Media Independence: Working with Freedom or Working for Free? PDF
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“Bennett and Strange have assembled an original, wide-ranging interroga- tion of ‘independence’ as it is mobilized across media industries and national contexts. Together, the essays in this book breathe new life into this often- abused and misused term, making an impassioned case for protecting true independent vision and values in our media culture.” — Jennifer Holt, Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA “Bennett and Strange’s collection impressively maps the varied sociopoliti- cal, aesthetic, industrial and rhetorical meanings of ‘media independence’ even as it grounds the concept in rich case studies covering film, television, gaming, music, the Internet and more. Media Independence is an invaluable resource for thinking through the complex dynamics of creativity, work and industry across a range of contemporary national contexts. A must read.” — Alisa Perren, Associate Professor in the Department of Radio-TV-Film, University of Texas at Austin, USA This page intentionally left blank Media Independence Media independence is central to the organization, make-up, working prac- tices and output of media systems across the globe. Often stemming from Western notions of individual and political freedoms, independence has informed the development of media across a range of platforms: from the freedom of the press as the “fourth estate” and the rise of Hollywood’s independent studios and independent television in Britain, through to the importance of “Indy” labels in music and gaming and the increasing impor- tance of independence of voice in citizen journalism. Media independence for many, therefore, has come to mean working with freedom: from state control or interference, from monopoly, from market forces, as well as freedom to report, comment, create and document without fear of persecu- tion. However, far from a stable concept that informs all media systems, the notion of media independence has long been contested, forming a crucial tension point in the regulation, shape, size and role of the media around the globe. Contributors including David Hesmondhalgh, Gholam Khiabany, José van Dijck, Hector Postigo, Anthony Fung and Stuart Allan demonstrate how the notion of independence has remained paramount, but contested, in ideals of what the media is for, how it should be regulated, what it should produce and what working within it should be like. They address questions of economics, labor relations, production cultures, ideologies and social functions. James Bennett is the head of the Media Arts Department and a reader in television and digital culture at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. Niki Strange is a research fellow at University of Sussex, UK and runs her own digital media consultancy, Strange Digital, where she provides research, business development and strategy consulting for creative businesses and organizations. Routledge Research in Cultural and Media Studies For a full list of titles in this series, please visit www.routledge.com 38 Global Perspectives on Tarzan 45 Forensic Science in From King of the Jungle to Contemporary American International Icon Popular Culture Edited by Annette Wannamaker Gender, Crime, and Science and Michelle Ann Abate Lindsay Steenberg 39 Studying Mobile Media 46 Moral Panics, Social Fears, Cultural Technologies, Mobile and the Media Communication, and the iPhone Historical Perspectives Edited by Larissa Hjorth, Jean Edited by Siân Nicholas Burgess, and Ingrid Richardson and Tom O’Malley 40 Sport Beyond Television 47 De-convergence in Global The Internet, Digital Media Media Industries and the Rise of Networked Dal Yong Jin Media Sport Brett Hutchins and David Rowe 48 Performing Memory in Art and Popular Culture 41 Cultural Technologies Edited by Liedeke Plate and The Shaping of Culture in Anneke Smelik Media and Society Edited by Göran Bolin 49 Reading Beyond the Book The Social Practices of 42 Violence and the Pornographic Contemporary Literary Culture Imaginary Danielle Fuller and DeNel The Politics of Sex, Gender, Rehberg Sedo and Aggression in Hardcore Pornography 50 A Social History of Natalie Purcell Contemporary Democratic Media 43 Ambiguities of Activism Jesse Drew Alter-Globalism and the Imperatives of Speed 51 Digital Media Sport Ingrid M. Hoofd Technology, Power and Culture in the Network 44 Generation X Goes Global Society Mapping a Youth Culture in Motion Edited by Brett Hutchins and Christine Henseler David Rowe 52 Barthes’ Mythologies Today 61 Documentary’s Awkward Turn Readings of Contemporary Culture Cringe Comedy and Media Edited by Pete Bennett and Julian Spectatorship McDougall Jason Middleton 53 Beauty, Violence, Representation 62 Serialization in Popular Edited by Lisa A. Dickson and Culture Maryna Romanets Edited by Rob Allen and Thijs van den Berg 54 Public Media Management for the Twenty-First Century 63 Gender and Humor Creativity, Innovation, and Interdisciplinary and International Interaction Perspectives Edited by Michał Głowacki Edited by Delia Chiaro and and Lizzie Jackson Raffaella Baccolini 55 Transnational Horror Across 64 Studies of Video Practices Visual Media Video at Work Fragmented Bodies Edited by Mathias Broth, Eric Edited by Dana Och and Laurier, and Lorenza Mondada Kirsten Strayer 65 The Memory of Sound 56 International Perspectives on Preserving the Sonic Past Chicana/o Studies Seán Street “This World Is My Place” Edited by Catherine Leen and 66 American Representations of Niamh Thornton Post-Communism Television, Travel Sites, and 57 Comics and the Senses Post–Cold War Narratives A Multisensory Approach to Andaluna Borcila Comics and Graphic Novels Ian Hague 67 Media and the Ecological Crisis 58 Popular Culture in Africa Edited by Richard Maxwell, The Episteme of the Everyday Jon Raundalen, and Nina Edited by Stephanie Newell and Lager Vestberg Onookome Okome 68 Representing Multiculturalism 59 Transgender Experience in Comics and Graphic Novels Place, Ethnicity, and Visibility Edited by Carolene Ayaka Edited by Chantal Zabus and and Ian Hague David Coad 69 Media Independence 60 Radio’s Digital Dilemma Working with Freedom or Broadcasting in the Twenty-First Working for Free? Century Edited by James Bennett John Nathan Anderson and Niki Strange This page intentionally left blank Media Independence Working with Freedom or Working for Free? Edited by James Bennett and Niki Strange First published 2015 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business. © 2015 Taylor & Francis The right of the editors to be identified as the author of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Media independence : working with freedom or working for free? / edited by James Bennett and Niki Strange. pages cm. — (Routledge research in cultural and media studies ; 69) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Mass media—Political aspects. 2. Social media—Political aspects. 3. Citizen journalism—Political aspects. 4. Freedom of the press. 5. Censorship. 6. Government and the press. I. Bennett, James, 1978– editor. II. Strange, Niki, 1979– editor. P95.8.M3932 2014 323.44ʹ5—dc23 2014030737 ISBN: 978-1-138-02348-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-77639-2 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Apex CoVantage, LLC For Noah: You may not know it yet, but you’re an inspiration to us both.
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