• 'Free the spectrum!' Activist encounters with old and new media technology

    Author(s):
    Christina Dunbar-Hester (see profile)
    Date:
    2009
    Subject(s):
    Alternative mass media, Ethnology, Internet--Study and teaching, Science--Study and teaching, Technology--Study and teaching
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    Alternative media, Ethnography, Internet Studies, Radio, Science and technology studies (STS)
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/88s0-mn48
    Abstract:
    This article contextualizes discourses surrounding new media technologies by examining activism around community media, using as a case study an activist group that has advocated for greater citizen access to low-power FM (LPFM) radio since the mid-1990s. It argues that the significance of new and emerging communication technologies can be grasped most effectively when emerging technologies are considered in a dynamic field that includes older technologies; emerging technologies are often viewed through the lens of patterns of use and interpretation of older technologies, at least initially.The article follows the activists’ assessments of not only FM radio but emerging internet-based technologies, including webstreaming and wi-fi networks. In practice, the activists circumspectly negotiate expanding their efforts to encompass community wi-fi networks, while trying to retain the vision, flavor and organizing strategies from their LPFM campaigns.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Pub. Date:
    2009
    Journal:
    New Media & Society
    Volume:
    11
    Issue:
    1&2
    Page Range:
    221 - 240
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    2 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
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