“Haptically Mediated” Radio Listening and its Commodification: The Remediation of Radio through Digital Mobile Devices

Abstract

This article aims to rediscover the tactile aspects of radio listening, which until now have been underestimated by radio scholars, and to describe how haptic radio listening has evolved, from the beginning of broadcasting to the arrival of digital media. This article will first perform an overview of the studies that have dealt with the haptic dimension of media, then focus on what we call “haptically mediated” radio listening, a specific form of listening made possible by the interaction with radio content through mobile digital devices, and conclude with a critical depiction of the implications of haptically mediated listening for audience commodification.

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Notes on contributors

Angeliki Gazi

Angeliki Gazi (Ph.D. in Media Psychology, University of Athens) is an assistant professor at the Department of Communication and Internet studies, Faculty of Communication and Media at Cyprus University of Technology. Research interests include: radio studies, media psychology, and internet studies.

Tiziano Bonini

Tiziano Bonini (Ph.D. in Media, Communication and Public Sphere, University of Siena, 2008) is a lecturer of media studies in the Department of Social,Political, and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Siena, Italy. Research interests include: radio studies, audience studies, digital culture, and political economy of the media.