The Characteristics of Local Media Clusters: An Integrated Approach

Within industry cluster studies, especially media clusters have recently gained interest from the scientific and political world. However, there is no common agreement on a comparative framework that integrates the various facets of the phenomenon. After a thorough revision of existing literature, this article proposes a framework into which empirical observations and theoretical considerations can be placed. Within the literature on (media) clusters, this paper finds several parameters: place, proximity, pertinence, profile, path-dependency, policy, and performance. We argue that these seven parameters - 7Ps - provide a solid foundation to grasp the dynamics of media clusters, which are composed of three essential entities: media institutions, media workers and media communities. We argue that the integrative and multidisciplinary framework brings together the existing heterogeneous approaches towards media clusters into one suitable analysis model.