Media Economics and Sustainability

Excerpt From Chapter 1

Introduction The dynamic nature of the society requires that organizations make decisions that facilitate prudent and profitable utilization of resources. Determining how to allocate material and human resources, including income and expenditure decisions premised on enhancing profitability is a major task organizations must meaningfully undertake. This is where economics comes into play in the survival of organizations in any society. Industries constitute economic pillars in every nation. Interaction among these industries plays crucial roles in determining the strength of any economy. The media constitute a major economic pillar in every society. The media industry is one of the world’s fastest growing markets especially in view of the impact of technology on the industry. The media deliver goods and services to the consumers, just like every other industry. The media industry is constantly expanding with more key players coming in to play pivotal roles as content creators, exhibitors and distributors. Given that media priorities and agendas constantly change to the dynamism of the society, there is need for owners and managers in the industry to always make decisions that ensure profitable utilization of material and human resources available to the establishment. This underscores the relevance of media economics which provides platform for understanding of the market environment and how best to utilize opportunities and ensure that economic forces in the society are keyed into, in an organization’ favour. A great deal of media content consumed by audience members is produced by media companies most of which are for-profit businesses. Like all businesses, media companies are influenced by issues such as profitability, cost containment, and evolving ownership patterns. In order to understand how media business works, there is need for some sense of the economic dimension of the media industry. Media economics therefore is very essential in the running of media establishments.