Thesis: S.M. in Comparative Media Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies/Writing, 2018. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 149-168). / In the current political climate in the United States, much attention has been paid to the role of the press in our increasingly polarized society and to what extent it exacerbates or mends divisions. While the majority of that analysis is focused on national politics and news outlets, the role of local media and the crucial role it plays in civic life has been often neglected in the wider debate. In this thesis, I argue that local journalism is critical as a tool for informing citizens so they can be civically engaged and hold the powerful accountable, as well as keeping communities together. Methodologically, this thesis seeks to incorporate the worlds of both media theory and journalism practice. To understand the role local news plays in society, I utilize various theoretical frameworks, but particularly that of James Carey and his explanation of the "transmission" and "ritual" functions of communication. In my more expansive understanding of these theories, I suggest the transmission role encompasses the ways in which local journalism informs citizens on matters of public interest so that they can participate in democracy and keeps the powerful in check. The ritual model highlights the often-ignored but significant manner in which local media serves a vehicle for community identification and maintaining societal bonds. After explaining the decades-long economic decline of the local media industry, I survey the various projects and experiments in the fields of journalism and philanthropy that are seeking to revive or at least prevent local news outlets from disappearing. In the final chapter, which is based on my field research and uses a style of journalistic reportage rather than academic writing, I profile several new local news initiatives in West Virginia and Kentucky. While these projects are too recent to yet offer any definitive results, I conclude with some initial takeaways and a discussion of possible metrics to measure their success in the future. As a final note, I argue that the various sectors working to save the news industry from economic collapse, restore trust in the media and combat political polarization and strengthen democracy should consider focusing their efforts on sustaining local journalism as a means to address all three. / by Sara Rafsky. / S.M. in Comparative Media Studies

Thesis: S.M. in Comparative Media Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies/Writing, 2018. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 101-106). / As the media landscape in the United States has shifted and changed, the emphasis placed on digital technologies - particularly with respect to audience engagement - has become increasingly noteworthy. However, when situated against a backdrop of risk communications and sensationalized spectacle, such an emphasis also becomes concerning. This thesis examines the audience engagement considerations and practices of the media industry at present through a discussion of current social media policies and practices, a discussion of the affordances and constraints of social media as they relate to public health communications concerns, and an analysis of the affective implications of the heavy emphasis placed on images used on social media. This breakdown is partnered with a data-oriented exploration of U.S. audience trends and U.S. media coverage of the 2014 Ebola and 2015-2017 Zika outbreaks to underscore the perception gap that U.S. audiences are contending with. In doing so, I use a theoretical framework of sensationalism, gatekeeping, and media figurations to argue that audience engagement is not merely a journalistic, revenue-oriented concern - it is a public health concern too. / by Aashka Dave. / S.M. in Comparative Media Studies

