Edited Books by Thomas F Corrigan
Political Economy of Media and Communication: Methodological Approaches , 2024
From Routledge description: The first book dedicated specifically to research methods in the poli... more From Routledge description: The first book dedicated specifically to research methods in the political economy of media and communication, it provides a methodological toolkit to investigate the functioning of media, technology, and cultural industries in their historical, institutional, structural, and systemic contexts.
Featuring contributions from across the globe and a variety of methodological perspectives, this volume presents the state of the art in political economy of media and communication methods, articulating those methods with adjacent approaches, to study concentration of ownership and power, pluralism and diversity, regulation and public policies, governance, genderization, and sustainability. This collection charts the methodological innovations critical political economists are adopting to analyse a rapidly transforming digital media landscape, exploring ideology, narratives, socio-analysis and praxis in communication with ethnographic and participatory approaches, as well as designs for quantitative and qualitative methods of textual, discourse and content analysis, network analyses, which consider power relations affecting communication, including intersectional oppressions and the new developments taking place in artificial intelligence.
An essential text for advanced undergraduates, postgraduate students, and researchers in the areas of media, cultural and communication studies, particularly those studying topics such as the political economy of media and/or communication, media and communication theory, and research methods.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles & Essays by Thomas F Corrigan
International Journal of Communication, 2018
The political economy of communication (PEC) situates media systems and practices in their struct... more The political economy of communication (PEC) situates media systems and practices in their structural and historical contexts; however, PEC scholars rarely articulate or justify their research methods. To address this oversight, this article explains how PEC scholars use trade publications to study media industries, practices, policy making, and discourses thereof. Following a critical realist approach, PEC researchers “burrow down” in trade press advertisements and reports and “listen in” to the frank, insider discussions therein. This article evaluates the trade press against Scott’s four “quality control criteria” for documentary sources—authenticity, credibility, representativeness, and meaning. Trade publications employ daunting industry jargon, and they can be cozy with the industries they cover. Still, the trade press provide otherwise unobtainable insights into the structure and organization of media industries, how they are regulated, and the practices and worldviews of media executives and professionals. This article argues that by approaching the trade press ethnographically, PEC researchers can reap their benefits while avoiding pitfalls.
Political Economy of Communication, 2013
This research introduces 'hope labor' as a motivation for voluntary online social production, def... more This research introduces 'hope labor' as a motivation for voluntary online social production, defined here as 'unor under-compensated work carried out in the present, often for experience or exposure, in the hope that future employment opportunities may follow'. Drawing from interviews with SB Nation sports bloggers and Yelp consumer reviewers, this research expands current understandings of the motivations behind online social production. Structurally, we distinguish hope labor from other forms of free labor by emphasizing the temporal relationship between present and future worka relationship that shifts costs and risks onto the individual. Hope labor is naturalized and normalized through neoliberal ideologies. It is seen as an investment that pays off for individuals based on merit, despite its deleterious impact on employment prospects in desired industries. Our theorization of hope labor can be seen as a complement or corrective to celebratory accounts of meaning making, creativity, and community in online social production.
tripleC: Communication, Capitalism, & Critique
This article reviews existing research on the motivations and experiences of interns in media and... more This article reviews existing research on the motivations and experiences of interns in media and cultural industries. Digital labour theories are used to organize and make sense of the existing internship literature. Throughout the article, parallels are also drawn between the experiences of interns and those of digital creative labourers—both professionals and peer producers. Three key themes are identified within the internship literature: 1) interns derive satisfaction from work they consider meaningful, particularly hands-on work executed under the training and trust of effective supervisors ; 2) interns see their work as future-oriented investments in their skills, professional networks, and personal brands; and 3) the ambiguity and professional necessity of media and cultural industries internships make them fertile ground for exploitation and self-exploitation. In conclusion, I argue that attentiveness to meaning, temporality, and ambiguity will be essential to future critical investigations of internships.
Journalism: Theory, Practice, Criticism, 2011
This article examines the corporatization of collegiate media in the United States. Gannett Compa... more This article examines the corporatization of collegiate media in the United States. Gannett Company, Inc.'s purchase of two university publications, the FSView & Florida Flambeau (FSView) at Florida State University and the Central Florida Future at the University of Central Florida, have raised concerns regarding the autonomy of the campus press. This article first defines the functions and structures of the campus press and how each contribute to the normative goals and democratic potential of collegiate student newspapers. The article goes on to argue that a corporate ownership structure, despite the alluring rhetoric espoused by corporate media, meets the needs of advertisers and shareholders, not the communities the campus press should serve. Gannett's purchase of the FSView is examined in depth because it provides a revealing case study of the underlying interests that corporations such as Gannett have in collegiate media.
International Journal of Sport Communication, 2010
Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, 2011
Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, 2011
Cultural Studies <=> Critical Methodologies, 2012
In the wake of the Penn State child sex tragedy, media coverage tended to focus on the individual... more In the wake of the Penn State child sex tragedy, media coverage tended to focus on the individuals involved rather than the corporatized university's economic motivations and the institutional structure under which officials' (in)actions occurred. This article interrogates and critiques that institutional structure, arguing that the "brand logic" of big-time intercollegiate athletics programs places image and profits ahead of people. In conjunction with on-field success, image and branding play prominently in an athletics program's ability to maximize new revenue streams (e.g., licensing and merchandising). Further, administrators argue that athletics function as a university's "front porch," returning (symbolic) value to the institution (e.g., community, visibility, branding, alumni giving, and student applications). Thus, university and athletics administrators constantly take brand logic into their decision-making. The fallout from the Penn State tragedy offers insights into the ways in which brand logics disincentivize ethical decision-making when image, reputation, and millions of dollars are on the line. Downloaded from Bios Jennifer M. Proffitt is an associate professor in the School of Communication at Florida State University, where she teaches on political economy of media and broadcast regulation and history.
