Media economics
Encyclopedia
Media economics embodies economic
theoretical and practical economic questions specific to media
of all types. Of particular concern to media economics are the economic polices and practices of media companies and disciples including journalism
and the news industry, film
production, entertainment
programs, print
, broadcast
, mobile communications, Internet, advertising
and public relations
. Deregulation
of media, media ownership and concentration, market share, intellectual property rights, competitive economic strategies, company economics, "media tax" and other issues are considered parts of the field. Media economics has social
, cultural, and economic implications.
Regular study of media economic issues began in the 1970s but flourished in the 1980s with the addition of classes on the subject and U.S. and European universities. The Journal of Media Economics
began publishing in 1988, edited by Robert G. Picard
, one of the founding fathers of the discipline. Since that time the field of inquiry has flourished and there are now hundreds of universities offering courses and programs in media economics. Other significant figures in the field have included Steven S. Wildman
, Alan Albarran, Bruce M. Owen
, Ben Compaine, Stuart McFadyen, Gillian Doyle, Karl Erik Gustafsson, Nadine Toussaint Desmoulins, Achour Fenni and Stephen Lacy,
Location of media economics research in academe varies depending upon the tradition and history of institutions. In some universities it is located in business schools whereas in others it is located in communication, media and journalism schools or departments or in departments of economics.
The term "cultural economics
" is sometimes used as a synonym
for media economics but they are not substitutable. Cultural economics includes a wide variety of activities that do not necessarily involve mediated dissemination such as museums, symphonies, operas, and festivals. At times these may cross over into media economic issues, such as when audio or video recordings are made of performances or museum holdings are put on CDs.
cites the estimate from the U.S. C.I.A. World Fact Book, which reports that "as of January 2000, there are over 21,500 television stations and over 44,000 radio stations." (CIA World Fact Book references --Radio, TV)
In the United States the FCC
provides a list of "Licensed Broadcast Station Totals (Index) 1990 to Present," which may be found here. According to the FCC report --
AM RADIO 4781
FM RADIO 6224
FM EDUCATIONAL 2471
_____________________________________________
TOTAL 13476
UHF COMMERCIAL TV 773
VHF COMMERCIAL TV 589
UHF EDUCATIONAL TV 255
VHF EDUCATIONAL TV 127
_____________________________________________
TOTAL 1744
CLASS A UHF STATIONS 498
CLASS A VHF STATIONS 112
_____________________________________________
TOTAL 610
FM TRANSLATORS & BOOSTERS 3842
UHF TRANSLATORS 2658
VHF TRANSLATORS 2079
_____________________________________________
TOTAL 8579
UHF LOW POWER TV 1605
VHF LOW POWER TV 523
_____________________________________________
TOTAL 2128
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
theoretical and practical economic questions specific to media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
of all types. Of particular concern to media economics are the economic polices and practices of media companies and disciples including journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
and the news industry, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
production, entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
programs, print
Printing
Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....
, broadcast
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
, mobile communications, Internet, advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
and public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
. Deregulation
Deregulation
Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
of media, media ownership and concentration, market share, intellectual property rights, competitive economic strategies, company economics, "media tax" and other issues are considered parts of the field. Media economics has social
Social
The term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
, cultural, and economic implications.
Regular study of media economic issues began in the 1970s but flourished in the 1980s with the addition of classes on the subject and U.S. and European universities. The Journal of Media Economics
The Journal of Media Economics
The Journal of Media Economics is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering all aspects of media economics published by Taylor & Francis. Since September 2008 its co-editors have been Ben Compaine and Brendan Cunningham . The journal was established in 1988 with Robert G. Picard as founding...
began publishing in 1988, edited by Robert G. Picard
Robert G. Picard
Robert G. Picard is an American writer and scholar.One of the leading academic experts on media businesses and considered the father of the media economics studies...
, one of the founding fathers of the discipline. Since that time the field of inquiry has flourished and there are now hundreds of universities offering courses and programs in media economics. Other significant figures in the field have included Steven S. Wildman
Steven S. Wildman
Steven S. Wildman is U.S. scholar, academician and researcher who teaches and researches at one of the top-rated U.S. communications programs at Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan...
, Alan Albarran, Bruce M. Owen
Bruce M. Owen
Bruce M. Owen is an economist and author. He currently serves as Morris M. Doyle Centennial Professor in Public Policy and Director of the Public Policy Program in the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University...
, Ben Compaine, Stuart McFadyen, Gillian Doyle, Karl Erik Gustafsson, Nadine Toussaint Desmoulins, Achour Fenni and Stephen Lacy,
Location of media economics research in academe varies depending upon the tradition and history of institutions. In some universities it is located in business schools whereas in others it is located in communication, media and journalism schools or departments or in departments of economics.
The term "cultural economics
Cultural economics
Cultural economics is the branch of economics that studies the relation of culture to economic outcomes. Here, 'culture' is defined by shared beliefs and preferences of respective groups. Programmatic issues include whether and how much culture matters as to economic outcomes and what its relation...
" is sometimes used as a synonym
Synonym
Synonyms are different words with almost identical or similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy. The word comes from Ancient Greek syn and onoma . The words car and automobile are synonyms...
for media economics but they are not substitutable. Cultural economics includes a wide variety of activities that do not necessarily involve mediated dissemination such as museums, symphonies, operas, and festivals. At times these may cross over into media economic issues, such as when audio or video recordings are made of performances or museum holdings are put on CDs.
World wide media
There is no definitive list of every radio and television station in the world. The National Association of BroadcastersNational Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters is a trade association, workers union, and lobby group representing the interests of for-profit, over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States...
cites the estimate from the U.S. C.I.A. World Fact Book, which reports that "as of January 2000, there are over 21,500 television stations and over 44,000 radio stations." (CIA World Fact Book references --Radio, TV)
In the United States the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
provides a list of "Licensed Broadcast Station Totals (Index) 1990 to Present," which may be found here. According to the FCC report --
- The Commission has announced the following totals for broadcast stations licensed as of March 31, 2004
AM RADIO 4781
FM RADIO 6224
FM EDUCATIONAL 2471
_____________________________________________
TOTAL 13476
UHF COMMERCIAL TV 773
VHF COMMERCIAL TV 589
UHF EDUCATIONAL TV 255
VHF EDUCATIONAL TV 127
_____________________________________________
TOTAL 1744
CLASS A UHF STATIONS 498
CLASS A VHF STATIONS 112
_____________________________________________
TOTAL 610
FM TRANSLATORS & BOOSTERS 3842
UHF TRANSLATORS 2658
VHF TRANSLATORS 2079
_____________________________________________
TOTAL 8579
UHF LOW POWER TV 1605
VHF LOW POWER TV 523
_____________________________________________
TOTAL 2128
Advertising revenues
In the United States, a report from the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) states that in 2002, radio's revenue reached $19.4 billion, an increase of 5.7% from the $17.7 billion earned in 2001. For additional details see RAB's Radio Fact Book. Total broadcast revenues for 2001 were $54.4 billion, as reported by The Television Advertising Bureau (TVB).Advertiser spending
- Quote -- "Annually advertisers spend approximately $150 billion to sponsor TV and radio programs, in the hopes of making two-to-three times as much in return from media consumers who buy their products and services (Fox, 2002). From the 1970s to the 1990s, the daily number of ads targeted at the average American jumped from 560 to 3,000 (Fox, 2002). In that same time frame, the number of ads to which children were exposed increased from 20,000 per year (Adler et al., 1977) to more than 40,000 per year (Kunkel & Gantz, 1992; also see Strasburger, 2001).