Thomas, Lyn (2009) The Archers: an everyday story of old and new media. Radio Journal, 7 (1). pp. 49-66. ISSN 1476-4504

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Abstract

This article explores the evolving relationship between the world’s oldest radio soap opera – The Archers – and the online spaces around the programme created on the BBC Archers website, particularly the fan cultures that have developed on its messageboards. It considers continuities and changes in listeners’ relation- ships with the experience of radio soap opera which result from participation in these cultures and the availability of the programme online. This article then pro- vides detailed analysis of the nature and functioning of the fan cultures which have colonised the BBC ‘Discuss The Archers’ board, and relates this discussion both to Bourdieu’s theories of cultural distinction and to the broader field of fan studies. This article concludes by discussing the struggles for meaning which result from the clash of different versions of fandom online.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	fan cultures online, media convergence, cultural capital, soap opera audiences
Schools and Departments:	School of Media, Film and Music > Media and Film
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HM Sociology > HM0621 Culture
Depositing User:	Lyn Thomas
Date Deposited:	18 Sep 2013 12:34
Last Modified:	02 Jul 2019 20:07
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/46341

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