The Routledge Companion to Media Industries

Description

Bringing together 49 chapters from leading experts in media industries research, this major collection offers an authoritative overview of the current state of scholarship while setting out proposals for expanding, re-thinking and innovating the field. Media industries occupy a central place in modern societies, producing, circulating, and presenting the multitude of cultural forms and experiences we encounter in our daily lives. The chapters in this volume begin by outlining key conceptual and critical perspectives while also presenting original interventions to prompt new lines of inquiry. Other chapters then examine the impact of digitalization on the media industries, intersections formed between industries or across geographic territories, and the practices of doing media industries research and teaching. General ideas and arguments are illustrated through specific examples and case studies drawn from a range of media sectors, including advertising, publishing, comics, news, music, film, television, branded entertainment, live cinema experiences, social media, and music videos. Making a vital and significant contribution to media research, this volume is essential reading for students and academics seeking to understand and evaluate the work of the media industries. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Figures Tables Contributors Acknowledgments Media, Industries, Research: Problematizing the Field Media Industries in the Digital Economy From Media Industries to the Industrial Existences of Media Research Practice and the Production of Media Industries References Part I Perspectives: Conceptual and Critical Directions 1 Assembling Production Studies: Formative Interventions in Britain and Europe Tracking Change Levels of Analysis: Assembling Russian Dolls Research Nodes and Networks Channel Crossings Working Regimes: Publishing and Flow Commodities, Gifts, and Public Goods Rethinking Capital and Competition Producing the Public Sphere: Mediating Citizenship The Lives of Others: Fabricating Fictions Participation and Professionalism: Openings and Closings Logging Continuities References 2 Origins of Research Into Media Industries Conducted in the United States Defining Media Industries Studies Approaches to the Study of Media Industries in the United States Political Economy Media Economics Media Management Production of Culture Production Studies Creative Industries Individual Industry Studies Newspapers Film Broadcasting General Media Industries Studies Summary Notes References 3 Meeting the Challenges of Media and Marketing Convergence: Revising Critical Political Economy Approaches Critical Political Economy of Media CPE Approaches to Media and Advertising Challenges of Media and Marketing Convergence Governance Analysis Formal Regulation Industry Self-Regulation Market Power and Civil Society Normalization and Contestation References 4 Why Should We Care About Media Policy?: Critical Directions in Media Policy Research Defining Media Policy and Establishing Its Importance Analyzing Media Policy Conclusion Note References 5 Economic Perspectives On the Characteristics and Operation of Media Industries Purposes of Media Economics Research Research Themes Conclusion References 6 The State of Media Management Research The Scholarly Roots of Media Management Research Current Trends in Media Management Research Categorizing Media Management Research Unit of Analysis External Or Internal Orientation Theories Applied Methodological Approach Stakeholder Orientation Types of Media Management Publications Research Topics and Geographic Origin of the Research Output The Ongoing Meta-Discussion of the Scholarship About Itself Positioning Media Management Research in Relation to Media Industry Studies Acknowledgment References 7 Critical and Cultural?: Production Studies as Situated Storytelling Production Studies as a Field of Scholarly Production Production Studies Methods and Issues Conclusion: Production Studies as Storytelling References 8 Locating and Localizing Media Industry Studies: The Case of Greece The Greek Media Industries Environment: the State and the Media Greek Media Industries Studies: From Political Economy to Media Industry Studies Conclusion Notes References Part II Interventions: Rethinking the Field 9 Industrial Media Studies: Considering Infrastructures for Audience Manufacture Industrial Media: Dirt Research for Digital Capitalism Audience Commodification Information, Knowledge, and Power Ad Tech: Discrimination By Design Conclusion References 10 The Infrastructural Turn in Media and Internet Research Studies of Media and Information Infrastructures: