ZURn4107 Political Economy of Media

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2026
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Monika Metyková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Lenka Waschková Císařová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Lenka Waschková Císařová, Ph.D.
Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Boris Rafailov, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Tue 7. 4. 16:00–17:40 U33, Wed 8. 4. 12:00–13:40 P21a, 16:00–17:40 U32, Thu 9. 4. 10:00–11:40 P24a, Tue 14. 4. 12:00–13:40 P21a, Fri 17. 4. 10:00–11:40 P52
Prerequisites (in Czech)
TYP_STUDIA(MN)
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Abstract
The aim of the course is to introduce students to political economy approaches to the study of media and mediated communication. A political economy approach is characterized by the study of social relations, above all power relations, that constitute the production, distribution and consumption of resources, in the case of this course particularly focussing on communication resources. We will focus on media industries, on political and economic processes that impact media, including funding models and regulatory frameworks. We will also pay attention to the so-called technological giants such as Google, Amazon and Meta and to the increasing influence of AI on communications.
Learning outcomes
Students will be able to:
- understand key topics related to political economy of media
- analyze the ways in which the unequal distribution of material and symbolic resources impact on communication activities and how the funding and organization of cultural products influence the range of discourses and representations as well as access to these
Key topics
  • 1. Introduction to the course. 
  • 2. Which political economy of the media?
  • 3. Media and Society
  • 4. Media Industries
  • 5. Who Owns the Media?
  • 6. Researching Commodities and Media Organizations
  • 7. Feminist political economy of the media 
  • 8. Technological giants: Google, Amazon, Meta
  • 9. New forms of capitalism? Surveillance capitalism, technocapitalism, algorithmic capitalism 
  • 10. Final summary
Study resources and literature
    required literature
  • MOSCO, Vincent. The political economy of communication. 2nd ed. Los Angeles: Sage, 2009, x, 268. ISBN 9781412947008. info
  • DOYLE, Gillian. Understanding media economics. 1st pub. London: SAGE Publications, 2002, vii, 184. ISBN 0761968741. info
Approaches, practices, and methods used in teaching
lecture, seminar, reading
Method of verifying learning outcomes and course completion requirements
written assignments, written assignment
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025, Spring 2027.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2026/ZURn4107