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Ferrigato_Balbi_2025_SAGE_01634437251377966
Journal article

Toward a media maintenance approach (MEMA) : maintenance as a theoretical tool for media studies

  • Ferrigato, Riccardo ORCID Istituto Media e Giornalismo (IMeG), Facoltà di comunicazione, cultura e società, Università della Svizzera italiana, Svizzera
  • Balbi, Gabriele ORCID Istituto Media e Giornalismo (IMeG), Facoltà di comunicazione, cultura e società, Università della Svizzera italiana, Svizzera
  • 2026
Published in:
  • Media, Culture and Society. - 2026, vol. 48, no. 2, p. 403-415
Maintenance
Rrepair
Change and continuity
Media archaeology
Ecomedia
Media history
Media evolution
PEC
Audience and users studies
Labor studies
Media maintenance
English This paper introduces and discusses a theoretical approach for media scholars: the media maintenance approach (MEMA). Maintenance is not a new subject of study in social sciences and humanities, but it has been rarely addressed by media studies so far. After reviewing literature about maintenance in history of technology, philosophy of technology, and STS, and defining the concept of “maintenance”, the paper turns to media studies and examines how current (sub)fields, such as media archaeology, ecomedia, media sustainability, media history, media evolution, audience and users’ studies, labor studies, and PEC have already addressed issues related to maintenance and to maintaining forms or practices of communication. MEMA can gather, connect and enrich these existing perspectives and can advance a unified and integrated approach able to combine continuity and change, but also conservation and innovation in media studies. In the conclusion, the paper addresses three “benefits” that MEMA can bring to media studies, all dealing with different degrees of temporalities.
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Language
  • English
Classification
Information, communication and media sciences
License
CC BY
Open access status
hybrid
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://n2t.net/ark:/12658/srd1336430
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