Actor, intermediary, and context: media in home renovation and consumption practice

Home renovations demonstrate the interplay between economic transactions and cultural values that shape consumption practice and consumer markets. The academic disciplines of environmental and social sciences and spheres of environmental policy and practice have taken interest in renovations because of their implications for improved environmental outcomes. However, a considerable blind spot in this work has been an out-of-step, largely one-dimensional, or peripheral engagement with media. This paper draws on interdisciplinary, mixed-method empirical research to explore the contribution of media studies to environmental policy, research, and practice. I develop a theoretical framework by synthesising across the functions of (i) actor, (ii) intermediary, and (iii) context to account for the role of media in the processes of change related to household consumption and sustainability. The paper concludes with some implications based on the framework.