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A Participation Observation Analysis of the Once & Again Internet Message Bulletin Boards

Michigan State University

This article uses an ethnographic and participant observation approach to analyze discourse among members of the internet message bulletin boards dedicated to the ABC television program Once and Again. The discussion emphasizes community and activism as dimensions of the members' electronically mediated social interactions within the context of voice theory. The phenomenon within this computer-mediated fan community suggests a richness of human self-involvement with the program's text and a dogged grassroots campaign to "save" the show from cancellation.

Key Words: computer-mediated communication • community • activism • Once and Again • voice theory • television

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Television & New Media, Vol. 8, No. 4, 341-374 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1527476407306621


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