Political Economy of Media Entrepreneurship: Power, Control and Ideology in a News Media Enterprise

Abstract

With digital technologies crushing entry barriers, India is witnessing a new wave of digital news media entrepreneurship. Many of these news start-ups, set up by former journalists, want to challenge the corporate control of media by adopting new revenue models that do not depend on advertising. However, very little research exists on news media entrepreneurship in India. Using the case study of an ad-less digital news media start-up, this study explores the objectives of news media entrepreneurship and the role of technology in creating an independent space for democratic interactions. Analyses of the interview and textual data reveal that news media entrepreneurship is an ideological process and that digital technologies do not always create and sustain democratic interactive space for news. The study shows that the government and corporates control the Internet and social media and a media organization that is totally dependent on these technologies for news distribution faces protracted legal battles and possible censorship.