Media economics
The media economics explains how competition and markets by, for and by the media develop and function.
- 3.1 The business view on media economics
- 3.2 The micro-economic view of the media economy
- 3.3 The management-oriented view of the media economy
- 3.4 The communication- scientific view of the media economy
- 3.5 The critical capital ( political- ideological ) view of the media economy
- 3.6 The epistemological view of the media economy
- 4.1 The descriptive Media Economics
- 4.2 The normative media economics
- 4.3 The integrative media economics
Function
The media economy is dealing with the question of the best possible care of business entities with limited resources in the media sector ( scarcity as an initiator of economic activity ) according to their individual preferences ( methodological approach ) with given resources. Goods from the media, information, entertainment and advertising messages. The supply of economic entities with media about goods usually take media company. Such companies work professionally and permanently - in the majority of cases, also commercially, ie, for profit - with the collection, production and distribution of media assets.
The challenges
Inadequate financing of goods
Journalistic content have a degree of rivalry zero, ie, they can be of many buyers (simultaneously ) can be used without the benefit of the content decreases. There is no rivalry in consumption. Also the Exklusionsgrad journalistic content is zero, at least after the first publication of the content. The demand can no longer be excluded from the benefit of the content. Therefore, media goods are in the majority of cases as public goods or as Klubgut. For example, a radio broadcast on free- to-air broadcasting is a public good and the program of a pay -TV channel a Klubgut. In particular, public goods have the disadvantage that they initiate freeloading. This means that users do not reveal their preferences, how important is the consumption of the medium or how much they worthy of consumption. They will not reveal their willingness to pay because they can consume the free content as well. Even if the consumer, as in the case of a Klubguts, must be acquired for consideration by someone who can create as many other shared use the product ( see pay-TV program or newspaper edition ) because of the lack of consumption rivalry. So just stick the goods of the mass media to funding problems. Because no private company will use its own capital to produce goods that buyers can consume free of charge. or for which they are not adequately compensated by the users. The problem solution offers the accommodation of advertising within the editorial content. Advertising messages are so-called private goods dar. There is the possibility of exclusion from the benefits and there is rivalry benefit: If a company wants ads, it must pay for it and the space occupied by the advertisement space is no longer available to other advertisers. That's why many media products are marketed as composite products ( editorial content plus advertising messages ). The financing gap is filled by advertising revenues. This form of financing, however, can quickly lead to social problems. At the latest when the interests of consumers with those of advertisers in conflict and must choose the media company, whose interests should be given priority.
Media as performers
"Media are divalent ( bivalent ) goods, ie always and without exception, both cultural and economic asset. As they are cultural expressions of human creativity. As a commodity, they are an expression of human consumption needs. " Your journalistic dimension is that they convey editorial content and advertising. Your economic dimension is that they are cost carrier and can carry revenue potential. Three Kamper speaks of the bivalence of media goods .. Altmeppen and Karmazin refer to this as " Janusgesichtigkeit the media."
Media as a function of carrier
" Media etc. should effectively and efficiently satisfy the one hand needs for information, entertainment and other, exert socially relevant functions. " From these two facets of identity or task definition disorders may arise. What is to be assessed in case of conflict later: the function to satisfy individual needs or meet the systemically important functions that media to society? This property conflict is discussed under the heading of " Dissoziativität of media goods". Since both the bivalence and the Dissoziativität the media can also be applied to the services and functions of the media companies and media industries, it is difficult to locate clearly the media economics as a science. In the prevailing literature, it is assigned to either the economics or journalism or communication studies.
Science disciplinary demarcation
In the scientific -disciplinary positioning of media economics it comes to the question of their self-image.
