Page 175 - Critical Political Economy of the Media

154 Critical investigations in political economy

8 Marketers’ influence as media content providers
Marketers engage in communications across their own media channels (owned),
advertising (paid) and through public relations (earned). There is increasing
convergence and blurring of forms as marketers invest in owned media content
(websites; native advertising), commissioned content (paid bloggers, content
farms), co-owned media content and public relations activities with media firms.

9 Governance and regulation
Liberalisation of regulations concerning corporate consolidation, media owner-
ship, marketing behaviour, advertising placement, advertising content and media
content, can all enhance marketers’ power and influence.

Countervailing pressures

1 Governance and regulation
Both media and advertising are subject to regulations designed variously to
protect and promote values such as consumer welfare, competition, technical
operability, quality, or the public interest. The countervailing force of regulation
is weakening in areas such as product placement, where the principle of
separation of media and advertising is being eroded. Yet, there are also pressures
on politicians and regulators from civil society, consumers’ and interest groups to
restrict advertising.

2 State support and public media
States have a central role in governance and regulation but, as well as powers of
imperium (the command of law), they can use dominium power (employment of the
wealth of government). Public service media (PSM) can provide a countervailing
force to advertiser influence not only by sustaining non-commercial media, but
by shaping media cultures in ways that influence private media too, for instance
through movements of professionals and values between sectors, and by influencing
consumer expectations, cultural and policy environments.

3 Market conditions
Media–advertiser relationships are shaped by market conditions, including
competition and the behaviour of other firms as well as consumer behaviour.
Powerful inhibitors on marketers’ integration into media content can arise from
the actual/anticipated responses of users/consumers, and also from the behaviour
and norms of other market actors. Many media markets are ‘two-sided’– two
groups interact through a media platform or intermediary: advertisers and