Introduction

The link between the future of media and labour is one that has become a common topic of research in discussions heralding the end of television. Critical media scholars are increasingly interested in, and concerned about, the kinds of labour that television viewers and media users more generally are asked and expected to contribute. In television studies, Mark Andrejevic's research is exemplary in this regard. In his work tracing the changing power relations between actors, producers and audiences, he positions reality television as a key site for observing the shifting of labour from the industry to audiences while allowing industry elites to retain control and profits. Contrasting his position with those who see such developments as promising a better, more democratic media experience, he writes,

The power of Andrejevic's analysis comes from its ability to bring into focus the relationship between labour in the television industry, emergent generic forms and their associated viewing practices. It is a relationship that is often underplayed by champions of televisual interactivity. We see this, for example, in the work of Henry Jenkins whose research into ‘convergence culture’ documents the possible social and political benefits of the emergent media landscape. The future, as Jenkins explains, may be brighter than today since,