? INTRODUCTION
This topic focuses on the relationship between the institutions of mass media and political economy. It seeks to paint the background of Malaysia's media ownership
and its link to the political institution and explains how this relationship influences the culture and industry of todayÊs society.
DEFINITIONS
To have a better understanding and grasp of the topic, we will first look at the
definitions of political economy and mass media to ensure that we can differentiate
between the two.
Topic 6 Culture and Industry
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1. Elaborate the concept of political economy;
2. Explain the concept of mass media;
3. Discuss the relationship between mass media and political economy; and
4. Describe the historical background of media ownership in Malaysia.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
6.1.1 Definition of Political Economy
The Dictionary of Modern Economics (Horton, Ripley & Schnapper, 1948) defined
political economy as „the theory and practice of economic affairs‰. Political
economy is generally applied to matters of cost, surplus and distribution. It is
mostly viewed as a collective and social concern. Power and authority within a
society (namely, politics) are often associated with the entity's economic ability.
6.1.2 Definition of Mass Media
A medium is the channel through which a message travels from the source to the
receiver. Media is the plural form of medium. Mass media are channels used for
mass communication such as television, radio, newspapers and the Internet.
Dominick (2007) explained that „mass media includes the people, policies,
organisation and the technology that go into the production and distribution of
mass communication‰.
Therefore, to understand the relationship between political economy and mass
media is to understand how the authorities with economic capabilities control
processes, production and ownership of mass media.
POLITICAL ECONOMY OF MEDIA
Studies on political economy can be looked at from many perspectives. However,
this topic will highlight the political economy of media.
Political economy of media refers to studies on „how the media are structured,
controlled and how they operate‰, largely so by political authority and the rich
elites of society. The idea of media as the „free press‰ must be weighed in with
factors such as the economic sustainability of a media organisation, the news
sources of the organisation and also ownership of the media.
Define mass media.
SELF-CHECK 6.1
6.2.1 Public Media
The inception of mass media in each country therefore has often been viewed in
tandem with the political development. Political control is often more obvious
within the public broadcast media in comparison with private media. Hallin and
Mancini (2004) distinguished three models for the governance of public
broadcasting which are the government or polarised pluralist model; the
professional or liberal model; and the parliamentary or proportional representation
model. Each of these models is described in further detail in Figure 6.1.
Figure 6.1: Models in governance of public broadcasting
Source: Hallin and Mancini (2004)
6.2.2 Private Media
The privatised media are not really free from political control as privatised media
need commercialisation for their sustainability. Private media are driven by
market needs and demands, therefore creating a more audience-oriented content.
The private media however are bound by the country's law and regulations much
like the public media. The act of balancing the needs of the market and the
authority is constantly viewed as one of the challenges of the mass media.
MASS MEDIA
Mass media are the channels of mass communication. Mass media transmit
messages from a source to many receivers and it can be from many sources to
many receivers as well. Generally, mass media include newspapers, radio,
television and the online media. However, Dominick (2007) emphasised that mass
media not only comprise the mechanical devices that transmit and store the
message, but also encompass the institutions that use the machines to transmit
messages. That includes the media organisation, the policies, the people and the
technologies.
6.3.1 Traditional versus Digital
Mass media can be divided into traditional mass media and the digital mass
media, including online. Dominick (2007) listed the characteristics of the
traditional mass media as follows:
(a) It is produced by a complex and formal organisation;
(b) It has multiple gatekeepers;
(c) It needs a great deal of money to operate;
(d) It exists to make profit; and
(e) It is highly competitive.
The existence of the Internet and also mobile devices has created a different kind
of channel for mass communication. E-mails, social networks, hand phone chat
applications and other new forms of mass communication are fast developing in
recent years. The online or other forms of new mass media offer everyone a chance
to be a mass communicator. The Internet brought down the cost of mass
communication to a level where everyone can afford to be the transmitter and the
receiver.
Name five countries that fit into each model of the media system given
by Hallin and Mancini (2004). Pick one country and list down five
characteristics of the media system practised.
Share your findings in the online forum.
ACTIVITY 6.1
The online media have completely different characteristics such as the following:
(a) It can be produced by an individual;
(b) It can bypass gatekeepers;
(c) It is affordable;
(d) The motivation may not necessarily be to make profit; and
(e) For many of the online media, competition is not a factor.
As mass media continue to evolve, few trends are taking place. Firstly, there is
convergence within the media as well as intermedia. The audience have more
control of the media. This also leads to fragmentation of audiences. Media mobility
is also an emerging trend of the mass media where media can now be accessed and
also used anywhere at anytime.
