Media Economics

Author: Zhao Shuguang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-02-01
Features: The strength of this book lies in its strict adherence to empirical methods, summarizing and generalizing universal laws from a vast array of media economic phenomena. The author's progression from hypothesis to reasoning is clear and precise, and the rich case studies provide credible evidence for the theoretical elaborations in the book. This combination of theory and application is exactly what readers and scholars of media economics are seeking. — Guo Qingguang, Dean, Professor, and Doctoral Supervisor of the School of Journalism, Renmin University of China
The development of Western media economics has spanned over a decade, yielding achievements worth (borrowing) but still lacking the depth that Chinese scholars, grounded in local contexts, humanistic, social, and economic concerns, have extracted and accumulated in media economics and politics. Particularly, the nature of Chinese media has the potential to theoretically articulate and practically validate the economic, informational, entertainment, and educational functions of media that must be simultaneously fulfilled in a market economy and socialist system. While maximizing profit remains one of the driving forces of media operations, it must also meet the needs of equitable allocation of media resources across different regions and social strata. The works of Zhao Shuguang and Yu Peng, when evaluated alongside their English-language counterparts, not only hold no inferiority but also present an opportunity for refinement. Especially if they continue to explore the forms and connotations of media in the context of a market economy combined with socialism, their contributions to the theoretical field can be anticipated in time. — Feng Jianzan, Professor at the Department of Communication, National Chengchi University, and Chairman of the Media Observation Foundation
This is a book in the media research field that moves beyond intuitive thinking, introducing empirical methods and paying attention to media behavior, market structures, and their interactions. The author not only keenly tracks the latest changes in the media market but also maintains a distant perspective, striving to provide a general model for analyzing media economic phenomena to explain the differences in various media market structures and how these differences affect the operation of each media market. The exploration in this book helps readers clarify the intrinsic logic of media economic phenomena, making it a highly meaningful attempt. — He Li, Editor-in-Chief of the Economic Observer
Since the modern era of the media industry, its influence in the economic sphere has never been more prominent. The media industry itself has become a focal point of media coverage. Media economics aims to study how different media, under varying constraints and resource conditions, choose optimal behaviors to achieve profit maximization. Although the principle of media management in China is "social benefits first, economic benefits second," we must interpret social benefits as constraints, meaning that the goal of profit maximization must be realized under the constraint of social benefits. This book consists of eleven chapters, with the first chapter introducing the research methods and analytical tools of media economics; chapters two to four primarily elaborate on the fundamental theories of media economics, including discussions on the economic foundations of media existence and cost minimization from a micro perspective. Chapters five to nine focus on the theoretical analysis of media market structure. Chapter ten explores the escalating alliances and mergers in the media industry. Chapter eleven, starting from the basic theories of media economics, discusses the efficiency basis of media industry regulation, as well as the balance between deregulation and reinforcement. This book provides a complete and systematic analysis of four types of media market structures—perfect competition and others—behavior, and performance, helping people understand the transitioning Chinese media market. At the same time, the normative and scientific analytical methods also provide a higher starting point for the study of media economics.