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Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies
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Going the Extra Mile

Emotional and Commercial Imperatives in New Media Work

Helen Kennedy

University of Leeds, UK, h.kennedy{at}leeds.ac.uk

Many stereotypes of new media workers exist: they are exemplary of the future of work and of working in the new economy; their work is emotional; their passion for new media translates into creativity in the production process. Of course, none of these stereotypes paints a full picture. This article proposes that a study of the micropolitics of a new media production process, which explores the articulation of the emotional with commercial imperatives, results in a different story about new media work and points to some of the many complexities of making new media objects. The article further suggests that there is a need for a nuanced unpacking of the concepts of emotional and affective labour, which recognizes the different, sometimes opposing affects and emotions that drive new media work. It concludes that the science and technology studies' term 'interpretative flexibility' provides a useful conceptual tool with which to conceive of the complex emotional and commercial imperatives that drive new media work.

Key Words: affective labour • cultural production • emotional labour • learning disability • new media work

Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, Vol. 15, No. 2, 177-196 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1354856508101582
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