French perspectives on media, participation and audiences

Abstract

This book provides a theoretical assessment of audience research issues. A host of contributions from French-speaking scholars question and analyse the participatory turn in media and communication research that has emerged over the last 15 years. This collection brings together high-quality theoretical and empirical contributions in order to promote scientific discussions and debates between English- and French-speaking academics. Ségur contextualizes the paradigmatic evolution of media communication, explaining how participation has become an imperative in media devices. In the first section authors explore, often critically, types of participatory media formats such as radio, television, and the internet. In the second section, authors focus on the participatory performances of audiences in public media spaces. Analysis is made of online forums, the phenomenon of lurking, and of urban spaces. This book provides viewpoints from a range of disciplines including social anthropology, information and communication sciences, and media studies.