ABSTRACT
One of the great strengths of the critical political economy of media tradition has been its attention to the influence of advertising finance on the non-advertising content of media. However, this needs updating so that it engages adequately with the full range of contemporary communications and media–advertising relationships. This chapter builds on previous work (Hardy, 2014; 2015; 2017) that has sought to revise and update a framework for analysis in the light of changing conditions, wider scholarship, self-critique, and fresh thinking. This chapter combines a review and mapping of approaches with further effort to update for contemporary conditions and analyses. It explores the strengths and limitations of classical and contemporary critical political economy (CPE) perspectives but also of the ‘new’ media studies approaches that critique them. The chapter offers guidelines for contemporary analysis and connects the book’s analysis to broader themes in critical media and cultural studies.
