Hugh Curnutt interviewed by New York Times: “Inside the ‘Top Chef’ Industrial Complex”

School of Communication and Media Professor Hugh Curnutt was quoted in The New York Times for his insights on how reality TV has become increasingly popular in the post-network era due to the need for more content to fill the expanding number of channels. It was also noted that the reality TV industry relies on “non-unionized labor that is not paid well.”

Hugh Curnutt works in the areas of critical media and cultural studies. His research is broadly concerned with evolving communication technologies and the shifting intersection of media producers and consumers. His work has explored the changing televisual landscape, especially reality TV’s role in the ongoing reconfiguration of television’s institutions, performers, and audiences in a post-network era. His current project examines the impact of mobile technologies and self-authored media content on contemporary celebrity and the political economy of digital labor.