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Is there an expertise of production? The case of new media producers

The rise of Web 2.0 has prompted debates around the legitimacy and contributions of professional and amateur producers in fields such as journalism and popular culture, but it also begs the question: what is the substance of the expertise now under threat by the anonymous, amateur masses? This article extends recent debates in Science and Technology Studies (STS) on the validity of distinctions between expert and layperson to the field of new media. Drawing on a case study of a British production laboratory in educational technology, it shows how producers debate both the substance of production expertise and the reference group through which producers acquire expertise — is it technical professions that are relevant to the endeavour, or the target audience? The article stresses the latter and argues that opportunity, rather than ability, is key in the mobilization of knowledge in production, thus calling into question the distinction between expert and amateur producers.