Development and Contributions Problems and Limitations Materiality, Hardness, and Softness “Relationality” Banality and Vagueness Does Vagueness Matter? Intellectual Disjuncture Notes References 11 Informality and Indeterminacy in Media Industries Research What Is a Media Industry? Informal Industries Informal Labor Practices Informality in the Age of Platforms Conclusion References 12 An Industry of Its Own?: Approaching the American Comic Book Industry Comic Books On Their Own: the American Direct Market Comics as Part of the American Book Industry Comics as Part of the Filmed Entertainment Industry Conclusion References 13 Approaching Race in Media Industries Research Research Context How Media Industries Make Race What an Analysis of Race Brings to Media Industries Research Conclusion References 14 Methodological Approaches to Women’s Work in Hollywood Historical, Archival Approaches to Women’s Work Structural, Data-Driven Approach to Employment Mapping Gendered Precarity and Mobility Moving Forward in a Pandemic References 15 Global Configurations: Re-Spatializing Labor in Contemporary Film and Television Production How Hollywood Works Complicating Capital References 16 Producing for Small Audiences: Smallness and Peripherality in the Global Media Industries Small Scale and Peripherality: Two Perspectives On Unevenness of Media Markets Taking Research of Smallness and Peripherality to the Mezzo Level: the Small/peripheral Market Producer Habitus Conclusion Acknowledgment Note References 17 Currents of Change: The Unstoppable Momentum of the Chinese Media Industrial Complex Regional Convergence Soft Power Waves, Flows, Currents Conclusion: Processes Not Soft Power, Or Flows References 18 Bricks, Mortar, and Media: Understanding the Media Industries Through Their Buildings Classifying Media Buildings Production Management and Support Offices Production Facilities Sites of Consumption A Framework for Interrogating Media Buildings Case Study: BBC Television Centre Conclusion Note References 19 Authorship and Agency in the Media Industries Issues of Authorship: the Artistic Genius Vs. the Genius of the System Issues of Agency: Autonomy, Power, and Questions of “Final Cut” Authorship and Agency in the Digital Era Conclusions and Cliffhangers References Part III Transformations: Digitalization and Industry Change 20 The Online Television Industry: Fragmentation, Consolidation, and Power Conceptualizing the Contemporary Television Industry Mapping the Power Dynamics of the Online TV Industry Consolidation in the Production and Distribution of Online TV Content The Power Dynamics of Technology and Content Conclusion Notes References 21 Children and the Media Industries: An Overlooked But Very Special “Television” Audience Changing Definitions of Television for Children Changes in the Development, Production, and Distribution of Screen Content for Children Continuities: Inclusion, Equality, Regulation, and Curation References 22 Game-Changer Or a New Shape to Familiar Dynamics?: Netflix and the American Indie Film Sector References 23 User as Asset, Music as Liability: The Moral Economy of the “Value Gap” in a Platform Musical Economy The Post-Crisis Musical Economy The Rise of the Platform Economy The Platform Music Industry as a Moral Economy Conclusions Note References 24 The Digital News Industry: The Intertwining Digital Commodities of Audiences and News The Digital Audience Commodity The Digital News Commodity Money, Meaning, and Future Directions Acknowledgments References 25 The Dynamics of the Book Publishing Industry Industry Structure The Business of Books Society and Culture The Future References 26 Social Media Industries and the Rise of the Platform Conceptualizing Social Media Industries Frameworks for Analyzing SMIs Platformization, Datafication, and SMIs The Global SMI Landscape Analyzing SMIs: Characteristics and Challenges Concluding Remarks References 27 When East Asian Media Industries Are Faced With Digitalization: Transformation and Survival Strategies China Japan South Korea The Digital Challenge: Cooperation and Absorption Acknowledgment Appendix Note References Part IV Intersections: Transnational Exchanges and Industry Traversings 28 Creating That “Local Connect”: The Dubbing of Hollywood Into Hindi Cultural, Creative, and Performative Expertise The Significance of Bollywood and Digital Platforms for Hollywood The Significance of Translation for Media Industries Research Acknowledgments Notes References 29 The Hollywood–Chinawood Relationship: Continuities and Changes The Hollywood–Chinawood Partnership Up to 2017 Changes to the US–China Partnership After 2017 Notable Continuities in Hollywood–Chinawood Partnership