ABSTRACT

Most theories of media choice rely heavily on the psychological predispositions of individuals to explain their patterns of consumption. This chapter argues that the structural features of the media environment play an important, if less appreciated, role in determining choice. I begin by outlining a comprehensive theory of media choice that views agency and structure as mutually constituted, what Giddens (1984) termed the “duality of structure.” I describe how people use the resources offered by the media environment to enact their preferences and, in doing so, shape the very structures within which they operate. This happens with both “linear” media systems and newer “ non-linear” modes of delivery. However, because the duality of media structure depends largely upon aggregating agents into audiences, it is best understood at a higher level of analysis than is typical of psychologically grounded theories of choice.