This article is a rejoinder to Murdock and Golding’s response to my critique of the political economy of communications (PEC) analysis of media production. This article sets this exchange in the context of a broader debate in recent editions of Media, Culture & Society about the value of PEC. Much of the debate stems from Garnham’s critical review of 40?years of PEC research.
In this response to our critics and fellow-travellers we reaffirm our claim that contemporary media studies should reinvent a critical concept of ideology. We do this through addressing some of the problems with older critical conceptions of ideology and suggesting potentially fruitful ways forward through engaging with research traditions that have become neglected or are overlooked in the fie…
Social media have been hailed as liberative in contexts of political repression. In Zimbabwe, there are emergent debates on the possibilities of using Facebook to ‘democratise’ political space. But the use of Facebook to settle personal political scores or to relentlessly attack political opposition seemed to have escaped academic scrutiny. This study looks at the use of Facebook by opposing ca…