ABSTRACT

The aim of this chapter is to offer a historical overview of the development of media management and economics research in Europe since its beginnings in the 1930s to nowadays.

The time lapse has been divided into three periods of development of the field: introduction (1930–1959), with an analysis of the early books and the pioneers’ first contributions; growth (1960–1989), in which two schools of thought are dominant: the political economy and the neoclassical perspective; and maturity (1990-–nowadays), in which the discipline of media management and economics has been fully established in Europe, and the diversity of interests and research methods has grown in a very significant manner.

The intention is giving the big names and places—researchers, universities and research centers—at each of the stages. In order words, this chapter intends to highlight the key scholars and institutions that helped to expand the field in Europe. The most relevant seminal books are cited, even though the chapter does not pretend to be an annotated bibliography.

Finally, this text proposes the implementation of new theoretical approaches and a research agenda for the next decade.