Arguments over the status of podcasting have engaged both radio studies and emerging podcasting studies in recent years without resolution. Radio scholars find in podcasting a remediation of radio, while those who approach podcasting from... more
Arguments over the status of podcasting have engaged both radio studies and emerging podcasting studies in recent years without resolution. Radio scholars find in podcasting a remediation of radio, while those who approach podcasting from other disciplines or from digital media studies tend to emphasize the disruptive aspects of podcasting as a new medium. These two different positions are difficult to reconcile, but, what if they were both true?
In this chapter, I propose a way out of this debate, a third way which draws upon the cultural history of broadcasting, the political economy of communication, Social shaping of Technology, Social Construction of Technology studies (SCOT), Actor-Network Theory (ANT) and Cultural Studies to explore the very nature of podcasting as a medium. Comparing the early years of broadcasting with the early stage of podcasting, I will try to show that podcasting has re-mediated some aspects of radio, but it also represents something completely different.
In this chapter, I propose a way out of this debate, a third way which draws upon the cultural history of broadcasting, the political economy of communication, Social shaping of Technology, Social Construction of Technology studies (SCOT), Actor-Network Theory (ANT) and Cultural Studies to explore the very nature of podcasting as a medium. Comparing the early years of broadcasting with the early stage of podcasting, I will try to show that podcasting has re-mediated some aspects of radio, but it also represents something completely different.
Research Interests:
This paper discusses the current condition of public service media (PSM) as the network society and the emerging digital culture are changing the values traditionally embedded in the concept of PSM and the nature of media audiences. In... more
This paper discusses the current condition of public service media (PSM) as the network society and the emerging digital culture are changing the values traditionally embedded in the concept of PSM and the nature of media audiences. In doing so, the study takes the holistic view on several challenges that contemporary PSM have to face. Since its establishment, PSM have never been under as much pressure as with today's ongoing financial, economic and political crises, as well as other global socioeconomic challenges. The paper argues that in order to understand the current necessary shifts in PSM one needs to take into account current PSM funding models, discussing both their advantages and weaknesses under the light of the changing media ecosystems. Finally, it addresses a need for participatory turn that advocates for a change in the way PSM have framed the audience's participation: from user-generated content to more structural participation.
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Media Studies, Radio And Sound Studies, Digital Media, History of Communication, History of Mass Media, and 9 moreDigital Radio, Mass media, Mass Communication and New Media, Radio studies, Comunicazione, Scienze della comunicazione, Radioenlaces Digitales, History of Technology and Media, and Radio, Podcasting, Web Radio
Backstage è il titolo di un vecchio film muto con Buster Keaton del 1919: uno dei suoi ultimi film, in cui l’attore americano fa la parte di un macchinista in un teatro d’opera e varietà, costretto a salire sul palco nel momento in cui... more
Backstage è il titolo di un vecchio film muto con Buster Keaton del 1919: uno dei suoi ultimi film, in cui l’attore americano fa la parte di un macchinista in un teatro d’opera e varietà, costretto a salire sul palco nel momento in cui gli attori decidono di scioperare. Oltre che titolo di questo film (illuminante sull’invisibilità di chi produce i media) e di numerosi altre pellicole, la parola backstage indica, prima di tutto, quella zona posta dietro le quinte di un teatro, una sala di posa, un set cinematografico, una produzione televisiva o un concerto. In generale si riferisce a quella zona non esposta al pubblico in cui ci si prepara per andare “in scena” o “in onda”. Secondo Google Ngram Viewer, la parola compare nei libri inglesi a fine Seicento, per poi rimanere quasi inutilizzata fino al 1919. Da lì in avanti vedrà un utilizzo sempre più massiccio, in crescita costante fino ai nostri giorni, in parallelo con la storia dei media elettronici. Macchinisti, fonici, producer, assistenti di varia natura, amministratori, uomini di marketing, impiegati, scrittori freelance sono tutte figure che lavorano nell’industria dei media ma che sono di solito invisibili ai lettori, agli spettatori, agli utenti. Questi lavoratori sono la spina dorsale della produzione dei media, ma vivono, appunto, nel backstage di Keaton, senza mai poter sperare negli applausi del pubblico.