The business view on media economics
Business data such as Matthias Schumann and Thomas Hess understand the media industry as an industrial and service sectors in which the economic principle is to pursue value-free. They deal with the " economy of the media " from a business perspective (more precisely, with the design of a Media Management as special business administration ) and provide more practice- relevant economic analyzes at the center of their interest. That particular the media industry by Schumann and Hess is dedicated to the business tradition of the economic principle, is clearly: " The basis here basic understanding of business administration there are two duties: Explain and shapes. Explain means to find explanations for observable phenomena in real terms, eg etc. due to the sales success of books on characteristics such as genre, subject, author. Create means to develop proposals for the operational reality, such as to design an online offer for a specific target group. Both in explaining as well as in shaping circumstances are to be considered findings of other disciplines, such as Behavior of consumers when buying books or the technical possibilities for the use of the Internet. Always have to be economic goals of the reference point. In the context of the media industry, this was not always the case. " The authors aim in their assessment from the past, in which was the need for a specific economy of the media for lack of particular interest settled by economics rather in the field of journalism or communication studies. Breyer Mayländer and Werner met the challenges of the business-oriented media industry more open and thus provide a more specific approach. You see the media economy " as a special business administration with special social responsibility."
The micro-economic view of the media economy
The social responsibility of the media also sees Heinrich. He leads the business management approach but qualitatively much further and speaks of an era marked by microeconomic knowledge interests discipline: " media economics studies how the goods information, entertainment and dissemination of advertising messages in current reporting mass media are produced, distributed and consumed. "
Following this definition, the media economy is a special micro-economic theory of the mass media. Mass media are " in the society embedded media organizations and the mass media of this widespread public communication. " So in the broadest sense is what Henry media economics to the economics of journalism.
See a broader, going beyond the journalism angle Beyer and Carl. They focus on the fundamental economic relationships, the media markets and media companies join and make predictable. " This is therefore the macro and micro economic analysis of the media sector [ ... ]. Economic theories and findings are applied to the media, made available for him, and modified if necessary. "
This includes a media economics as a separate scientific discipline more than that necessary to mass media perspective, because the object of study is no longer limited to journalism, but refers beyond the other media-oriented sectors (eg online, music and games sector) with a. Media economics is so - complemented by sectoral knowledge interests - for Industrial Economics The basic difference to the general microeconomics is the fact that households produce from their indirect goods using a household production function direct goods. This is done by reference to capital (human capital, physical capital, other capital equipment, etc ). Lower opportunity cost these goods are sold to the " producing " budget. Households temporarily take over the role of entrepreneurs and sell the produced goods against opportunity cost to yourself
The management-oriented view of the media economy
Bernd W. Wirtz (2013 ), Martin glasses (2010) and Matthias Karmazin and Carsten Winter ( 2000) approach the media economy through the perspective of management. Wirtz, glasses, Karmazin and winter so deal with the management and control of media enterprises. In its favor, media economics have particular, to highlight the specifics of media, media services and media company. " They emphasize, however, and contrary to general management theory (eg Staehle 1999), especially the special responsibility of character, which is justified in the special character of media goods as cultural heritage. " Karmazin and winter have here but explicitly relativizing out that without further ado, approach of media economics over traditional business administration should be regarded as problematic.
However, this conclusion is inherent in an evaluation that leaves the bottom of orthodox economics. It opens the perspective on media economics as a true with the instruments of economic science equipped discipline, but also as one with a clear political- journalistic oriented knowledge interest. The main reason for the possible dominance of "economic or journalistic norm '(catalog pine speaks of" system rationality " ) is finally but not a specific sectoral economic access to relevant questions, but the answer to the question whether or to what intensity the motivation of the company public order arises. "The urgent concepts of journalistic Meritorik grab, the more can a society's attention shall be subject. The socio-political steering demand, for example, appear more desirable in journalistic mass media as an example in the digital -based games industry. " Whether but the economy is only classified as background noise journalistic content productions or the journalistic responsibility of the media to operate on the basis of the norms of a social market economy is ultimately dependent on the belief that the media economics as a" pure economy " will be seen or as" an economy with social responsibility " This question is after three Kamper but " only theoretical model relevant.; first, because the economy always is a social responsibility framework and secondly, because the proof of the special responsibility of the media industry has long been rendered. " Karmazin and winter konstatierten already more than ten years earlier, that it is necessary, no more more about the production of media to discuss than either the commercial or the public interest obligation but a both- and. " Therefore, media management should not be limited to the function of the statement of profit maximization contexts, but also take the communicative dimension in the view."
