Abstract
This study examines the infrastructural features of the media industry in Turkey in the 2000s. The study posits that the analysis of the inner workings of the media as an industrial-social institution is a way of understanding how the media is related with the overall system it is a part of. In order to do that, it is crucial to undertake the infrastructural mapping of the media. In this study, the dimensions of the media industry such as the branches of economic activity, geographical distribution, corporate structures and scales, employment, wages, gender distribution, and unionization levels are discussed as the basic indicators forming the infrastructure of the media industry. The datasets which the study is based on are taken from the NACE codes, which are used in the statistical classification of economic activities in Europe and are also valid for Turkey. The boundaries of media industry are defined through six basic branches of economic activity classified in NACE 18, 58, 59, 60, 63,73 codes and these fields of activity are discussed both by themselves and as a relational whole.
TopA determining moment for media analysis is the step of analytically locating the various circulating concepts such as media industry, culture industry, communication industry etc. and demonstrating the interconnections between these concepts.
In accordance with such an attempt, it would be correct to conceptualize media industry as part of the more extensive “communication industries”. Communication industries encompass a broad field of activity consisting of many sub-fields and sectors that produce any kind of product, services and content of communication. These industries include many fields of activity, ranging from call centres to technopoles, from computer factories to software and data mining firms, from press activities to internet applications, from the production of cultural goods to journalism.4 The industrial rise of communication activities throughout 20th century and their central position within the capitalist system has led both to the gradual broadening of the scope of these industries and to the intertwining of many activities involved in this broad scope.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Infrastructural Analysis: Infrastructural analysis of an industry is an analysis of the basic economic indicators of that industry both singularly and relationally. The basic dimensions of infrastructural analysis are the economic development of the industry, sub-branches, geographical distribution and concentration, company structures and scales, employment status, wages and gender distribution.
Political Economy of the Media: Political economy of the media is an approach that analyzes production and distribution relations in media in terms of their historical nature, conditions and forms.
The NACE Codes: These codes are used in the statistical classification of economic activities in Europe. NACE is an abbreviation of “Nomenclature générale des Activités économiques dans les Communautés Européennes”.
Communication Industries: Communication industries encompass a broad field of activity consisting of many sub-fields and sectors that produce any kind of product, services and content of communication. These industries include many fields of activity, ranging from call centres to technopoles, from computer factories to software and data mining firms, from press activities to internet applications, from the production of cultural goods to journalism.
Media Industry: An economic structure consisting of sectors where all kinds of products, services and content related to the media are produced.