BRIEF HISTORY OF MEDIA OWNERSHIP
In Malaysia, the history of mass media can be traced to as early as 1921 with the
coming of radio to Malaya. In 1921, an electrical engineer from the Johor
Government, A.L Birch, brought the first radio set into the country. He then
established the Johore Wireless Association and commenced broadcasting using a
one megahertz radio signal with a wavelength of 300 metres. That was followed
by the establishment of a similar association in Penang and the Malayan Wireless
Association in Kuala Lumpur.
6.4.1 Media Ownership and Control
The media in Malaysia started before Independence as a tool for the British colonials
to disseminate information to the people. After Malaysia was formed in 1963, the
change in the nation's media identity was obvious with the radio tagline, „Inilah
Radio Malaysia‰. Television was introduced later that year with the governmentowned
channel, Radio Television Malaysia (RTM). Privatisation of television
channels only happened in 1984 when Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad (STMB)
was given the license to operate TV3 by the government. Many television channels
came up along the way but Media Prima Berhad (established in 2003) went on to
monopolise the free-to-air television channels namely TV3, NTV7, 8TV and TV9.
Media Prima Berhad also has its share of some of the mainstream print media.
On the other hand, Astro became the most successful subscription based television
after the failure of MegaTV, the first subscription-based television channel. Today,
Astro has more than 170 channels including some in-house produced channels.
A summary of broadcast media ownership in Malaysia up to 2012 is shown in
Figure 6.2: Development of broadcasting companies up to 2012 in Malaysia
Source: Malaysia Communication and Multimedia Commission (2012)
The following summarises various important views of media ownership in
Malaysia:
(a) There are only a few media conglomerates which own many of the media in
Malaysia;
(b) Malaysia has a balance of public mass media by the government and more
privatised ones such as Astro; and
(c) The media in Malaysia, however, is said to be strongly connected to the
ruling party. Ownership of the mass media is directly or indirectly related to
political affiliation.
6.4.2 Legal and Regulatory Development in Malaysia
In terms of the laws and regulations of media, the Malaysian broadcast media is
said to be one that is marred by strong political control (Nain, 1996). The
mainstream media is no longer the guardian of freedom of speech, but rather is
the mouthpiece of the government. The defence by the government is that the
freedom given to media must be practised with responsibility.
Malaysia has a few media regulatory bodies, namely, the Malaysian
Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Malaysia Film
Censorship Board (LPF) and also Communications and Multimedia Content
Forum (CMCF). These regulatory bodies play different roles but they complement
each other in regulating the media in Malaysia. A brief summary of the
development of laws and regulations in Malaysia is shown in Figure 6.3.
.
Figure 6.3: Development of laws and regulations in Malaysia
Therefore, the online media is seen to be the leveraging ground as there are relatively
less control and regulations for the online media. The emergence of the online media
is deemed to give more freedom of expression than the traditional media.
1. Read three articles that describe the impact of the Internet on
freedom of speech.
(a) Compare the three articles and highlight their main points.
(b) What is your opinion of media control in Malaysia?
2. Conduct research on one media conglomerate in Malaysia and
describe its mission, vision and ideology.
3. Draw out the organisational chart of one media conglomerate in
Malaysia.
Share your findings with your coursemates.
ACTIVITY 6.2
'
6.4.3 Media Ownership: Global Scenario
There have been many issues across the globe over matters relating to media
ownership. This has sparked concern over the rise of strong oligopolies where
ownership and market is within the hands of a few firms.
Within the global scenario, some of the big firms own a strong share of the market.
For example, Time Warner owns Warners Bros, AOL and CW, while Disney owns
Disney, ABC and also various theme parks. News Corp owns the various Fox
channels and newspapers across the globes. These are among a few examples of
global media under the ownership of only a few media conglomerates. When the
media are controlled by the elite few, the following problems may arise:
(a) Independence of the Editorial Team
There is a possibility that journalists will not write and publish certain
stories, especially those pertaining to negative matters relating to the parent
company or its subsidiaries as this may cause bad press for them. This raises
the question of freedom of the press.
(b) Lack of Diversity
Information provided from only one view point across various media will
lead to one sided opinions and lack of representation in news reporting.
(c) Profit Orientated
Corporations maybe in a position where what they say is determined by who
their sponsors are and also based on the best interests of their sponsors. This
is to ensure that their sponsors will keep on financing the running of their
media organisations.
1. Explain the models used in governance of public broadcasting.
2. Distinguish between traditional and digital media.
3. What are the regulatory bodies of media in Malaysia?
.
