Field-specific mediatization: Testing the combination of social theory and mediatization theory using the example of scientific communication

Abstract

In contemporary media and communication science, mediatization is regarded as an “emerging paradigm”, but the term itself is diffuse and highly contingent. An attempt is made in this paper to integrate structural and individual concepts of mediatization theory by combining it with Bourdieu’s field theory using the example of science. After outlining the notion of mediatization underlying this text, the special features of scientific communication and the scientific field are presented. Hypotheses mentioned in the literature on the influence of new media technologies on science are contrasted with the state of research. This reveals that the impact of media innovations cannot be seen in a monocausal manner. In field-specific mediatization, they interact with various structural and individual elements.

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