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ABSTRACT
In this paper, I argue that the concepts of the ‘social’, ‘participation’, and political ‘listening’ should be central to projects to capture the value and impact of community media. Each of these keywords is up for debate as the proliferation of digital technologies and social media produce optimistic claims for increased participation and voice. In contrast, a focus on community media demands a more rigorous account of what constitutes ‘maximalist’ participation and effective listening. The challenge is to rearticulate core concepts which underpin community media traditions while engaging the potential and transformations of the digital media environment.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Poppy De Souza for her very thorough and thoughtful assistance with the research, the two anonymous reviewers for helpful feedback, and Ellie Rennie, Christina Spurgeon and participants at the 2015 CBAA workshop for insightful discussion.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. Thank you to an anonymous reviewer for this point.
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Tanja Dreher
Tanja Dreher is an ARC Future Fellow at the University of Wollongong, and a Senior Lecturer in media and communications in the Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts at UOW. Tanja’s research focuses on the politics of listening in the context of media and multiculturalism, Indigenous sovereignties, feminisms and anti-racism.