Papers by Tai Neilson
A developing research agenda in digital labour studies draws on aspects of information society th... more A developing research agenda in digital labour studies draws on aspects of information society theory and Marxist autonomism to understand examples of unionisation in digital workplaces and among digital labourers. In this article, I trace core concepts of information society theory and autonomism to demonstrate how unions have been framed by prominent figures in the field. I argue that both approaches tend to relegate unions to industrial capitalism and its historically-specific set of class relations. Information society theorists argue that capitalist class conflict has been transcended, perceiving unions as an obstacle to flexibility and entrepreneurship. Autonomists maintain a focus on class conflict, yet, based on their analysis of contemporary class composition, tend to prioritise other forms of organisation over unions. Digital labour studies research has developed, in part, as a critique of information society theory and draws on aspects of autonomism, including the
concepts of precarity and immaterial labour. Authors studying empirical examples of unionisation among digital labourers identify different challenges and opportunities for unionisation among digital labours, and demonstrate the utility of unions for improving the conditions of digital labourers and promoting new working-class subjectivities.
Social media, comment threads, and other means of online communication are important to journalis... more Social media, comment threads, and other means of online communication are important to journalists’ work processes, but expand their workload and pose challenges to their professional identity. The concept of ‘engagement’ is used by news workers in New Zealand to describe the role of digitally mediated communication in their work. Engagement deserves scholarly treatment akin to concepts such as ‘participatory journalism’ because it is employed by journalists to place professional and practical limits on online interaction. Their decisions about engagement are based on professional commitments, past experiences, and the allocation of time and resources. Journalists in newsrooms that are already understaffed and under-resourced are expected to take on new tasks; like other digital laborers, journalists experience the interpenetration of work and leisure and the incorporation of affective and unpaid work. News workers have an opportunity to develop best practices for engagement and determine how and when they should engage online.
Combining folk instruments and melodies with heavy metal amplification and sensibility, Finnish f... more Combining folk instruments and melodies with heavy metal amplification and sensibility, Finnish folk metal bands such as Turisas, Korpiklaani and Finntroll have secured a niche audience on a transnational scale. Their music, which is sometimes galloping and triumphant and other times dark and brooding, has gathered listeners from Europe, Asia, the Pacific and the Americas. Finnish bands have become regular headliners for the European and American legs of the annual Paganfest tour. The national specificities of Finnish folk metal appeal to a transnational market in search of authentic community and emotional intensities in exotic cultural products. This chapter poses a number of questions about the transnational popularity of Finnish folk metal. Foremost among these questions are: what is the relation between the “folk” and the “popular”? What are the relationships between folk metal and the histories of folk culture? And, what about the contemporary political, economic and cultural juncture has spurred the emergence and transnational success of folk metal?
Global Media Journal, 2012
Online journalism’s new economy of attention is bringing about profound changes in how journalism... more Online journalism’s new economy of attention is bringing about profound changes in how journalism is defined and how individuals, organizations and causes achieve visibility. The 2011 strike against the online news organization The Huffington Post exemplifies how competing interests seek to circumscribe the field using new means to gain attention. Journalists on both sides of the strike sought to discursively impose a vision of the field of journalism and define the relations between content producers and distributors. The institutionalization process that online journalism is currently undergoing involves both the reproduction of established journalistic structures and the opening of new possibilities through the struggles of actors in the field.
Office of Film and Literature Classification, New Zealand, Aug 2009
Book Reviews by Tai Neilson
Johnson Andrews' Hegemony, Mass Media, and Cultural Studies: Properties of Meaning, Power, and Va... more Johnson Andrews' Hegemony, Mass Media, and Cultural Studies: Properties of Meaning, Power, and Value in Cultural Production takes on two important and heady tasks: 1) it articulates questions about the production of meaning, power, and the valorization of culture; and, 2) it guides the reader through the connections and disconnections between Frankfurt critical theory, the political economy of communication, and British cultural studies.
Review of Bernard Stiegler, The Decadence of Industrial Democracies
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Papers by Tai Neilson
concepts of precarity and immaterial labour. Authors studying empirical examples of unionisation among digital labourers identify different challenges and opportunities for unionisation among digital labours, and demonstrate the utility of unions for improving the conditions of digital labourers and promoting new working-class subjectivities.
Book Reviews by Tai Neilson
concepts of precarity and immaterial labour. Authors studying empirical examples of unionisation among digital labourers identify different challenges and opportunities for unionisation among digital labours, and demonstrate the utility of unions for improving the conditions of digital labourers and promoting new working-class subjectivities.