When we consider audience theory in Media Studies, the degree of flux and changing views on this is quickly evident, and a major theme in itself. Which, if any, of the long-established audience theories continue to hold true in the digital age, the web 2.0 era? Is it enough to write of "the former audience", Dan Gillmor's (2011) striking phrase? David Gauntlett even went as far as to declare the "end of audience studies" (2007, 2011), although Julian McDougall's (2009, in a very readable, student-friendly
book) more moderate point that audiences are fragmenting, making it more difficult to meaningfully analyse or discuss/define audiences, is perhaps more useful.
There are those who see the blurring of the audience/producer line as full of democratic promise, not least Gillmor, though Henry Jenkins'
Convergence Culture (2008) is perhaps the most striking statement of this.
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| Is Jenkins too utopian, optimistic? [image source] |
