The Usefulness of a Political Economy of Media Essay

Media has been an uprising form of communication in the world today. It has portrayed to be a platform for that has enhanced the political approach to shaping the contemporary world. The political economy of media has provided a platform for coming up with all possible ways of reaching to people through various platforms of communication. Media analysis portrays that the communication approaches in the media platforms carry the weight of the influence that politics play in the world. Arsenault and Castells (2008, p.490) outlines that the way that media works today portrays that there are possible ways that there could be a set of global power shifts. The media has shown a set of challenges connected to the dynamics of power in line with the press being implicated as a vital agent of communication and social change (Evangelista, 2018, p. 137). The media has a role in the circulation of symbolic goods and the relationships of media politics and the relationships it has with institutions and actors. This paper seeks to analyze the usefulness of political economy of media and its influence on the today's life.

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Media power refers to the impact that people, processes, institutions, and capacities portray to be useful or defective to the society. Neoliberalism requires a new and appropriate definition that should be accompanied by the influence of media on the political system of a nation. Irrespective of the fact that the media has its adverse effects, the positive side portrays a set of advantages to human life. Satell (2016) outlines that the "internet influences the political economy in the manner that the platforms have no producers who can be constrained to air specific news." Therefore, the media has become a platform where everyone can post a piece of information that can impact the economy. Content and distribution value chain is the current information concerning the usefulness of the political economy of media. Satell (2016) outlines that the economy can be saved through the massive use of media as it enhances connectivity of people in the world. Also, a village was "spared from a deadly storm" by shipping news through the media (Satell, 2016).

The political economy of media is affiliated with the Marxist theory that revolves around the concept of labor., struggle, property and the value of life. Critical analysis of digital media is the primary approach that Wittel (2016) research communicated. Consequently, the investigation by Wittel (2016) offers light to come up with the idea that Marxist theory has been limitedly applied in the current world of digital media since the media platform is open for all people's unsearched opinions. However, the concepts allow the appropriation of Marxist's thoughts in an evidence-based argument and claims that the political economy of mass media portrays that it has engaged with the theories brought up by Marx in a limited manner (Wittel, 2016). The information age has become affiliated with capitalism which is an aspect that challenges the effective economic approaches. Free labor has changed due to the web induced influence that has brought up the lack of rigor which has brought up different unjustified practices.

The political economy of mass media has been characterized by a set of linear forms which are in line with the one-way flow of communication. "The content flow is made to come from a small number of producers to broad recipients" (Wittel 2016, p. 314). Media flow of information ends up leading to oversimplifications and a set of vague generalization. The generalizations lead to the formation of a coherent narrative in conjunction with nuanced perspectives (Wittel 2016). Their media has been turned into business thus the political economy has been corrupted by selfish needs of bloggers. Therefore, it is a requirement for content searchers to speculate through the information posted on media as a way of finding the required data. The media has been portrayed to be a robust platform that is capable of influencing the public opinion amid shaping the public discourse. The production of media content has become a challenging issue in the present-day life in line with the broader political and economic perspective (Wittel 2016, p. 315). The public good is an idea that is not a priority according to the current political system. The media platforms are the official drivers of the economy in a one-way manner since the people who feed the platforms are fewer than the recipients. The platforms end up being equally doubtful in assumptions that the mass media is the mirror of the public opinion (Wittel 2016, p. 314).

The usefulness of a political economy of media lies in the sharing of valuable ideas. However, the fact that media is useful in determining the relevance of the world's economy is corrupted by the notion that the public is the primary cause of change through media. Today media is flooded with young people who argue without facts or good reason (Evangelista 2018). Also, the social media is the primary platform that the young generation uses to boost their self-esteem thus the current blogging generation is based on people's opinions and benefits. Media companies enhance economic boost through views and sharing of the posts that attract a more extensive audience views.

The political economy of media is used in the manner that it enables the public to understand media market and how companies generate income through airing their products online on media platforms. Secondly, the usefulness of media in the perspective of the political economy is in line with the inspection of questions concerning the ownership of public, commercial and non-profit organizations concerning the property of structures connected to media products (Evangelista, 2018). The third usefulness is related to the approaches of changing the dynamics in the media sector. Consequently, the internationalization of the media industries and conglomeration of media organizations is enhanced through a debate concerning the cultural imperialism in conjunction with the modern media imperialism.

Hacking of mobile accounts leads to uploads of irrelevant and misleading information about economic sectors in the world. In that perspective, the media economy needs to come up with proper frameworks that prove to be effective in reducing the spread of, misleading information. The network corrupted officials are supposed to be regulated to minimize media induced lies that might affect the political economy of media. Arsenault and Castells (2008) outline that switching power has been a norm in the media politics. The global media groups have been found to be the principal actors who shape the world using the social platforms by exerting control over information gatekeeping and issue-framing (Evangelista 2018, p. 137). Media platforms are used in the manner that they play a crucial role in specific ways that the public uses to achieve a positive change in the economic developments (Evangelista, 2018). Human evolution has been staged by the participation of people in media communication. In that manner, the political economy of media supports the modernization of various aspects of the economy including business communication and marketing approaches. Arsenault and Castells (2008, p.490) provide light for outsourcing the relevance of media in enhancing the political and economic influence of most sectors in the world's economy.

The power that is enmeshed in the network society is relevant in coming up with the most fundamental mechanism of domination (Evangelista, 2018). It is clear that power operates by exclusion or inclusion. The media serves as a powerful tool for communicating the ideas of the majority in the world. The political system can be made to work according to the free economic drive. Arsenault and Castells (2008, p.490) media power control the "connecting points of various strategic networks" as much as the controllers of media economic politics are snitches. Another effect of media on the politics of economic change is connected to the fact that there has been a neoliberal economic thought and people's thinking concerning the financial wellness.

Conclusion

In summation, the political economy of media has come up with various benefits that have contributed to a massive growth of businesses in the world today. There is permeability of neo-Schumpeterian literature which is the primary research objective that is connected to the Marx theory. On the other hand, it has been found out that a set of disadvantages accompanies the usefulness of the political economy of media. Various challenges have risen due to the role that the media has played in the marketplace.

References

Arsenault, A. and Castells, M., 2008. Switching power: Rupert Murdoch and the global business of media politics: A sociological analysis. International Sociology, 23(4), pp.488-513.

Evangelista, R., 2018. Technology and Economic Development: The Schumpeterian Legacy. Review of Radical Political Economics, 50(1), pp.136-153.

Freedman, D., 2014. The Puzzle of Media Power: Notes Toward a Materialist Approach. International Journal of Communication (19328036), 8.

Satell, G., 2016. As The Media Industry Evolves, The Business Model Becomes the Message. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2016/01/31/as-the-media-industry-evolves-the-business-model-becomes-the-message/#32f5f70b3ccd%20https://medium.com/@mitchjoel/medias-new-business-model-surveillance-capitalism-c77f159df932

Wittel, A., 2016. Digital Marx: Toward a political economy of distributed media. Marx in the age of digital capitalism, pp.68-104.