powerful enough to control them.

7. Institutional Approach
 Mass Media and Communication are technological
constitution.
 Technology shape news production
 Limitations
 Constraints

8. Institutional Approach
 Schiller: Government is also a very important role in
media & medium
 Media also Surf government interest
 Media always with government in foreign policy and
criticize in internal policy
 According to Schiller the corporate interest are
coming with the government interest

9. Neo-Marxian
 According Neo-Marxian: Places labor at center of
analysis, issues such as automation deskilling,
international division of labor.

10. European Tradition
 Political economy of communication definition given
by European tradition (Peter Golding & Murdoch)
 Stronger focus on class power/ Struggle.
 Third world: Political economy in term of third
world: Stronger focus on responses to western
modernization or developmental paradigms.

11. European Tradition
 Pamela shoemaker: (1994) Is the first scholar who
presented the idea that media not only influences
target audience's but it, itself is influenced by a
number of factors.
 Explanation:
Mass media are effecting the mass at the same time
there is some factors which effect the mass media.

12. Factors of influenced
 Content is influenced by the ideology of those whose
are in the power in the society.
 Content is influenced by owners other institutions/
factors like government advertisers.

13. Karl Marx
 Political economy has been derived from the notion
given by karl Marx
 He has given three conceptions. Base, Superstructure
and ideology.
 In the mass Media Context:
1. Base or means of Production is media content.
2. Superstructure is the culture of the society
3. Ideology is the idea that elite inject in their mind of
the people to further the cause of their domination.

14. Karl Marx
 The Mass media are in classical Marxist terms a
means of Production which in capitalist society are
in the ownership of the ruling class.
 In Classical Marxist term Super Structure means the
cultural industry.
 According to this view the content of the media and
the meaning carried by their message are primarily
determined by the economic base of the
organizations in which they are produced.

15. Ideology
 “Ideology the ideas elite inject in the mind of the
people.”
 From this perspective the mass media disseminate
the dominant ideology
 The values od the class which owns and controls the
media

16. Conclusion
 The concepts of political economy has multiple
dimensions effected by different school of thoughts
at the same time. Such school of thoughts due to
thinker while others are region.

17. Thanks