Journal of Sports Media, Jan 1, 2008
Book Chapters by Thomas F Corrigan
Political economy of media and communication: Methodological approaches, 2024
Several leading political economy of media and communication (PEMC) scholars have identified crit... more Several leading political economy of media and communication (PEMC) scholars have identified critical realism (CR) as PEMC's underlying epistemological framework. However, the full implications of CR for PEMC have yet to be explicated. So, this chapter outlines CR's “three pillars” – ontological realism, epistemological fallibilism, and judgmental rationality – and it relates them to PEMC. CR argues that social researchers can develop knowledge (albeit fallibly) about deep structures and processes (e.g. class power, capital accumulation, and hegemonic ideology) and their role in everyday life, including media production and consumption. However, because media and social processes are deep, complex, and open, we need methods and methodologies that are adapted to such a reality. Specifically, CR stresses the epistemological and methodological importance of conceptualization, and it identifies two complementary approaches for studying social processes: conceptual abstraction via structural analysis and causal analysis via abduction and retroduction. The chapter points to examples of these approaches in the PEMC literature, and, in doing so, it helps flesh out PEMC's “method of theorizing” (Nixon, 2015).
Media Education for a Digital Generation
Cultural, Political and Geographical Aspects, 2012
Depictions of sports by professional journalists working for U.S. media institutions have general... more Depictions of sports by professional journalists working for U.S. media institutions have generally been indicted for reinforcing masculine hegemony and ignoring alternative and women's sports. In this study, a survey of 200 independent sports bloggers was used to explore how the sports blogosphere might provide alternatives to depictions of sports offered through mainstream, traditional coverage. Survey results suggest that the sports blogosphere will not become a truly alternative, egalitarian space for sports commentary without more participation from female bloggers who are willing to cover female athletes and advocate for women's sports. Otherwise, the sports blogosphere will simply replicate old-media values.
The ESPN Effect: Exploring the Worldwide Leader in Sports, 2015
The existing literature on ESPN tends to explain the network’s phenomenal success as a function o... more The existing literature on ESPN tends to explain the network’s phenomenal success as a function of savvy executives, charismatic talent, and Americans’ insatiable appetite for sports. Each of these factors has certainly been important; however, ESPN did not achieve its dominance in a vacuum. This chapter identifies several key law and policy developments that since the 1960s have shaped the sports, cable, and satellite television industries in ways that were fortuitous for ESPN. Yes, ESPN’s executives recognized Americans’ demand for live sports and witty banter; however, there is nothing natural or inevitable about the markets for sports or media. They are products of struggle over law and policy, and ESPN has been a clear beneficiary of those struggles.
Keywords: ESPN, Political Economy of the Media, Cable Television, Media History, Media Policy
Routledge Handbook of Sport and New Media, 2014
Public Scholarship by Thomas F Corrigan
Inland Empire MediaWatch, 2023
Claremont Courier, 2021
A ghostly specter haunts California's Inland Empire. Several do, in fact. They appear at our door... more A ghostly specter haunts California's Inland Empire. Several do, in fact. They appear at our doorsteps and in our news feeds as pillars of the community-our local newspapers. But while they may look and feel like the "local rag," a closer examination reveals them to be apparitions. And that should send a shiver up the spine of anyone who cares about local civic life. Now, this isn't a screed about some "fake news" boogeyman. In fact, most local editors and journalists do a commendable job with the limited resources available to them. Rather, the problem is that Inland Empire newspapers-particularly the local dailies-don't produce all that much local news.
Dissertation & Thesis by Thomas F Corrigan
Manufacturing sports blogs: The political economy and practice of networked sports blogging
Fantasy Fans?: Comparing Team Identification Among Fantasy Football Players and Non-Fantasy Football Players
Page 1. THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION FANTASY FANS?: COMPARING TEAM IDENT... more Page 1. THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION FANTASY FANS?: COMPARING TEAM IDENTIFICATION AMONG FANTASY FOOTBALL PLAYERS AND NON-FANTASY FOOTBALL PLAYERS By THOMAS FITZPATRICK CORRIGAN ...
Encyclopedia Entries by Thomas F Corrigan
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Encyclopedia of Sports Management and Marketing, 2011
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Edited Books by Thomas F Corrigan
Featuring contributions from across the globe and a variety of methodological perspectives, this volume presents the state of the art in political economy of media and communication methods, articulating those methods with adjacent approaches, to study concentration of ownership and power, pluralism and diversity, regulation and public policies, governance, genderization, and sustainability. This collection charts the methodological innovations critical political economists are adopting to analyse a rapidly transforming digital media landscape, exploring ideology, narratives, socio-analysis and praxis in communication with ethnographic and participatory approaches, as well as designs for quantitative and qualitative methods of textual, discourse and content analysis, network analyses, which consider power relations affecting communication, including intersectional oppressions and the new developments taking place in artificial intelligence.
An essential text for advanced undergraduates, postgraduate students, and researchers in the areas of media, cultural and communication studies, particularly those studying topics such as the political economy of media and/or communication, media and communication theory, and research methods.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles & Essays by Thomas F Corrigan
Book Chapters by Thomas F Corrigan
Keywords: ESPN, Political Economy of the Media, Cable Television, Media History, Media Policy
Public Scholarship by Thomas F Corrigan
Dissertation & Thesis by Thomas F Corrigan
Encyclopedia Entries by Thomas F Corrigan