ECREA16-Abstract_book

29 / 658

27
Friday, November 111 6 : 0 0 – 1 7 : 3 0
PN 197 Comparing as an Opportunity for Future Audience Research: Emerging Themes in Cross-Media and Cross-National Comparative
Audience Research
M. Stehling1, J. Finger2
1 University of Tuebingen, Tübingen, Germany
2 University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
While most of comparative research has long been focused on cross-national comparisons, in recent years cross-media audience research emerged as
a reaction to increasingly converging media environments (e.g. Hasebrink & Hölig, 2013; Bjur et al., 2013). In this paper, we discuss both cross-national
and cross-media research in regards to their comparative approach. On the basis of a literature review, we identify emerging themes and research gaps in
contemporary comparative audience research. For the area of cross-national audience research, we consider cross-national comparative studies those that,
in reference to Kohn (1987, p. 714), ‘utilize systematically comparable data from two or more nations’. For the area of cross-media audience research, we
consider studies that look at media use across two or more different media types, media platforms, genres and/or devices. This differentiation of the two
areas is used according to Bucher (2008, p. 309), who differentiates between a) comparing audiences across different groups and b) comparing audiences
across different media. The results of the review show that this differentiation becomes important because the integration of studies from both areas can
be identified as an emerging theme. Our main argument is that comparing is a beneficial resource for the future direction of audience research. Building
on the finding that cross-media and cross-national audience comparisons share similar opportunities and challenges, we will first show why comparing
audiences is beneficial.We argue that cross-national comparisons often involve helpful theoretical and methodological reflections for audience studies.This
can help to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of audiences in times of convergence and globalization. Second, we will focus on the integration
of cross-national and cross-media perspectives in audience research as an emerging theme. We will show how this reflects new developments in audience
behavior, especially from a cross-media perspective. As a conclusion, we will point out that audience research can benefit from strengthening cross-national
and cross-media comparisons not only as a field of its own, but as an integral part of future audience research.
PN 198 In Search for the Invisible (Audiences)
A. Kaun1, J.M. Hartley2, J. Juzefovics3
1 Södertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden
2 Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark
3 Independent scholar, Riga, Latvia
The paper presents an overview over research that considers invisible audiences. Fundamentally we understand media audiences as “people who receive,
co-create, interpret, understand and appropriate media messages” (Reifová and Pavlíčková, 2013:130). Within this realm, we identify and define invisible
audiences in a twofold way. Firstly we consider research on audience groups that have been marginalized by both mainstream media and mainstream au‑
dience studies such as post-socialist audiences, working class audiences and very young audiences. Secondly we consider audience groups that are literally
invisible including practices of lurking in social media environments as well as unintended audiences. The literature review of research of the past ten years
on invisible audiences identifies important gaps for both forms of invisible audiences. In conclusion, we suggest more extensive research on the diverse
groups of invisible audiences on a more structural level, i.e. questions of certain social, political as well as cultural groups are rendered invisible. Furthermore
we suggest that studies consider practices of invisible audiences on the micro, experiential level from the perspective of members of invisible audiences.
PN 199 The Interdisciplinarity, Normativity and Contextuality of Audience Research: Questions of Generalization
D. Mathieu1, M.J. Brites2, N.A. Chimirri1, M. Saariketo 3
1 Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark
2 Lusophone University of Porto and Communication and Society Research Centre, Porto, Portugal
3 University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland
This paper aims at exploring the borders of audience research. Based on interactive interviews with nine scholars who operate in related fields of inquiry, we
argue that the field of audience research has established its“borders”, which remain porous, around three main constituents: interdisciplinarity, normativity
and contextuality. That is, we contend that questions of interdisciplinarity, normativity and contextuality are notably shaping the ways audience research
negotiates its place within the wider research landscape in constant interaction with neighboring fields of research. The presentation will concentrate in
proposing a synthesis of the three constituents as they are expressed throughout the various fields of research that were chosen for this project: media
audience research in relation to theatre studies, science and technology studies, communication for social change as well as media literacy. In particular, we
will address issues of generalization that arose from the reliance on interactive interviews given the unique research trajectories of both interviewers and
interviewees, the broad variety of research contexts discussed in the interview, and the impossibility to achieve representativity of both audience research
and related fields of inquiry. Against these challenges, we wish to discuss the value and reflexivity that our methodology and synthesis have provided,
and how it is possible to generalize about audience research on their basis. We argue that our interactive discussions with scholars who are differentially
positioned towards audience research have revealed fundamental aspects about the field. These aspects are commonly not represented or discussed in
textbooks or empirical studies, but they are worth reflecting upon when engaging with the conceptual and epistemic complexities of audience research.