After 2017 New Challenges and New Trends References 30 TV Formats: Transnationalizing Television Production and Distribution The Emergence of the TV Format Trade in the Twenty-First Century The Practice of Format Adaptation The Transnationalization of Production Structures, Know-How, and Flows Conclusion and Outlook References 31 From Idents to Influencers: The Promotional Screen Industries References 32 Branded Entertainment: A Critical Review Introducing Branded Entertainment Product Placement and Brand Placement Placement Effectiveness Differences Between Branded Entertainment and Product Placement Branded Entertainment Modalities and Examples Critical Appraisal of Branded Entertainment Concluding Remarks References 33 Gatekeepers of Culture in the Music Video Supply Chain Music Industry Production Industry Exhibition and Platforms Note References 34 The Immersive Cinema Experience Economy: The UK Film Industry’s Third Sector From the Experience Economy to the Immersive Cinema Experience Economy Immersive Cinema Experiences (ICEx) Place Practices Participants Conclusion Notes References 35 Transmediality as an Industrial Form Conceptualizing the Industrial Form of Transmediality Participatory Brand Extension Personalized Immersive Experience Conclusion References 36 Sports Rights: Global Content, National Markets, and Regulatory Issues The Value of Sports Rights New Players, New Issues The Regulation of Sports Rights Conclusion References Part V Practices: Doing Media Industries Research and Pedagogy 37 Writing Film Industry History The Object of Study: Establishing the Field of Film Industry History What Counts as Evidence: Sources and Approaches Purposes: What Is Being Explained? Possible Futures for Film Industry Historiography Notes References 38 Writing the Airwaves: Recent Trends in Histories of US Broadcasting Our Sample Trends Radio Versus TV Local Versus National Culture, Activism, and Representation Programming Labor Streaming Omissions The Sources and Methods of Historical Media Industry Research Reflections On Our Research Challenges On Value to the Field Challenges and Opportunities for Future Research Acknowledgment Reference 39 Policy Studies and the Case for Plurality References 40 Media Economics and Management as Optimization Research: Toward a Shared Methodology Optimization for Profit Optimization for Welfare How Do They Differ? Does the Method Determine the Result? What Could They Learn From Each Other? Notes References 41 Backstage Observations: Studying Media Producers Media Production Research and Ethnography Media Producers as Research Subjects Media Producers as Exclusive Experts Media Producers and Academic Critique Media Producers as Self-Aware Informants Methodological Strategies for Studying Media Producers Participant Observation Industry Knowledge and Experience Conclusion Notes References 42 Breaking Into Hollywood: Strategies for Interviewing Media Producers Holistic Media Industries Studies Redefining Media Producers Demythologizing Oz and a Dialectic of No Respect Network Cultivation and Strategic Targeting Circumventing Gatekeepers and Trust-Building The Social Media Entertainment and Wanghong Industries Peeking Behind the Curtain References 43 Harnessing the Life History Method to Study the Media Industries What Are Life Histories? Life Histories and Media Industries Research Examining Temporality: the Utility of Life History Research Identifying Heterogeneity: Moving Beyond Precariousness Triangulating Life Histories Conclusion References 44 Interfacing With Industry Formative Background Motivations of Critical Media Industries Scholars The Institutional Nudge, Or Mandate, for Closer Relations Pedagogical Ethics Acknowledgments References 45 Media Industries and Audiences: An Analytic Dialogue The Media Experiences Project Analytic Dialogue: Establishing the Concept Analytic Dialogue: Establishing the Method Conclusion References 46 Ethics in Media Industries Research Devising a Framework A Research Perspective Engaging in Reflexivity On Ethics Conclusion Notes References 47 Appreciating the Costs and Benefits of Media Market Research in the Digital Era Who Is the Viewer? The Model of Market Research: Setting the Parameters Issues With Media Market Research References 48 Numbers and Qualitative Media Industries Research Demand for Statistical Measures Obscuring Data as Standard Media Industries Practice Across Contexts Institutions Producing Industrial Statistics Discussion Notes References 49 Teaching Media Industries Through Experiential Learning: Pathways to Engagement and Understanding Strategies for Activity Design Case Study: TV Industry and Scheduling Activity Conclusion References Index