Ruth Deller

Ruth Deller
Sheffield Hallam University | SHU · Cultural, Communication and Computing Research Institute (C3RI)

PhD

About

26
Publications
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Introduction
Reader in media and communication at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. Research interests include: religion and the media, fan studies, gender in the media, social media and online communities, reality and factual television, soap opera, research ethics, celebrity. For conference presentation slides, see: https://shu.academia.edu/RuthDeller/Conference-presentations

Publications

Publications (26)
Book
Reality television is one of the defining genres of the 21st century. It is shown worldwide, features people from all walks of life and covers everything from romance to religion. It has not only changed television, but every other area of the media. So why has reality TV become such a huge phenomenon, and what is its future in an age of streamin...
Chapter
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This chapter explores the notion of safe spaces-a term used for spaces and processes designed to offer a supportive and safe environment for all, particularly members of marginalised groups. Drawing on the results of workshops in the UK and USA with educators and activists, and looking at a range of examples from different organisations around the...
Article
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In this article, we present a thematic analysis of broadcast and print media representations of YouTube celebrity. Youth-oriented media have capitalised on the phenomenon, placing vloggers alongside actors and pop stars. However, in much adult-oriented mainstream media, YouTubers are presented as fraudulent, inauthentic, opportunist and talentless,...
Chapter
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Working in fan studies raises a large number of potential ethical questions for researchers: issues of respecting participant anonymity compete with issues of recognizing fans for their labor and fan works; issues of protecting vulnerable subjects compete with giving them the opportunity to have their voices heard. This chapter considers the range...
Conference Paper
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In this paper, we explore the representation of YouTube celebrities in mainstream media - analysing a range of portrayals of these stars across news, print, television and radio. Although youth-oriented media such as Radio 1's 'Internet takeover' and magazine Oh My Vlog! seek to capitalise on these celebrities and their audiences, such representat...
Conference Paper
In this paper, we explore the representation of YouTube celebrity Zoe Sugg, better known as Zoella, in the mainstream media - with a particular focus on newspapers. Analysing the presentation of Sugg across a range of articles published in the British press, we identify a common trend within these representations to delegitimise the YouTube star’s...
Article
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In this article, I discuss the phenomenon of celebrity reality television and explore its function for those participating in it. Drawing on the success of their non-celebrity counterparts, programmes such as Celebrity Big Brother, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here and Dancing With the Stars have become popular globally and, although arguably no...
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In March 2014, a viral campaign spread across social media using the tag #nomakeupselfie. This campaign involved women posting selfies without wearing makeup and (in later iterations of the trend) donating money to cancer charities. It was credited with raising £8 million for the charity Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and received a wealth of coverage i...
Article
This essay explores the way fandom is performed on Tumblr by fans of the games series The Sims (Electronic Arts, 2000), as well as how the LiveJournal site SimSecret attempts to regulate and shame Tumblr behavior. Through interviews and surveys with fans and through content analysis, I examine the way in which Tumblr lends itself to particular perf...
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This article discusses the relationship between gaming, craft, humour and television text in the case of Australian soap opera Neighbours. It explores the production of fan-made board games by members of the Facebook group ‘The Art of Neighbours’ and argues that the deliberately low-tech nature of these fan games is perfectly matched to the fan obj...
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In this article I discuss the relationship between religion, spirituality and processes of makeover and transformation as presented in a number of British reality television shows. Programmes including The Monastery, The Convent and Make Me a Muslim placed participants in scenarios where they experimented with adopting religious or spiritual practi...
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This article presents the results of survey data from readers of the Fifty Shades novel series. It is almost 30 years since Janice Radway’s (1984) Reading the Romance was published and audience studies have burgeoned. However, public discourse about E L James’s trilogy was couched in assumptions about ‘formulaic’ genre fiction, alongside debates ab...
Chapter
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Article
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This paper aims to explore the potential of social network site Twitter as a site for audience research. Drawing on notions of 'liveness', participation, convergence and interactivity, it argues that Twitter provides a potentially significant development in our understanding of audiences and their relationship with media, both 'old' and 'new'. The...
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