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Comparative Media Studies, 2013. / "June 2013." Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 92-105). / Attention to the use of new media by social movements rose rapidly following groundbreaking global protests: The Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, and the "Indignados" Movement in Spain. However, determinism and rhetoric of newness have led to phrases like "Twitter Revolution," while tools and gadgets often overshadow human agency and grassroots efforts. In fact, media and grassroots strategies have worked hand-in-hand and have been pivotal to social movements throughout history. Through a comparative analysis of the Farm Workers Movement of the 1960s and the contemporary Immigrant Youth Movement, this work examines media strategies by emphasizing concrete media practices of movement actors. With a grounded approach that incorporates participant observation, semi-structured interviews, archival research, and literature reviews, this study provides cross-historical insight into media strategies in social movements. Particularly, this work covers external and internal media strategies, media practice, framing, community media practice, and capacity building. It concludes with a comparative analysis of how movement media strategies are related to movement goals, aims, and outcomes. / by Rogelio Alejandro Lopez. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Comparative Media Studies, 2013. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. "June 2013." / Includes bibliographical references (p. 128-132). / Web series or "webisodes" are a transitional storytelling form bridging the production practices of broadcast television and Internet video. Shorter than most television episodes and distributed on online platforms like YouTube, web series both draw on and deviate from traditional TV storytelling strategies. In this thesis, I compare the production and storytelling strategies of "derivative" web series based on broadcast television shows with "original" web series created for the Internet, focusing on the evolution of scripted entertainment content online. I begin by reviewing of the relevant academic literature in television studies, production studies, transmedia, and television storytelling to situate web series in a theoretical context. I then undertake an exploration of web series storytelling strategies. I compare the types of narratives told by derivative and original web series, investigating how the form has evolved to date, and which genres dominate the landscape. Finally, I focus on web series production, using John Caldwell's concept of "aesthetic salaries" as a lens to investigate creators' motivations for creating online content. I look into original web series production, exploring the aspirations of creators, as well as how they measure success. I also investigate the politics involved in the production of derivative web series-particularly the tensions between guild writers and non-union marketing "creatives," both of whom stake professional claims on web content. / by Katherine Edgerton. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Comparative Media Studies, 2013. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 109-115). / Over the three decade long history of sports videogame development, design conventions have lead to the emergence of a new sports game genre: the televisual sports videogames. These games, which usually simulate major professional or college sports, look and sound like television, and they use televised sports as a reference point for players. This thesis takes a critical look at how these televisual sports videogames are situated in the broader sports media industrial complex of North America, while also considering how the televisual design of these games is meaningful for fans of sports. Specifically, the text looks at how sports videogames reflect or reinforce dominant ideologies of hegemonic sports culture. Building on critical theories in sports studies, and through critical close readings of videogame texts, this thesis explores the relationship between sports television production, and sports videogames, with a focus on features that are found in both. Features such as introductory sequences, audio commentary, in-game advertising, news tickers, and instant replay are all commonly found in both sports television and sports videogames. / by Abraham D. Stein. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Comparative Media Studies, 2013. / "June 2013." Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-70). / by Elyse Graham. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Comparative Media Studies, 2013. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 94-99). / My thesis discusses the hidden and non-adversarial nature of resistance in authoritarian countries through the perspectives of media practices and media opportunity structure. To understand the art of resistance in authoritarian countries, one has to look beyond the striking physical confrontational aspect of resistance. I approach the topic of hidden resistance by examining the social and cultural implications of media artifacts appropriated by movement participants and their strategic interactions with different stakeholders within the media ecosystem. Using media practices and the media opportunity structure as analytical lenses, I conduct case studies on three movements. The first case, Wukan Protest in 2011, which was a local protest against land expropriation, illustrates the essence of non-adversarial resistance in a confrontational incident. Wukan protesters' media practices helped them take advantage of the opportunity structure. The second case examines how New Workers Art Group (NWAG), a nonprofit organization in Beijing, actively produces alternative discourses as resistance to hegemonic urban values. Migrant workers collective identities are constructed through their self-produced media artifacts. The third case looks at how New Rural Reconstruction (NRR) movement leverages mainstream discourses and conducted a series of experiments aiming to change economic, social, and cultural relationships in rural China. The diversity of cases is to obtain more complex view on real-life contention and avoid oversimplifying the thick meaning of "hidden transcript" across different movements. The thesis concludes that the success of hidden resistance cannot be solely defined by mainstream media visibility. Looking beyond confrontations portrayed in media reporting, this thesis argues that participants' practices of alternative media forms assist them in mobilization and organization, and resistors' strategic interactions with different players in media system create opportunities for them to continuously implement incremental social change on the ground. / by Huan Sun. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Comparative Media Studies, 2013. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 95-102). / This paper explores the relation between criticism and establishment of narrative forms and genres, focusing on the cultural situation of video games. Comparing the context of early film criticism and contemporary video game criticism, I argue that the public negotiation of meaning and value codifies a new medium as it emerges. In the case of digital games in particular, contemporary critics approach the question of "what is a game" rhetorically, rarely addressing it outright but allowing metatextual considerations to influence their readings. I trace the sites of criticism, moving from newspapers and weekly periodicals in the case of film, to blogs and web publications in the case of digital games, and explore how the shifting reception of each form took hold in the different media available. I focus especially on the state of public video game criticism today, locating the persuasive strengths in the ability for quick communication between writers, as well as the easy dissemination of digital games. I ground my analysis in the game criticism produced in response to Dear Esther (2011) and League of Legends (2009) that visibly struggled with ideas of narrative, game, and interactivity. / by Ayse Gursoy. / S.M.

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies, 2014. / "June 2014." Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 126-141). / Ubiquitous computing (aka "ubicomp") describes the process of embedding computation into everyday things. From smart toasters and smart shoes to smart toys and smart buildings, ubicomp describes user experiences which are both big and small and which operate at a wide variety of scales and gradations in between. However, existing research in new media studies and human computer interaction does not adequately address this question of scale in relation to ubiquitous computing. In this thesis, I propose a more robust theoretical framework I call "network design." It argues that differently scaled ubicomp systems have their own potentials and challenges, histories and precedents, material affordances and ethical implications. This thesis identifies and analyzes the operation of ubiquitous computing networks at three scales: the body scale, the architectural scale and the urban scale. The case studies for each chapter, respectively, include: exercise wristwatches and quantified self literature, responsive environments like smart homes and smart offices, and smart city initiatives dealing with sensors placed in urban infrastructure. In each scale, I identify common characteristics of that scale, historical precedents, as well what happens when this particular kind of network "scales up" or "scales down." Thus, although I am interested in describing the unique characteristics of differently scaled ubicomp networks, I am also interested in describing situations when scales interact. / by Jason Martin Lipshin. / S.M.

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies, 2014. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 229-248). / In this work, I've documented the origins, growth and structure of the Peruvian video game industry. Because of its underground origins, the Peruvian game industry provides an alternative, more organic gateway to developing technology industries than forms of the "technological sublime" that have been recurrent over Peruvian technological history. Driven by creative rather than commercial objectives, people interested in game development figure out ways to get around gaps in existing training options to acquire the interdisciplinary skills they need to create games - setting up alternative infrastructures to connect to each other, share information, and set up collaborations. Peruvian developers are also experimenting with ways to gain access to global networks and markets, which affects their design decisions and how they present themselves to peers and customers around the world. Games designed to present local cultural elements for international audiences - which I've called "borderland games" - have become sites where tension around self-presentation gets played out. Game studios are experimenting with various configurations of business practices, figuring out empirically what arrangements put them on the better path to engage international partners and secure creative and financial sustainability. Studios are collaborating with each other to address structural barriers affecting the industry as a whole, which is putting them in a stronger position to engage government agencies and gain support to address structural issues. This relatively unknown industry has been able to introduce complex skills and work around structural gaps and obstacles to create the foundations for a potentially viable technology and creative industry. How, exactly, the industry will develop remains to be seen, but its evolution can provide interesting lessons for the emergence of digital creative industries in developing economies. / by Eduardo Marisca Alvarez. / S.M.