Research in media economics

I liked Picard's overview on the history and trends of research in media economics. I did some searching to look for similar big-picture reviews of the field (and related works). Here are two that caught my attention:

Media Economics: Research Paradigms, Issues, and Contributions to Mass Communication Theory.

Authors:

Albarran, Alan B.

Source:

Mass Communication & Society; Summer/Fall98, Vol. 1 Issue 3/4, p117, 13p

The field of media economics has mushroomed recently, highlighted by the introduction of the Journal of Media Economics, an expanding literature base, and wider interest among academicians. In this article, I examine the main research paradigms, issues facing the field, and contributions to the larger body of mass communication theory. I also argue that media economics has made at least 4 major contributions to the communication literature. It (a) provides a means to understand media as economic institutions; (b) helps further understanding of continual globalization of media industries; (c) provides a diverse alternative to mainstream mass media; and (d) offers an interdisciplinary focus to contemporary mass communications research.

A Content Analysis Guide for Media Economics Scholars.

Authors:

Fico, Frederick G.¹
Lacy, Stephen² slacy@msu.edu
Riffe, Daniel³

Source:

Journal of Media Economics; 2008, Vol. 21 Issue 2, p114-130, 17p

Abstract:

The study of demand for media products requires an understanding of audience members' preferences, which are shaped by their taste for content. Despite the central role of content in understanding some aspects of media economics, media economics scholars sometimes apply content analysis in ways that are inconsistent with the generally accepted practices of the method. This article deals with some basic concepts underlying the method of content analysis to familiarize media economics scholars with the method. The adoption of accepted content analysis practices will yield better data and, in the long-run, help advance the understanding of media economics.

Human + machine = best search results

I love tools that give good recommendations! As both in “The Long Tail” and in “From Niches to Riches” when more products are available, it is hard for consumers to locate the product they are interested in. I wish I could find some other examples rather than books (cause they talked about amazon.com so much already), but I was playing with UT library site the other day and under a book I searched for, I saw tags (labels) showing up. It is supported by Library Thing.

I went to Library Thing website. It is a website that you can search for books. Each book is tagged by website members and you can see there are “members” of the book. I haven’t registered yet, but am guessing anyone can become a member of a book? You can see the list of members and each member has a profile and his/her own library. Pretty interesting site.

The problem is google is probably not enough (I like delicious.com, but it is still not enough). Googlezon in epic2014 is probably ideal for consumers. When you find a web page, there’s gonna be a recommendation says: people who like this page also like……

If someone can beat google on that part and use that search engine on every website, is google gonna die? (or become the second yahoo?)

The Long Tail…

Besides the idea of targeting the “niche markets”, another important condition for a long tail business to survive is to effectively guide consumers in the sea of products by “following the contours of their likes and dislikes”. I think that is the key element for the success of Netflix and Amazon, which is to keep on providing information related to people’s purchasing interest and that keep people continue to stay on their site (even they may not be buying things instantly…). I don’t think the online news providers have done a good job in this area, just by looking at the time people spent on the news site.

And before we get too excited about the long tail theory, there are some critics to look at: There is an article published on Harvard Business Review analyzing market datasets to show that

First, the tail is long but extremely flat--and, as online retailers expand their assortments, increasingly so. Second, compared with heavy users, light users have a disproportionately strong preference for the more popular offerings, while both groups appreciate hit products more than they like those in the tail.