• Soldering Towards Media Democracy: Technical Practice as Symbolic Value in Radio Activism

    Author(s):
    Christina Dunbar-Hester (see profile)
    Date:
    2012
    Group(s):
    Science and Technology Studies (STS)
    Subject(s):
    Alternative mass media, Science--Study and teaching, Technology--Study and teaching, Communication--Study and teaching
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    media democracy, technical practice, Alternative media, Radio, Science and technology studies (STS), Communication studies
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/sp40-f471
    Abstract:
    This article follows radio activists engaged in a combination of policy advocacy and broadening access to technology and skills through hands-on work. In practice, this largely played out as a systematic elevation of “technical” work and downplaying of policy/advocacy expertise, even though both were salient features of their work. The article argues that radio activists cultivated a technical identity that served to mark boundaries between their group and others in the terrain of media democracy work. Technical identity also took on special significance as the group grappled with organizational maturation, mitigating the anxiety felt by workers as they experienced the shift from an inexperienced, though highly driven and successful activist collective, to a more sustainable nonprofit activist organization. The article concludes by naming technological activism as one strategy in the wider spectrum of work to promote media democracy and speculates on the consequences of technical identity within the wider movement.
    Metadata:
    Published as:
    Journal article    
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    2 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved

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