This essential guide to the critical study of the media economy in society teaches students how to critically analyse the political economy of communication and the media.
The book introduces a variety of methods and topics, including the political economy of communication in capitalism, the political economy of media concentration, the political economy of advertising, the political economy of global media and transnational media corporations, class relations and working conditions in the capitalist media and communication industry, the political economy of the Internet and digital media, the information society and digital capitalism, the public sphere, Public Service Media, the Public Service Internet, and the political economy of media management.
This will be an ideal textbook for a variety of courses relating to media and communication, including Media Economics; Political Economy of Communication; Media, Culture, and Society; Critical Media and Communication Studies; Media Sociology; Media Management; and Media Business Studies.
1. Introduction Part I: Foundations 2. What is Political Economy? 3. What is Media Economics? 4. The Political Economy of Communication and the Media 5. The Critical Tradition in the Analysis of Media, Communication, Economy, and Society Part II: Applications 6. The Political Economy of Media Concentration 7. The Political Economy of Advertising 8. The Political Economy of Global Media 9. Media Work: The Political Economy of Cultural Labour in the Media Industry 10. The Political Economy of the Internet and Digital Media 11. The Political Economy of the Information Society and Digital Capitalism 12. The Political Economy of the Public Sphere and the Digital Public Sphere 13. The Political Economy of Public Service Media and the Public Service Internet 14. The Political Economy of Media Management
Biography
Christian Fuchs is Professor of Media Systems and Media Organisation at Paderborn University, Germany. He is a critical theorist of communication and society. He is co-editor of the journal tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique. He is author of many publications, including the books Social Media: A Critical Introduction (2021, third edition; 2024, fourth edition), Digital Capitalism (2022), and Communication and Capitalism: A Critical Theory (2020).
"With clarity and thoroughness, Christian Fuchs succeeds brilliantly in guiding students through the fields of media economics and the political economy of the media. Covering the widest range of theoretical perspectives and substantive areas, from advertising to media management, from cultural labor to the public sphere, this book is essential reading for anyone who cares about the state of contemporary media."
Vincent Mosco, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
