Media Economy: Markets, Culture, Power
Overview
The aim of this unit is to: follow the money, to understand how culture is made, produced and distributed. Issues to be discussed include the digital value gap, monetization, precarity, ad-blocking, and buy-vs.-rent models. We will also study the experiences of workers within the media industries and how they mobilize around labour issues. The emphasis of this unit is on evidence-based analysis, research, and critical thinking; students do not require economic training or quantitative skills.
Requisites
Teaching periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Unit learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Use media and communications research methods to analyse the business models of media companies
- Assess and explain the relationship between markets, culture and power in specific areas of the media industries
- Engage in informed, evidence-based debate about issues of labour and value in the media industries
- Use research methods to generate theoretical and strategic solutions to key issues impacting media economies in an Australian and international context
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Face to Face Contact (Phasing out) Lecture | 1.00 | 8 weeks | 8 |
| Face to Face Contact (Phasing out) Tutorial | 2.00 | 8 weeks | 16 |
| Online Contact (Phasing out) Online Learning Activities | 3.00 | 4 weeks | 12 |
| Specified Learning Activities (Phasing out) Various | 10.00 | 10 weeks | 100 |
| Unspecified Learning Activities (Phasing out) Independent Learning | 1.40 | 10 weeks | 14 |
| TOTAL | 150 |
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Analysis | Group | 40% | 1,2,3,4 |
| Essay | Individual | 20% | 1,2,4 |
| Oral Presentation | Individual | 40% | 2,3,4 |
Content
- Theories of culture, money and power
- Political economy
- Cultural economy
- Labour and precarity
- Economics of telcos
- Economics of publishing
- Economics of Hollywood
- Economics of digital advertising
- Economics of streaming
- Economics of festivals
- Economics of community media
- Alternatives and futures
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.