SELF-CHECK 6.2
'
Read the following article about media ownership in France and answer
the following questions:
(a) Explain the current state of media ownership in France.
(b) What is the impact of the problems mentioned in the article?
(c) Compare the scenario between France and Malaysia.
Media Ownership at the Heart of Problems Facing the French Press
Roy Greenslade
24 September 2014
Despite the French government's generous subsidies to
newspapers, the country's press is in serious trouble, according to a
lengthy appraisal by the US Nieman Foundation. Its 3,500-word report,
Plus ça change, considers the deepening problems of papers that are said
to have failed to rise to the digital challenge, such as Libération („a
wreck‰), Le Monde („newsroom management in disarray‰) and Le
Figaro (covering politics is „complicated‰ by its ownership).
That final point is explored in some depth by the report's author.
All the leading papers have wealthy owners with large corporate
interests that some critics believe could affect editorial output. For
example, the heads of two phone operating companies have big stakes
in two of the national dailies. Patrick Drahi, a Franco-Israeli telecom
executive who lives in Switzerland with a business based in
Luxembourg, became Libération's largest shareholder in June. Xavier
Niel, who runs France's fastest growing telecommunications firm, has
invested millions of euro in Le Monde along with Lazard banker
Matthieu Pigasse and Pierre Bergé, the business partner of the late
fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. They have also acquired the
largest, but troubled, national newsweekly, Nouvel Observateur.
ACTIVITY 6.3
'
Then there is Serge Dassault, a French senator and the main
shareholder of France's biggest private aerospace and defence concern,
who owns Socpresse, publisher of Le Figaro. Dassault has been the
subject of judicial inquiries about alleged vote-buying. Nieman reports:
„When the allegations first surfaced last fall, they were big news
everywhere a except in Figaro‰. Bernard Arnault a chief executive of
luxury goods maker LVMH a controls Les Echos, which is France's
principal business newspaper.
But journalism online appears to be alive and well. An
investigative news site, Mediapart, turns a healthy profit because it has
attracted many thousands of subscribers who appreciate its combative
reporting. Its founder, EdwyPlenel, is renowned for his revelations of
high-level misbehaviour. Mediapart took off after its 2010 story about
the political and financial scandal involving France's richest woman,
Liliane Bettencourt.
So what about those subsidies? The Nieman report lists them:
„The French state every year shells out about $540m
(£330m) in direct funding to privately owned
newspapers and magazines, and a further $1bn
(£610m) or so in indirect aid, including a specially
reduced sales tax for publications and income tax
breaks for all 37,000 French journalists with an official
press card...‰ The aim is to ensure a continuing
pluralism of the press, and the money helps to keep
afloat a number of publications that would otherwise
have long since died, including the communist party
paper L'Humanité'.
Incidentally, the report also reveals that the French government
cancelled $6m (£3.6m) in debt owed to the state by L'Humanité.
Merveilleux!
Source:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/sep/24/
france-mediabusiness
? Political economy is strongly related to the media in terms of production and
processes of information.
? Three models in governance of public broadcasting are as follows:
? Government or polarised pluralist model;
? Professional or liberal model; and
? Parliamentary or proportional representation model.
? Private media are driven by market needs and demands, thereby creating a
more audience-oriented content.
? Mass media can be divided into traditional and digital/online media.
? Malaysia's media system is strongly linked to the political institution.
? Malaysia's media regulatory bodies include the Malaysian Communication
and Multimedia Commission (MCMC); Malaysia Film Censorship Board
(LPF); and also Communications and Multimedia Content Forum (CMCF).
? Online media seem to have more freedom of expression than traditional media.
? Problems of having global media under the ownership of only a few
conglomerates include independence of the editorial team, lack of diversity
and profit orientation.
Digital media
Mass communication
Mass media
Media ownership
Political economy
Regulatory bodies
Traditional media
Dominick, J. R. (2007). The dynamics of mass communications: Media in the digital
age. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Hallin, D. C., & Mancini, P. (2004).Comparing media systems: Three models of
media and politics. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Horton, B. J., Ripley, J., & Schnapper, M. B. (1948).Dictionary of modern economics.
Washington, DC: Public Affairs Press.
Malaysia Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). (2012). Industry
Performance Report 2012. Retrieved from https://www.gov.my/
skmmgovmy/media/General/pdf/IPR_-2012.pdf
Nain, Z. (1996). The impact of the international market place on the organization
of Malaysian television. In D. French & M. Richards (Eds.), Contemporary
television: Eastern perspectives. New Delhi, India: Sage.
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