The communication- scientific view of the media economy
Media and communication scholars such as Altmeppen and Karmazin (2003), Schenk and Hensel (1987 ) approach the media economy, by questioning and explain to what extent socially normative factors must be considered in an economy on the media and what economic aspects of the media system, the market structures and the society act as a whole. "The media economy thus is not limited to the consideration of economic aspects of the media system, but also considers the consequences of the commodification of the entire communication and information system of a society. "
This issue also sees Marie -Luise jaw and takes clearly in favor of the social significance of Media and Communication Studies (car ) position: In the media economy, says Kiefer, " there is a sub-discipline of cars, the economic and journalistic phenomena of the media system of capitalist market economies examined using economic theories. In the job description [ ..] is to distinguish between a positive and a normative version of Media Economics. Positive media economics to analyze and explain the economic and journalistic phenomena of the media system, normative media economics developed design options with a view to socially consented goals of the media system. "Kiefer sees the boundary between economic and journalistic interest in the fact that economics is not with the effects of media use on the recipient side dealing, but the car very well.
The capital- critical ( political- ideological ) view of the media economy
An approach other than those of the neoclassical or the journalistic approaches can be found, inter alia, Manfred Knoche and Gerd Kopper, by pointing out that the media economy is indeed well-founded scientific communication, but it would be part of the privatization and commercialization of the utmost importance that critical theories of capitalism included in the economic analyzes of media. Also Kiefer here to a part of their cognitive interest. Have in a market dominated by the corporation system, Knoche, the " media production and consumption tion [ ..] elementary indispensable overall economic and general social political and ideological functions for the secure control and protection of the capitalist economic and social system [ ..]. "
Christian Steininger addresses this Marxist objection open in its understanding of a political media economics. "This can be stated that power, access and distribution conflicts, and the ratio of government / politics, economy, society and mass communication will become the focus of analysis and theorizing communication of science-based political economies. " This gets so Steininger and Knoche and Kopper, the analysis of the relationship between the media industry and market economic / capitalist society fundamental importance.
The starting point for political theories of the media industry are property and power relations, and here also the interest of communication scholars seem to dock. By the economic system and the political system - at least in terms of power relationships - are congruent constructed, there is a fear of colonization of the publishing system by the economy. Kiefer speaks of the " colonization of journalism through the economic system rationality. " Whether this " colonialism " is the result of an active political-economic steering or is an automatism of the progressive globalization and digitization, as well as the advancement of information and communication technologies can not solve themselves. In any case, the media industry is given a new position in the overall system.
The review of the current literature clearly shows that differ objective interests of economists significantly from those of communication and media studies. The capital critical political approaches are not suitable for producing a rapprochement between neoclassical and communication science view of the media industry, as the capital critique is at least in the neoclassical model world no anchor point. It is rather dismissed as " doctrine ".
The epistemological view of the media economy
In the epistemological positioning of media economics it comes to the narrow questions concerning the conditions, methods and objectives of the discipline (see science).
A science can be defined by their subject matter or their objects of knowledge. Since employ very many sciences with media materials, media companies and media markets, it makes with respect to the definition of a media economics more sense to put the knowledge or interest in the issues. The two most important problems are:
- The problem of scarcity of resources and the economic concerns of wanting to overcome the shortages, in the interest of stakeholders efficiently.
- The problem of social life and the associated socio-political concerns, potential of the media to exploit and preserve for mutual benefit.
While the first problem reflects the traditional view of economics, shows the second clearly politico - journalistic traits. Concern of economics is to deal with goods and services scarcities according to the principle of consumer sovereignty. Concerns of journalism is to support the public mission of the media to shape opinion in order to promote pluralism and democracy in society. Connected the two concerns are the fact that the media industry influences other social function variables can not escape: neither those of politics, nor those of the capital.
