OCT 21 LECTURE
The Organization of Media Work
A) Howard Becker (Art Worlds)
1) Understanding Art Worlds
(sociological study)
Art Worlds are: organizations, groups, and people associated with the production, commission,
preservation, promotion, criticism, and sale of art.
How does work associated with art get done?
2) Bases for the Behaviour of Media Personnel
a) Organizational Needs
Organizations have needs that must be met
Individuals within these organizations will play their part in the division of labour to meet these
needs
2 problems with this argument:
1. based on the problematic notion of organizational needs
problematic because: do organizations really have needs? And if they do, how do we identify
them?
2. more important this argument emphasizes structural constraints and leaves very little room
for independent agency – the only tasks of individuals to meet needs(the structural constraint)
b) Negotiated Terms
the individuals within organizations will negotiate the terms of their cooperation before each major
project or task that gets performed in the organization
eg. people sometimes end up on teams, have to negotiate with other members of the team with
who is doing what, what is expected of each of them, etc.
problem:
argument emphasized independent agency – autonomy within individuals to negotiate with other
workers. Leaves little room for structural constraints (exact opposite of other problem)
c) Prior Agreements
Becker’s answer to the question of how the work gets done
Basic idea: cooperation between people in work that is related to art (media) usually relies on
earlier agreements
These earlier agreements, over time, have become the basis for customary practices This argument more adequately deals with structure and agency
Customary procedures are part of the organizational culture and as a result are part of the structure
(Structure)
People can make choices – can choose to abide by customary practices, or make their own, or
alter them, etc. (agency)
B) Media Production and Conventions
Conventions are practices or techniques that have become the usual way of doing things within a
particular field of work
How do these conventions affect media production?
Affect how media professionals do their work
Affect content of the media
Work Within News Organizations
A) Rationalization, Conventions, and News Work
The rationalization of news work has contributed to the emergence of conventions in news work
1) Weber and Rationalization
Rationalization involved movement away from trying to understand the world through religion and
mysticism and toward understanding the world through the systematic accumulation of evidence
Rationalization:
th
Starting in the 19 century, evidence gathered through empirical science provided the basis for
governments or companies to identify and calculate efficient, predicta
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