How has the relationship between media producers and audiences changed in recent years?

In recent years, the relationship between media producers and audiences has undergone significant transformation. The boundaries and meanings of each have changed as society has witnessed a convergence of consumption and production (Banks, 2002, p.198). Axel Bruns development of the term Produsage, highlights this change which has come about due to the advent of new media technologies, allowing a once passive audience to become actively engage in their media consumption (Jenkins, 2002, p.167).

In the past, it has been argued that audience members simply wanted to watch television and other media, rather than interact with it (Jenkins, 2006, p.59). In the new participatory culture that is taking shape, audiences are no longer powerless against media industries and have taken some control over the media they use. An advertisement for Apple Box Productions Inc, described by Henry Jenkins (2006, p.64), epitomises the new youth audience: “No longer a couch potato (if he ever was), he determines what, when, and how he watches media. He is itinerant – free of commitments to particular series, going where his fancy takes him.”

Audiences now expect and demand that corporations will not only listen to their views but also enter into active dialogue with them (Banks, 2002, p.189). This change from traditional one way communication, to more open ended exchanges between producers and consumers has been argued to have come as a result of the advent of internet based communication tools (Banks, 2002, p.189). These tools are also enabling audiences to archive, appropriate and recirculate media content (Jenkins, 2002, p.157). Video sharing sites such as YouTube and social networking sites, such as Myspace and Facebook, allow audiences the opportunity to create their own media content, share it with one another and receive ratings and feedback from a mass audience (Jenkins, 2006, p.72). Online communities have broken down barriers, such as geographical locations, that once restricted media consumption and communication and allowed for the distribution of user generated content without media industries involvement (Jenkins, 2002, p.158).

An interesting example of produsage is the online game culture also demonstrates the overlapping roles of producer and audience in the emergence of fan-created content. The current trend for game development companies is to release game editing tools which allow skilled and creative players to produce new material for the game (Banks, 2002, p.189). The Sims is an excellent example of the computer game industry ‘enlisting and leveraging the online community fans into a commercially successful network’ (Banks, 2002, p.198). The Sims encourages players to produce and trade new character identities, props and architectural structures. Its creator, Will Wright has predicted that “two-thirds of the games content will come from consumers” (Jenkins, 2002, p.166). But what then do the consumers gain for their efforts? If they are producing content purely for the game production companies and not recieving a part of the profits, then why do it?

Another example of produsage at work is appropriated media content such as fan films. Online media tools allow for audiences to appropriate media content and share their creations with a mass audience. This gives them greater power over producers as they are can selectively choose and modify the media they consume. This represents a potential loss of control over intellectual property for many media producers (Jenkins, 200, p.165). As Jenkins (2002, p.163) states: “Amateur film culture has already made an impact on the commercial mainstream and in the future they may initiate many innovations in popular culture that gain higher visibility as they are pulled into mainstream media, just as the fans appropriate and recirculate materials from commercial culture.”

User generated content does not stop there, we are witnessing it evolve in many other areas such as open source software and citizen journalism. As i write this blog, i am no longer a passive audience, i am actively involved in my media consumption. I am a produser: blending the role between user and producer.


Banks, J. (2002). Gamers as Co-creators: Enlisting the Virtual Audience – A Report From the Net Face. In M. Balnaves, T. O’Regan and J. Sternberf (eds) Mobilising the Audience (pp.188-212). St Lucia: University of Queensland Press.

Jenkins, H. (2002). Interactive Audiences? In D. Harries (ed.) The New Media Book (pp.157-170). London: BFI Publishing.

Jenkins, H. (2006). Buying into American Idol: How We Are Being Sold on Reality Television, Convergence Culture (pp.59-92). New York: New York University Press.