ABSTRACT
Through the 1980s, ethnographic theories and methodology have assumed increasing importance within the social sciences in general and cultural studies in particular.1 This ‘ethnographic turn’ is witnessed also in media studies focusing upon audiences and their various appropriations of the media.2 Why have ethnographic approaches gained such professional popularity within a relatively short period of time? What do ethnographic approaches bring to a politicized tradition of media research? In the following, I attempt to answer these questions by arguing that behind the current popularity of ethnography lies a concern for everyday life and everyday cultures that is as sincere as it is untheorized. What might be termed ‘the everyday’ resides as a discursive enigma of ethnographic media studies. I shall illuminate the conceptual history of the everyday and relate it to current issues in media reception thereby offering an important key to understanding the enigma, even if we may not unravel it: for as researchers we are part of the very everyday life that we also attempt to analyse.
