| dc.description.abstract | This book is aimed at graduate courses and the professional
market. A shorter version is available for the college level.
The basics are shared because the subject matter and its
importance are the same.
Everybody understands the importance of the media
and information sector. It is a growing and dynamic field,
encompassing content creation, distribution platforms, and
technology devices. The information industry sector in
2017 accounted for about $1.7 trillion in the USA and $6
trillion worldwide, about 6% of the global gross domestic
product (GDP). As a share of “discretionary income” the
share of the sector is closer to 20%; and as a share of “discretionary
time” it is an extraordinary 30%. Per capita media
consumption in the USA is 2100 hours annually, which
translates to 5.7 hours a day. And it is not only quantity that
counts. Media industries are also a driver of change, leading
in technological innovation, testing new organizational
practices, and transforming societal institutions and culture.
This has always been the case. Gutenberg’s movable
print not only upended religion, science, and politics, but it
was also the first machinery of any kind used for mass production.
The production and distribution system for film
has been the forerunner for an emerging production system
of virtual companies. And more recently, the internet is
changing everything again, far beyond the media and information
sector. There is therefore no dispute over the centrality
of the sector in advanced and developing economies
and societies. | en_US |
