ABSTRACT
There is no denying that television viewing is not what it used to be. Multichannel choice, the alternatives offered by downloads and streaming video on the internet and, last but not least, the opportunity to make one’s own television. High definition video cameras are available at reasonable prices; montage software can be downloaded for free. Any amateur who wishes to make television can do so. This has led optimists to argue that we are heading towards ‘convergence culture’ (Jenkins 2006) and a world in which media content production is no longer the prerogative of media corporations. Clearly, then, we are in need of evaluating what television is about and, perhaps also, of updating our theoretical framework to understand the medium.
