The Media Logic of Media Work

Abstract

Culture creation is quickly becoming the core industrial (and individual) activity in the globally emerging cultural economy. This process gets amplified through the increasing conglomeration of media corporations, as well as the widespread diffusion of information and communication technologies. This paper combines insights from research on (professional and amateur) media production from disciplines as varied as institutional sociology, organizational psychology, cultural economy, management, media studies and economic geography to present a review of trends, developments and values co-determining media work. The concept of media logic is used as a mapping tool, articulating contemporary institutional, technological, organizational, and cultural trends as they co-determine media work. This hermeneutic analysis identifies principal components of work styles in the media production industries across disciplines and genres, including journalism, advertising, film and television, and digital game development.