What Is the Relationship Between the Media and Economic Development?

Media Economics (also known as Media Economics), which is based on different economic theories and analytical methods, is dedicated to studying how economic and financial forces affect media systems and media organizations. The study of media economics was first carried out in the 1950s. Early scholars mainly focused on studying newspaper competition and the structure and regulation of radio and television. In a related book, "Media Economics", the author both focuses on theory and practice, and presents a panoramic picture of the American media economy with his skillful writing skills, solid theory, and deep understanding of the industry.

Media economics

(A discipline formed by the intersection of journalism and economics)

In the past three decades, the research of media economy has been widely developed and developed rapidly all over the world. Its research fields and related topics are beyond the depth and breadth that many people unfamiliar with this discipline can imagine. In a technical sense, there is no specific concept of media economics, because it will mean that the economic laws and theories in the media field are different from other fields. However, from a practical point of view, the application of economic laws and theories to the media industry and companies is of far-reaching significance. Because the study of media economics helps to analyze how economic influence guides or limits media activities, and how it has a macro effect on the specific dynamics of the media market.

The origin of media economics is based on the emergence and development of media economy, but the emergence of media economics as an independent discipline has a broad basis.

1. The integration of multiple disciplines is the scientific foundation of media economics. The study of media economy was initially carried out by economists based on the economic problems that occurred during the development of media. During this period, media economics research has a strong dependence Most of the researches are sexual, empirical and countermeasures, and lack of original research. With the increasing social influence of media economy, the phenomenon of media economy has attracted attention from various disciplines. Management, political science, information science and other disciplines have brought it into their own research scope. This is an independent subject of media economics. Laid a deep academic foundation. However, the one-sidedness of this isolated subject research has caused the stagnation of media economics research, and it is urgently required to move towards independence.

2. The expansion of the influence of the media economy on society is the social foundation produced by media economics. The initial form of the media economy was an invisible economy, and its contribution to social development was not clearly reflected. Only gradually expanded and formally become a mainstream economic form, which is the social foundation of media economics.

3. The government's need to manage and control media economic behavior is the political foundation of media economics. The expansion of media economic activities makes it an important force that cannot be ignored in social development. However, for a long time, the government's management behavior has been stuck in the management of ideology, and there is much controversy. On the one hand, there are many blind spots in the government's management of media economic activities. On the other hand, it also limits the healthy development of the media industry. The media industry urgently needs the government to formulate relevant systems and laws to manage and control its development. This also provides a political basis for the emergence of media economics.

4. The large-scale and standardized development of the media economy is the economic and practical basis for the emergence of media economics. The large-scale development of the media economy has laid the economic foundation for the emergence and improvement of the status of media economics. Its own laws are constantly emerging, and it also provides practical support for the emergence of media economics.

5. The emergence of mass media is the key to the independence of media economics. The emergence of mass media, on the one hand, began to engage in media economic research, on the other hand, as an independent social existence and social phenomenon, its social participation And influence also laid the foundation for the expansion of the media economy research community, and eventually pushed media economics to become independent

Training objectives

Master the advertising management of communication media, media diversification and capital management, media cost-benefit analysis, media product planning and development, and audience demand analysis, training for national comprehensive economic management institutions, policy research departments, related enterprises, and radio and television media organizations Comprehensive talents engaged in economic analysis, forecasting, planning, and economic management.

Broad knowledge

Media economics can not only involve the knowledge of the media industry, but also need to master the principles of modern western economics and modern economic analysis methods, and be familiar with the country's economic policies and regulations. In addition, candidates are required to have the ability to expand their penetration into economics-related fields, and improve the employment of economic analysis, forecasting, planning, and economic management personnel in national comprehensive economic management institutions, policy research departments, related enterprises, and media organizations such as radio and television. Comprehensive quality level. As a new discipline, the marginal and interdisciplinary nature of media economics determines the strong comprehensive coverage of the major, which places higher requirements on the cultivation of students' ability in journalism and economic analysis.

Suitable for enrollment

In people's opinion, media economics can only be applied by professionals, but many industries can apply for this major. Of course, traditional media, including newspaper industry, magazine industry, book publishing industry, radio and television industry, film and animation industry are indispensable. In terms of outdoor media, including transportation media (mobile video and print media on buses, subways, airplanes, trains), media for transportation facilities (digital and print media such as highways, airports, train stations, and shelters); community Media, including living community media (residential communities and commercial and residential building communities), business community media (office buildings, shopping malls, supermarkets, fitness centers, hospitals, etc.), campus community media (in major universities and colleges); new media, including Internet media (Digital newspapers, e-books), handheld media (mobile interactive software, mobile SMS, etc.), digital interactive media (various digital TV video media) can be selected.

Future employment directions

Students who graduate from media economics have a wide range of employment in the future. We can engage in the news and publicity departments of major media industries, enterprises and institutions. Even if we are engaged in some ordinary enterprises or companies, it is a great improvement to ourselves.

Early media studies focused on the role of media and

Since the 1970s, especially after the development of cable television and many problems in the newspaper industry, more and more economists and business scholars have begun to explore the media. Desmoulins in France analyzed the media industry from an economic perspective; Nieto launched an early work on magazine publishing in Spain, and in 1985 completed Lopez, an academic work on media economy in Spanish. In the United States, the work of Owen, Beebe, and Manning has made important contributions to the study of economic issues in television (Ovcen, etal, 1974).

