Understanding Media Users: From Theory to Practice

by Tony Wilson

Understanding Media From Theory to Practice focuses on the blurred concept of the “ active audience” at the core of media studies.

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting something very different from this book, which may have (somewhat) lead to my lukewarm feelings. The article I read that referenced this book suggested that the "phenomenological approach to media use" embraced by Wilson was based, at least partially, in paying attention to media objects (as well as their contents). In fact, Wilson is exclusively interested in contents and phenomenlogical/hermenutical interpretations of them. I don't take issue with his argument for such an approach at all, and appreciated how he used to to provide abstract analysis for all types of media engagement (which he carefully distinguished from the sort of research that attempts to make generalizing claims from studying specific empirical communities). What was also quite good about this book was its first four chapters, which usefully and succinctly analyzed and critiqued other audience studies approaches including structuralism, poststructuralism, media effects theories, and reception studies. Unsurprisingly, Wilson takes greatest issue with scholarship that attempts to achieve positivist aims. On to the bad: Wilson doesn't mobilize enough original research of his own to make his claim about the worth of phenomenological study convincing. More glaringly, his prose style (excessive quotation of one or two word phrases followed by citations) was always irritating and, at times, even made it difficult to parse the substance of what he was saying. I would recommend the first four chapters of this book to anyone wanting to quickly review qualitative audience studies approaches, but the prose style alone would be enough for me to encourage them to stop reading after that.