Education
Hey, it’s me again Max Gilles. This is COMM122 Podcast, Episode Four. I hope you enjoy our previous episodes on media as, cultural industries and public spheres. In this episode, we will have a quick chat about agency. Agency refers to the amount of control media industry workers have over how and what they do. Agency matters, because media industries are creative industries, and workers need to have a high degree of autonomy to produce meaningful work.Think about a job you’ve had. How much autonomy and ability did you have to decide what to do, and how to do it. What constrained you or set boundaries to your autonomy? You will see that media workers, just like workers in other sectors, have their autonomy circumscribed. Yes, Circumscribed. While they do enjoy a certain amount of freedom in deciding what to produce, their choices are not wholly their own, due to influence from modern institutions, norms and cultural traditions.Here is an example. In 2014, Liz Wahl quits her job during a live broadcast. At the time, Liz was working for Russia Today, also known as RT. RT is a Kremlin-sponsored news network. In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea, a part of Ukraine, and used its sponsored media outlets, such as RT, to wage information warfare against the west. Liz famously said on air: “I can't be part of network 'that whitewashes' Putin's actions.”See, if you work for a media outlet that serves as the mouthpiece of a government, your hands are tied. You face censorship and self-censorship. You might say, Hey, at least, Liz can quit, and not face any consequences. She is now a Democratic Candidate for Texas 23rd district. Had you done it in an authoritarian country, she could face jail time. The anchor or journalist could face prison time! You might ask, why did Liz choose to work for a Russia-sponsored media in the first place? News media in the west are struggling with revenues. Young and aspiring graduates of journalism face a deficiency of jobs in journalism. State-sponsored media from authoritarian countries seize the opportunity, opening their studios in the US and investing in many local media talents. As you can see, part of the circumscribed agency is due to the stringent financial situation facing some media industries at home.This matter can be made worse with artificial intelligence .could AI one day replace news anchors and reporters? Some newsrooms are already experimenting with algorithms to automate news production. China has developed the world’s first AI news anchor. So, folks, be prepared for the robot revolution. And for me, your lovely podcast host, to be replaced with some sort of robotic voice.