Dilemmas of ‘Media’
Dilemmas of ‘Media’
Abstract: Despite its seeming stability and obviousness, the term "media" deserves critical scrutiny. To critique "media," this paper historicizes the use of "media" by focusing on the case of alternative/activist media, which presents the dilemmas of "media" in particularly high relief. As posed by "media," the key criteria for distinguishing the alternative from the mainstream emerged as what kind of machine was used to send messages, or what kind of messages were created. However inadequate these criteria were at the time (and they were), the analytical and practical map produced by "media" has been called into question even more starkly by the advent over the past two decades or so of consumer-grade digital production and distribution as well as the more extensive hybridization of commercial and popular cultural production. By contrast, an historicized conception of practice is in many ways more useful for grasping and specifying varieties and their implications.
Related Research
-
Glen Nowak was an invited panelist for a University Research Magazine Association (URMA)Glen Nowak was an invited panelist for a University Research Magazine Association (URMA) online “URMA Live” webinar on “Garnering trust on tough topics” on February 18. He was one of three […]
-
United Press Associations: Collective Action for Local News Outlets?Karin Assman, “United Press Associations: Collective Action for Local News Outlets?” accepted for presentation (and organization) at the 2026 Local Journalism Researchers Workshop this April in Washington, D.C. Overview: This presentation […]