By the 1980s, more and more media economics research began to emerge. This new research line has largely changed the original neglect of media companies as business and economic institutions. Since the 1980s, many studies have provided references for the organization and operation of media companies, competition between media companies, consumption of media products, and a series of economic and financial issues, especially for understanding and understanding of issues such as concentration and monopolies. basis. Important achievements of this period include: exploring the economic structure and organizational issues of the media industry (Picard, 1989; Albarran, 1996), focusing on economic issues of the media worldwide (Al-barran and Chan-Olmsted, 1998) and specific media areas Internal economic issues (Owen and Wildman, 1992; Picard, etal, 1988; Collins, Garnham and Locksley, 1989; Dunnett, Lacy and Simon, 1993, etc).

Although the research interest in media economics has been increasing since the 1980s, the number of active scholars in this field is still very limited. They are scattered around the world and are distributed in different academic projects, including journalism, broadcasting Studies, communication studies, economics, business studies, and political studies. Over the past two or three decades, media economists around the world have begun to converge. The annual telecommunications policy research conference, the annual conference of the Radio and Television Education Association, the annual conference of the Journalism and Mass Communication Education Association, and the World Media Economy Conference held every two years make the exchange between scholars more frequent and convenient.

At the same time, academic journals in this field were also created. In 1987, under the initiative of Robert G. Picard and others, the Journal of Media Economics (Journal of Media Economics) was founded in the United States. This journal published its first issue in the spring of 1988 and has since become a core journal in the field of media economics. 1999, International Journal on Media Man

In the 1990s, the academic focus shifted from basic market-oriented research, and new concepts and methods were introduced into this field. New topics include strategic analysis (Barett, 1996; Chan-Olmsted, 1997), discussion of the value of media companies (Bat, 1995; Miller, 1997), and pricing issues (Shav-er, 1995). At the same time, internationalization has also become a research center (Gets-hon, 1993; Holtz-Bacha, 1997). Worldwide media economic analysis includes productivity issues in the graphic arts industry (Paasio, Picard, & Toivonen, 1994), competition in the changing European television market (Powers, Kristjarksdotti, & Sutton, 1995), and globalization of magazines (Hafstrand , 1995) and how public service broadcasting is affected by policy and market changes (Boardrnan and Vining, 1996).

From the late 1990s to the beginning of the new century, macroeconomic issues, such as the impact of economic depression on the media (Picard, 2001), and media constraints in the global economy (Picard & Rimmer, 1999) began to receive attention. Scholars have more emphasized the analysis of the market environment and behavior of media companies than monopolistic markets. During this period, research on the media empire (Picard, 1996), research on company inheritance (Wolfe & Katx ~ r, 1998), and Research on mergers and acquisitions (Chan-Olmsted, 1998), research on comparative strategies of companies (Shrikhande, 2001), research on company selection (Picard, 2002b), and research on corporate economics and finance (Picard, 2002a), etc. . Discussions on interactive TV revenue streams and business models (Pagani, 2000), online content (Picard, 2000), and free newspapers (Bakker, 2002) have also begun to emerge.

With the development of media economics research, media economic education has also begun to rise. The content of the course education includes full-time studies in the 1990s, Northwestern University, Fordham University, St. MBA program from Gallen University, MBA program for senior manager from University of Gallery Finland, etc. Master's programs are also offered at the University of Navarra in Spain, the University of Southern California, and the University of Stirling in Scotland. Doctoral programs in media economics and management are at Indiana University, Jönköping International Business School, University of Michigan, Cologne University, Dortmund University, Navarra University, University of Florida, St. Opened GalIen University, University of Southern California, etc.

Non-English textbooks in media economics developed rapidly in the 1990s. Picard's books have been translated into Chinese, Korean, and Spanish; the original textbooks were published in French, German, Polish, Russian, and Hungarian. Many research results and teaching materials of media economics are widely disseminated worldwide; many countries that have not fully opened their media markets in the past have also introduced the experience of other countries, hoping to provide a reference for their media market reforms and institutional transformation.

Looking at the development of western media economics, there are three main research paradigms: the theoretical paradigm, the applied paradigm, and the critical paradigm (see Table 1). Theoretical and applied paradigms are often interdependent in research, but critical paradigms are often independent of the other two. These examples are based on different academic foundations and focus on different research topics and research priorities.

Theoretical paradigms were first pioneered by economists and began with some research on consumers and choices of media products and services. This paradigm is based on neoclassical economics and is mainly used to explore the media forces that restrict and promote the media system. It is commonly used in the research of forecasting the prospects and influence of media development, the research of media operator decisions, or the research of policy optimization choices.

Application examples are mainly from the economic management department of universities and communication industry associations. It is the most commonly used method in the study of media economics. This paradigm often explores the communications industry and its market structure, emphasizing awareness and understanding of trends and changes. Its research purpose is application-oriented, designed to develop strategies and policies for companies or governments to control and respond quickly to changes in economic and consumer behavior. Using this paradigm, scholars have studied media consumer actors and advertising industry trends, media companies, and the single or holistic media industry.

The critical paradigm began with political economists and social critics, and it focused on the field of communication research, focusing on issues such as welfare economics. Scholars who apply the critical paradigm generally have strong cultural and social backgrounds, which enables them to focus on issues such as the concentration and monopoly of communication, cultural influences, and the transition from industrial to information economy. This paradigm was influenced by scholars of British culture and neo-Marxist scholars.

On-the-job graduate students at Renmin University of China and Communication University of China focus on creating a "media economics" major.

Media economics is based on journalism and communication science. It mainly studies communication topics in the economic field and economic topics in the field of communication. It is a discipline focusing on the combination of theory and practice.

On the basis of the in-service graduate training program for journalism and communication majors, the media economics major has added case-based practical combat courses. Leaders from the media, business and academia, and students of media economics share the most vivid and most useful practical cases they have learned. The aim is to train senior managers and professionals in government, enterprises, institutions and the media industry.

"Three Theories on Media Economy"

"Modern Media Economics"

"Research on Media Economy and Its Development in China"

"Media Economics-Digital Information Economics and Intellectual Property"