slow media

In 2010, the Slow Media Institute circulated a manifesto highlighting how the concept of ‘slow’ could be employed in responding to the pace of technological change in the 21st century. Making the link to other slow movements, the Slow Media manifesto emphasized the ‘choice of ingredients’ and ‘concentration in the preparation’. As Jennifer Rauch (2011) writes, attention to ‘Slow Media’ suggests that ‘we are observing a moment of transformation in the way that many people around the world think about and engage with mediated communication’.

This broad ‘slow media’ approach has been taken up in relation to a range of media sectors. ‘Slow journalism’ seeks to respond to some of the contemporary newsgathering and journalism practices with a concern for investing in journalism, questioning 24/7 news cycles and immediacy as the most important factors, and exploring stories over a longer period. The focus on completeness and full coverage is also a central element of the ‘Slow TV’ approach. The sustained coverage of cruise ships and knitting that the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation has offered since 2009 indicates the popular appetite for ‘Slow TV’ and in September 2014 The New Yorker declared ‘Slow TV is Here’. Further perspectives come with ‘Slow Film’ and the approach taken by filmmakers such as those at Echo Park Film Center who use analogue technologies, hands-on techniques and collaborative processes as a catalyst for a community-based cinema wherein filmmakers invent, own and control the means of production, exhibition and distribution.

This one-day symposium is hosted by the Media Futures Research Centre at Bath Spa University’s Corsham Court campus.