ABSTRACT
Political economy examines the social relations, especially the power relations, that mutually constitute the production, distribution, and exchange of resources. This essay focuses on the cultural resources that are turned into commodities for sale in the converging broadcasting, telecommunications, and new media industries. By definition, political economy distinguishes itself by examining the use of power in society. In particular, it takes up how power is used in three social processes-commodification, spatialization, and structuration. Commodification examines the transformation of goods valued for their use into
commodities valued for what they can bring in exchange. A story that a parent tells a child contains use value. When that story is dramatized on a commercial television program, it carries exchange value, which can be measured by how much a television station or distributor will pay for it in the marketplace. The process of commodification extends beyond cultural content to include audiences, whose attention is marketed to advertisers, and media workers, whose labor is sold for a wage. The process of spatialization encompasses the transformation of space with time. In the
political economy of communication, studying this process entails identifying the ways cultural products and information technologies define spaces. For example, television overcomes distance by bringing images of world events to every part of the globe, and companies increasingly use computer communication to organize business on a worldwide basis, thereby allowing them greater access to markets and the flexibility to move rapidly when conditions make it less favorable for them to stay in one place. Communication is central to spatialization because media and information technologies are processes that promote flexibility and control throughout industry, but particularly within the media, communication, and information sectors. Spatialization encompasses the process of globalization, including the worldwide restructuring of industries, companies, and other institutions. Restructuring at the industry level is exemplified by the development of integrated markets based on digital technologies and at the firm level by the growth of the flexible or networked company, which makes use of communication and information systems to continuously change structure, product line, marketing, and relationships to other companies, suppliers, its own workforce, and customers.
