Constructing Authority. Strategies of Authority in Online and Offline Literature Reviews

• In Event: 078 - Section on Sociology of Culture Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 06. Roles and Identities in Arts, Work, and Recreation

Abstract

With the rise of the Internet, the media landscape has changed considerably. Audiences can now take on the role of producers, which has changed the relationship between journalists/ critics and audiences. In addition, nowadays people increasingly have omnivorous tastes, combining preferences for highbrow and popular cultural products. As a result, audiences seem less inclined to follow judgments of professional/ elite critics, as their tastes might no longer automatically logically align and audiences can turn to a variety of other critical resources for information and advice.
Nowadays, critics thus have to struggle for recognition. Their authority is no longer self-evident, but needs to be earned. Authority relates to legitimacy, which is derived from the (displaying and acknowledgment of the) expertise of a critic. Traditional critics mainly gained their authority from their institutional position; their affiliation with established media outlets signalled expertise and professionalism. However, these media increasingly face competition from new critics, who are often less institutionally embedded. As the characteristics of these critics differ, the way they construct authority in reviews might also differ.
Therefore this research examines how different types of critics construct authority by a qualitative analysis of book reviews. The results indicate that existing strategies, put in place by professional critics, are still largely intact: critics construct authority by using the established criteria and by positioning a book in the field. Furthermore, amateur and consumer critics describe their personal reading experience. This might indicate that a new, more personalized, way of constructing authority is on the rise.

Authors

• Rian Koreman

• Susanne Janssen, Erasmus University Rotterdam

• Marc Verboord, Erasmus University Rotterdam