Media Economics

This core textbook examines the economic paradigms at work in media industries and markets, enabling analysis of the media system as a whole. In addition to succinct accounts of neo-classical and critical political economics, this insightful text offers fresh perspectives for understanding media drawn from two 'heterodox' approaches: institutional economics and evolutionary economics. Applying these paradigms to vital topics and case studies, Stuart Cunningham, Terry Flew and Adam Swift stress the value - and limits - of contending economic approaches in understanding how the media operates today.

Succinct and accessible, this text is essential reading for all students of Media and Communication Studies, as well as those from Economics, Policy Studies, Business Studies and Marketing backgrounds with an interest in the media.

“"This book is designed to be an undergraduate or postgraduate text in media and communications studies. Its accessibility means that it should have a broader appeal as a text in areas such as business studies and policy studies. ... the insights and case studies provide helpful argumentation for rapidly changing business models." (Rob Nicholls, Telecommunications Policy, Vol. 40, 2017)”

Stuart Cunningham is a professor and the director of the Creative Industries Research and Applications Centre at Queensland University of Technology. He is the author of "Featuring Australia," Graeme Turner is a professor of cultural studies and the director of the Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies at the University of Queensland. They are the coauthors of "The Australian TV Book,"

Understanding the economic paradigms at work in media industries and markets is vitally important for the analysis of the media system as a whole. The changing dynamics of media production, distribution and consumption are stretching the capacity of established economic paradigms. In addition to succinct accounts of neo-classical and critical political economics, the text offers fresh perspectives for understanding media drawn from two 'heterodox' approaches: institutional economics and evolutionary economics. Applying these paradigms to vital topics and case studies, Media Economics stresses the value - and limits - of contending economic approaches in understanding how the media operates today. It is essential reading for all students of Media and Communication Studies, and also those from Economics, Policy Studies, Business Studies and Marketing backgrounds who are studying the media.

A concise introduction to the key ideas and issues in the study of media economics, drawing on a broad range of case studies - from Amazon and Twitter, to Apple and Netflix - to illustrate how economic paradigms are not just theories, but provide important practical insights into how the media operates today.

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