Popular Media in the Metropolitan Third Places: Exploring the Uses and Gratifications of the Mobile <i>Homo Œconomicus</i>

Authors

  • Christian Lamour Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research

Keywords:

media, metropolitan regions, uses and gratifications, third places, mobility citizenship

Abstract

Commuters in metropolitan regions have developed a number of cultural practices to use between their places of residence and work, including newspaper reading. This practice has been often considered as an instrument enabling individuals to integrate into communities. However, what can the uses and gratifications of contemporary newspapers by mobile workers tell us about the construction of communities in urban areas? This article, based on in-depth interviews with mobile workers-readers and a reception study of their media consumption in Luxembourg, enables us to assess the importance of the ritualized and instrumental use of the popular press by commuters in a changing urban world.

Author Biography

Christian Lamour, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research

Christian Lamour is a researcher in urban, cultural, and border studies at the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER). He is also a research associate at the Information and Communication Sciences Department of the University of Lorraine in France, the CREM and a full member of the Observatory of Regional Politics at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. His research topics include spatial policies, governance strategies, cultural practices, and bordering processes in European metropolitan regions. One of his areas of interest is media production/reception and its role in the definition of territoriality within metropolises. He also pays attention to the representation of mobility within Schengen Europe in the current context of right-wing populism and bordersecuritization.

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Published

2019-06-30

Issue

Vol. 13 (2019)

Section

Articles

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