Media, Information and Technoculture 1020E Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: A Golden Age, Temporary Work, Precarious Work
4 Mar 2020
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Department
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Media Work: A Golden Age of Journalism!
Labour and Capital !
-Labour = those who have to sell capacity to work at a job for wage or salary!
-Capital = employers who hire you!
-Relation of labour and capital a main focus of political economy !
-Often involves conflict over wages, hours, conditions etc.!
Media Work, aka Cultural Labour !
-Media associated with ideal of “creative work”!
-Professional, high status, well-paid, with autonomy - i.e. responsibility and choice!
-Advertising, public relations, music/film/tv/game production, journalism!
-Not just a “wage slave”!
-How far does work in “culture industry” live up to this image?!
The Not so glamorous Side of Media!
-Media involve all kinds of hard, poorly paid manual labour!
-Especially (but not only) in making hardware!
-Often “off shore”!
-In parts of the media supply chain not very visible to North Americans!
-But also closer to home…!
Precarious Work!
-Precarious work, aka precocity = part-time, temporary, or ‘gig economy’ work!
-Often poorly paid, insecure, without benefits !
-Recent dramatic increase in precarious work!
-The spread of information technology !
-Increase power of optical relative to labour !
-Enable employers to demand ‘flexibility’ in the workplace, undermine trades unions,
and reduce labour standards fro wages, benefits, hours!
Free labour !
-Perform fro free work an employer would otherwise pay for!
-A feature of many cultural industries !
-May be driven by passion for media or a desire to ‘beak into’ an industry!
-Diminishes the need for paid work in that field !
-Example: unpaid internships !
Journalism!
Why?!
-Exemplifies ideal of media professionalism !
-Exiting work!
-Some autonomy and self direction !
-Social responsibility !
-Especially investigative news reporting !
-“Speaking truth to power” - sometimes at great risk!
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Document Summary
Labour = those who have to sell capacity to work at a job for wage or salary. Relation of labour and capital a main focus of political economy. Often involves con ict over wages, hours, conditions etc. Media associated with ideal of creative work . Professional, high status, well-paid, with autonomy - i. e. responsibility and choice. Media involve all kinds of hard, poorly paid manual labour. Especially (but not only) in making hardware. In parts of the media supply chain not very visible to north americans. Precarious work, aka precocity = part-time, temporary, or gig economy" work. Increase power of optical relative to labour. Enable employers to demand exibility" in the workplace, undermine trades unions, and reduce labour standards fro wages, bene ts, hours. Perform fro free work an employer would otherwise pay for. May be driven by passion for media or a desire to beak into" an industry. Diminishes the need for paid work in that eld.
