What is political economy and how can it be applied to the study of media communication? The Political Economy of Communication is the definitive critical overview of the discipline for students of the social sciences. It explains in detail the analytic tools that political economy can apply to today's increasingly global and technological information society. Mosco presents an historical overview of the discipline and defines political economy by its focus on the relation between the production, distribution and consumption of communication in historical and cultural context. This comprehensive analysis of the 'commodity form' is communication includes an examination of print, broadcast and new electronic media, the role and function of the audience, and the problem of social control. It concludes by addressing the relationship of political economy to the increasingly important fields of policy studies and cultural studies.

Over the last decade, political economy has grown rapidly as a specialist area of research and teaching within communications and media studies and is now established as a core element in university programmes around the world. The Handbook of Political Economy of Communications offers students and scholars a comprehensive, authoritative, up-to-date and accessible overview of key areas and debates. Combines overviews of core ideas with new case study materials and the best of contemporary theorization and research Written many of the best known authors in the field Includes an international line-up of contributors, drawn from the key markets of North and Latin America, Europe, Australasia, and the Far East

Considers information as an economic good, and examines its effects on political economy as well as on social life and skill needs. Includes case studies of electronic homework in the Federal Republic of Germany and information technologies in the ASEAN countries.

"This book examines the influence of big companies in political institutions, the newsroom, and the classroom and its effect on every aspect of public and private life"--

Over the last decade, political economy has grown rapidly as a specialist area of research and teaching within communications and media studies and is now established as a core element in university programmes around the world. The Handbook of Political Economy of Communications offers students and scholars a comprehensive, authoritative, up-to-date and accessible overview of key areas and debates. Combines overviews of core ideas with new case study materials and the best of contemporary theorization and research Written many of the best known authors in the field Includes an international line-up of contributors, drawn from the key markets of North and Latin America, Europe, Australasia, and the Far East

One of the foremost media critics provides a comprehensive analysis of the economic and political powers that are being mobilized to consolidate private control of media with increasing profit--all at the expense of democracy.

How the media are organised and funded is central to understanding their role in society. Critical Political Economy of the Media provides a clear, comprehensive and insightful introduction to the political economic analysis of contemporary media. Jonathan Hardy undertakes a critical survey of political economy scholarship encompassing worldwide literature, issues and debates, and relationships with other academic approaches. He assesses different ways of making sense of media convergence and digitalisation, media power and influence, and transformations across communication markets. Many of the problems of the media that prompted critical political economy research remain salient, he argues, but the approach must continue to adapt to new conditions and challenges. Hardy advances the case for a revitalised critical media studies for the 21st century. Topics covered include: media ownership and financing news and entertainment convergence and the Internet media globalisation advertising and media alternative media media policy and regulation Introducing key concepts and research, this book explains how political economy can assist students, researchers and citizens to investigate and address vital questions about the media today.

Edwidge Danticat's short story from Haiti Noir 2: The Classics, "The Port-au-Prince Marriage Special," was included in Ms. Magazine's Fall 2013 issue. Praise for the original Haiti Noir: "Danticat has succeeded in assembling a group portrait of Haitian culture and resilience that is cause for celebration." —Publishers Weekly "This anthology will give American readers a complex and nuanced portrait of the real Haiti not seen on the evening news and introduce them to some original and wonderful writers." —Library Journal "While the publisher defines the term 'noir' broadly—requiring sinister tales or crime stories that evoke a strong sense of place and do not have happy endings—the Haiti book offers its own spin with plenty of grisly crime, dire poverty, and references to magic and religion. There is also some tenderness." —The New York Times Classic stories by: Danielle Legros Georges, Jacques Roumain, Ida Faubert, Jacques-Stephen Alexis, Jan J. Dominique, Paulette Poujol Oriol, Lyonel Trouillot, Emmelie Prophète, Ben Fountain, Dany Laferrière, Georges Anglade, Edwidge Danticat, Michèle Voltaire Marcelin, Èzili Dantò, Marie-Hélène Laforest, Nick Stone, Marilène Phipps-Kettlewell, Myriam J.A. Chancey, and Roxane Gay. The original best-selling Haiti Noir comprised all-new stories by today's best Haitian authors. This new volume collects the true classics of Haitian literature—both short stories and excerpts from longer works—and will be an integral piece of understanding how Haitian culture has evolved over the past fifty years. Editor Edwidge Danticat, one of the most respected Haitian writers, has a well-deserved sterling reputation, and here she follows on the success of the original first volume.

Innovation in information and communication technology (ICT) fuels the growth of the global economy. How ICT markets evolve depends on politics and policy, and since the 1950s periodic overhauls of ICT policy have transformed competition and innovation. For example, in the 1980s and the 1990s a revolution in communication policy (the introduction of sweeping competition) also transformed the information market. Today, the diffusion of Internet, wireless, and broadband technology, growing modularity in the design of technologies, distributed computing infrastructures, and rapidly changing business models signal another shift. This pathbreaking examination of ICT from a political economy perspective argues that continued rapid innovation and economic growth require new approaches in global governance that will reconcile diverse interests and enable competition to flourish. The authors (two of whom were architects of international ICT policy reforms in the 1990s) discuss this crucial turning point in both theoretical and practical terms.

The symptoms of the crisis of the U.S. media are well-known—a decline in hard news, the growth of info-tainment and advertorials, staff cuts and concentration of ownership, increasing conformity of viewpoint and suppression of genuine debate. McChesney's new book, The Problem of the Media, gets to the roots of this crisis, explains it, and points a way forward for the growing media reform movement. Moving consistently from critique to action, the book explores the political economy of the media, illuminating its major flashpoints and controversies by locating them in the political economy of U.S. capitalism. It deals with issues such as the declining quality of journalism, the question of bias, the weakness of the public broadcasting sector, and the limits and possibilities of antitrust legislation in regulating the media. It points out the ways in which the existing media system has become a threat to democracy, and shows how it could be made to serve the interests of the majority. McChesney's Rich Media, Poor Democracy was hailed as a pioneering analysis of the way in which media had come to serve the interests of corporate profit rather than public enlightenment and debate. Bill Moyers commented, "If Thomas Paine were around, he would have written this book." The Problem of the Media is certain to be a landmark in media studies, a vital resource for media activism, and essential reading for concerned scholars and citizens everywhere.