Whose stories are they? Fans' engagement with soap opera narratives in three sites of fan activity

Soap opera narratives are subject to multiple and conflicting claims of "ow nership" about who is entitled to make evaluative judgments about quality. Our research examines how dedicated fans'claims are mediated within three s ites: fan clubs, daytime magazines, and electronic bulletin boards. These s ites differ in the frequency and visibility of fan interaction and in the d egree to which fan discourse can be managed by producers, which in turn sha pes social interaction among fans and the legitimacy with which they can as sert claims to the narrative.