Book excerpt: What is political economy and how can it be applied to the study of media communication? The Political Economy of Communication is the definitive critical overview of the discipline for students of the social sciences. It explains in detail the analytic tools that political economy can apply to today's increasingly global and technological information society. Mosco presents an historical overview of the discipline and defines political economy by its focus on the relation between the production, distribution and consumption of communication in historical and cultural context. This comprehensive analysis of the 'commodity form' is communication includes an examination of print, broadcast and new electronic media, the role and function of the audience, and the problem of social control. It concludes by addressing the relationship of political economy to the increasingly important fields of policy studies and cultural studies.