[ from the introduction] “Algorithms are widely recognized as playing an increasingly influential role in the political, economic, and cultural spheres (Mayer-Schonberger, & Cukier, 2013; Pariser, 2011; Steiner, 2012). Algorithms are serving particularly prominent roles in the media sector, where the processes of media production, consumption, and even advertising placement, are increasingly automated and algorithmically dictated (see, e.g., Danaher, Lee, & Laoucine, 2010; Mager, 2012; Steiner, 2012). Clearly, then, the algorithmic turn (to borrow Uricchio’s [2011] phrase) that is taking place in the media sector should be a focal point for communication and media studies scholarship. Researchers have begun to examine this transition in a number of contexts and from a variety of analytical perspectives (see, e.g., Beer, 2001; Gillespie, 2011; Webster, 2011). But, as is to be expected in these early stages of an emergent area of inquiry, there has been relatively little discussion of useful theoretical frameworks (for exceptions, see Anderson, in press; Webster, 2011). This paper attempts to address this gap via an exploration of how institutional theory can inform and guide future research on the algorithmic turn in media production and consumption, as well as provide a lens through which to interpret extant research in this area” (Philip M. Napoli, May 2013)
Napoli, Philip M., The Algorithm as Institution: Toward a Theoretical Framework for Automated Media Production and Consumption (May 5, 2013).
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2260923
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