While the economic system attempts to media as efficiently as possible and distribute, thereby wants to exclude a waste of resources, aimed journalistic investigations it from determining whether or to what extent the social power of the media is being exploited by the commercialization or for purposes purely economic prospects of success. Here is an explosive tension between order both the economic importance of the media and the functioning of the media markets as well as the policy - journalistic positions understand and be able to constructively criticize, a science is needed, generates the insights on risks and opportunities, strengths and weaknesses of different organized media systems and gives recommendations for the concrete everyday needs at hand.
The entire social value contribution of the media economy in all its facets width but not be represented by economic models. The journalistic and political effects would elude measurement persistent. Since by these different claims but inevitably double -offs comes (eg, if the allocative and productive efficiency comes into conflict with the claim of the preservation of pluralism and democracy ), care must be taken here on a strict separation of knowledge goals and methods of analysis. This separation means that not a single media economics is to establish, but at least two: a descriptive variant that wins findings using the methods of economics and a normative discipline, rated critical, rational thinking, the impact of given states, and in terms showing different norms alternatives that will help achieve the desired states. Only then can the very different claims - are pursued - separated methodologically clean.
Definitions
The descriptive Media Economics
" The descriptive media economy is oriented towards business and industry economic information science and provides the value-free analysis of procurement, transformation (production or Prosumtion ) and distribution medial worn goods in the context of given conditions to make functional media markets only and the use of neo-classical case institutions and economic models "
The descriptive media economics thus delimits from the political- or capital - critical ( normative ) perspective on the media industry. In this sense, the media economy is classified as a sub-discipline of economics.
The normative media economics
In differentiation to the descriptive, normative media economics can be defined as follows:
" The normative media economy is oriented towards constitutional and regulatory intelligence science and analyzed the costs borne by media services social function relationships with the task of describing the conditions economically influenced mass communication or production of public who are a hindrance, freedom, equality and equity (as be able to implement predefined target standards). The conditions of communication are included as variable parameters in the analysis. "
In this respect, the normative media economics, however, is methodologically descriptively: Both the "actual" and the " target is" already exist; on the one hand determined by the everyday, on the other hand, by request, expression of different entities (people, groups, institutions, etc.). Accordingly, it is not the role of normative media economics to establish teleological theories or to establish the validity of a given standard. They can, however, question, analyze the degree of implementation and review and to require actions. The importance of a normative model for society grows with the " importance of the economic in the media," because with the increasing dominance of economic activity as an institution of social construction of reality comes the role of the media in the field of view and because media in their long-term function as a memory of society are increasingly determined by the economization. In this approach, it is clear that all relevant variables not enter as a constant or unchanging in the investigation, but the active ingredients of the analysis are.
The integrative media economics
With the new networking of the media industry in all other sub- areas of social life, a media economic science ultimately keep only step if it becomes the meta-theory itself, ie is interdisciplinary by dispensing with disciplinary dominance claims. That would be the third, the interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary point of view in addition to the orthodox economic and political context in the communication scientifically motivated (the approach of the capital- critical variation is only an exaggerated special form of communication science approach). Such integrative vested interdisciplinary or entdiszipliniertes research concept can be defined as follows:
" The integrative media economy is a critical and at the same affirmative motivated research program that explores the basics, forms and consequences of public communication in the context of its economic constitution to the influence of economic structures, services and functions in the production of public by private and institutional Individual uncover and mass communication and to examine the results in terms of economic efficiency and on their social responsibility. "
This concept is influenced social and cultural studies, and refers to the background noise of economic conditions on central communication science object regions such as the public and they manufacturing processes of communication in order to conduct political connection discussions. However, there is also clearly a risk that such a research project fails, because it is likely to deliver only results in the abstract layer.
The practical concerns of media economics
The central concern of any media economy is the mediation of media economics technical and methodological skills. The generation of these competencies requires the empirically based analysis of processes and effects of international commodification of information, communication, media and cultural sector. These processes are considered in close connection with the development of structures, working practices and content of international cultural production. As media companies are organized mainly commercial, media products, therefore, be provided by the market and competition principles and contribute to the realization of private gain, is the descriptive as well as normative media economic analysis for the understanding of communication and media fundamental to all courses media- oriented professions.