This book discusses two related themes concerning the role and processes of mass communication in society. The first deals with questions regarding the power of the media: how should it be defined? how is it wielded and by whom? are previous approaches and answers to such questions adequate? The second theme revolves around the divisions between the liberal pluralist and Marxist approaches to the analysis of the nature of the media. These divisions have, in recent years, been fundamental to the debate concerning the understanding of the role of mass communication, and the examination of them in this book will challenge the reader to look more closely at a number of assumptions that have long been taken for granted.

′In his beautifully balanced, clear and broad-ranging account of a fast-changing field, Paul Hodkinson has successfully brought together myriad perspectives with which to critically analyse today′s media culture and media society.′– Sonia Livingstone, Professor of Media & Communication, LSE Paul Hodkinson′s bestseller is back, once again exploring the concepts and complexities of the media in an accessible, balanced and engaging style. Additions to the Second Edition include: A new chapter on advertising and sponsorship Extensive revision and updating throughout all chapters New material on technologies, censorship, online news, fan cultures and representations of poverty Greater emphasis on and examples of digital, interactive and mobile media throughout Fully reworked chapter on media, community and difference Up-to-date examples covering everything from social media, contemporary advertising, news events and mobile technologies, to representations of class, ethnicity and gender. Combining a critical survey of the field with a finely judged assessment of cutting-edge developments, this Second Edition cements its reputation as the must-have text for any undergraduate student studying media, culture and society.

Mediatization has emerged as a key concept to reconsider old, yet fundamental questions about the role and influence of media in culture and society. In particular the theory of mediatization has proved fruitful for the analysis of how media spread to, become intertwined with, and influence other social institutions and cultural phenomena like politics, play and religion. This book presents a major contribution to the theoretical understanding of the mediatization of culture and society. This is supplemented by in-depth studies of: The mediatization of politics: From party press to opinion industry; The mediatization of religion: From the faith of the church to the enchantment of the media; The mediatization of play: From bricks to bytes; The mediatization of habitus: The social character of a new individualism. Mediatization represents a new social condition in which the media have emerged as an important institution in society at the same time as they have become integrated into the very fabric of social and cultural life. Making use of a broad conception of the media as technologies, institutions and aesthetic forms, Stig Hjarvard considers how characteristics of both old and new media come to influence human interaction, social institutions and cultural imaginations.

Understanding social media requires us to engage with the individual and collective meanings that diverse stakeholders and participants give to platforms. It also requires us to analyse how social media companies try to make profits, how and which labour creates this profit, who creates social media ideologies, and the conditions under which such ideologies emerge. In short, understanding social media means coming to grips with the relationship between culture and the economy. In this thorough study, Christian Fuchs, one of the leading analysts of the Internet and social media, delves deeply into the subject by applying the approach of cultural materialism to social media, offering readers theoretical concepts, contemporary examples, and proposed opportunities for political intervention. Culture and Economy in the Age of Social Media is the ultimate resource for anyone who wants to understand culture and the economy in an era populated by social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google in the West and Weibo, Renren, and Baidu in the East. Updating the analysis of thinkers such as Raymond Williams, Karl Marx, Ferruccio Rossi-Landi, and Dallas W. Smythe for the 21st century, Fuchs presents a version of Marxist cultural theory and cultural materialism that allows us to critically understand social media’s influence on culture and the economy.

Examines the power of the media and the divisions between the liberal pluralist and the Marxist approaches to the analysis of the nature of the media.

Media collects trivia from society and large and sends it back to masses in structure forms of news. Since society consists of different communities new impacts people differently. More often than not it doesn t. People need some identification to relate to news. Media tries to present it in such a manner that it engages people. It goes overboard also in the process. News is a highly perishable item. There media tries to restructure and reprocess to keep people s interest alive. Media is supposed to be a watchdog of society and intervenes in all possible manner but without being its adversary. It forces the society to divide itself in stereotypes. As far as culture is concerned, it is a static phenomenon and is built over a period of times. Contrary to the popular fears it neither gets easily affected nor it tries to change itself. Ironically media also doesn t aim at changing it. This book at this triangular relationship at a global level and provides a framework for debate. It is ideally designed for mass communicators and the students to have a second look at the world they live in and how media is trying to influence it.

Carey's seminal work joins central issues in the field and redefines them. It will force the reader to think in new and fruitful ways about such dichotomies as transmissions vs. ritual, administrative vs. critical, positivist vs. marxist, and cultural vs. power-orientated approaches to communications study. An historically inspired treatment of major figures and theories, required reading for the sophisticated scholar' - George Gerbner, University of Pennsylvania ...offers a mural of thought with a rich background, highlighted by such thoughts as communication being the 'maintenance of society in time'. - Cast/Communication Booknotes These essays encompass much more than a critique of an academic discipline. Carey's lively thought, lucid style, and profound scholarship propel the reader through a wide and varied intellectual landscape, particularly as these issues have affected Modern American thought. As entertaining as it is enlightening, Communication as Culture is certain to become a classic in its field.

Media, Culture & Society has pioneered a unique approach to media analysis. Since 1979, it has published some of the finest theoretical and historical work in communication and cultural studies from Britain and Europe. The articles in this reader are grouped in three parts, representing a selection of the best work. Each part is preceded by an introductory essay which helps students understand the issues presented, and places the theoretical contributions in context.

This broad-ranging book presents an introduction to the issues and debates which are currently central to media studies, drawn from major articles published in the journal Media, Culture & Society in the period 1985 - 1991. The first part outlines and surveys some key theoretical developments in media studies such as the increased use of feminist and cultural studies approaches to the media and the development of the postmodernism debate. The second part addresses the key area of recent research around the audience; the last section addresses the public sphere. Drawing together key work from the breadth of current critical media research, Culture and Power is an invaluable student textbook and a complement to