Theorist Jenkins Comments on Sites, Campaign

MIT Professor Henry Jenkins [website, wiki entry], media theorist and author of the famous book “Textual Poachers,” has taken note of Solutions and Savestargatesg1.com and the analyses and tactics provided on those sites by owner Alison Butler. From his blog entry on the campaign:

All told, both the tactics and the analysis behind it shows an extremely sophisticated understanding of the current media landscape and the various points by which grassroots communities may leverage their power to exert pressure on corporate stakeholders in the series. Activists of all ilk can learn a lot by dissecting how these guys are approaching their effort to save their favorite series. As a long time fan, I can’t help but contrast this with the now relatively primitive snail-mail efforts that kept Star Trek alive in the 1960s: new media has given fans a lot more resources to mobilize in a roughly similar situation.

Prof. Jenkins blog entry provides a very interesting analysis of the ad hoc ‘community’ that is springing up to save the show, noting the lightning fast response to news of the cancellation that is possible given modern on-line technology and a large dose of experience gained during the Save Daniel Jackson campaign.