Based on the ancient Chinese concept of the unity of Heaven and Man (天人合一, ‘tian ren he yi’), guided by principles governing the connections and interdependencies between Heaven, Earth, Man, and the media, and in accord with the coexistence of these four elements in balance and in harmony, this monograph outlines the scope of the study, fundamental concepts and theories, and future directions of research in the interdisciplinary field of the geography of media. The author delves deeply into the themes of time, space, place, landscape, and scale to introduce readers to a wide array of intriguing concepts that add new dimensions to this relatively new academic field. In addition, this monograph presents a history of media geography as it has evolved in the West and in China over the past several decades, and introduces principles and values from traditional Chinese culture that shed light on the nature, direction, and significance of media studies and communication research now being conducted around the globe. Intended readership: professional scholars, graduates, and general readers.

This is the first comprehensive volume to explore and engage with current trends in Geographies of Media research. It reviews how conceptualizations of mediated geographies have evolved. Followed by an examination of diverse media contexts and locales, the book illustrates key issues through the integration of theoretical and empirical case studies, and reflects on the future challenges and opportunities faced by scholars in this field. The contributions by an international team of experts in the field, address theoretical perspectives on mediated geographies, methodological challenges and opportunities posed by geographies of media, the role and significance of different media forms and organizations in relation to socio-spatial relations, the dynamism of media in local-global relations, and in-depth case studies of mediated locales. Given the theoretical and methodological diversity of this book, it will provide an important reference for geographers and other interdisciplinary scholars working in cultural and media studies, researchers in environmental studies, sociology, visual anthropology, new technologies, and political science, who seek to understand and explore the interconnections of media, space and place through the examples of specific practices and settings.

Although there are human geographers who have previously written on matters of media and communication, and those in media and communication studies who have previously written on geographical issues, this is the first book-length dialogue in which experienced theorists and researchers from these different fields address each other directly and engage in conversation across traditional academic boundaries. The result is a compelling discussion, with the authors setting out statements of their positions before responding to the arguments made by others. One significant aspect of this discussion is a spirited debate about the sort of interdisciplinary area that might emerge as a focus for future work. Does the already-established idea of communication geography offer the best way forward? If so, what would applied or critical forms of communication geography be concerned to do? Could communication geography benefit from the sorts of conjunctural analysis that have been developed in contemporary cultural studies? Might a further way forward be to imagine an interdisciplinary field of everyday-life studies, which would draw critically on non-representational theories of practice and movement? Readers of Communications/Media/Geographies are invited to join the debate, thinking through such questions for themselves, and the themes that are explored in this book (for example, of space, place, meaning, power, and ethics) will be of interest not only to academics in human geography and in media and communication studies, but also to a wider range of scholars from across the humanities and social sciences.

The diffusion of English and the increasing mediatization of our globalized world have significant impacts on our perceptions of language and culture. Beginning with an overview of how the conceptualization of language is currently debated in sociolinguistics and related fields, this book highlights the need for a new perspective on language mobility. Through examining the use of English on German radio morning shows, the book explores the dynamics of language use in times of accelerated globalization and provides insights into how the media operate within the global flows of messages and linguistic resources that characterize our mediatized societies. In doing so, it demonstrates how combining the different perspectives of a sociolinguistics of mobility and contact linguistics allows for a thorough investigation of language practices in society, and advances the theoretical and practical approaches to the study of language mobility as a result.

"A simple yet excellent overview of the multilayered path of audience research, tracing its evolution over the last century!"--"European Journal of Communication." How has the concept of 'the audience' changed over the past 50 years? How do audiences become producers and not just consumers of media texts? How are new media affecting the ways in which audiences are researched? The audience has been a central concept in both in media and cultural studies for some considerable time, not least because there seems little point exploring forms of increasingly global communication in terms of their content if the targets of media messages are not also the focus of study. This book ranges across a wide literature, taking both a chronological as well as thematic approach, in order to explore the ways in which the audience, as an analytical concept has changed, as well as examining the relationships which audiences have with texts and the ways in which they exert their power as consumers.; We also look at the political economy of audiences and the ways in which they are 'delivered' to advertisers, as well as attending to the ratings war being waged by broadcasters and the development of narrowcasting and niche audiences. Finally, the book looks ahead to the future of audience research, suggesting that new genres such as 'reality TV' and new ICTs such as the Internet, are already revolutionising the way in which research with audiences is taking place in the 21st century, not least because of the level of interactivity enabled by new media.

This Open Access book examines the ambivalences of data power. Firstly, the ambivalences between global infrastructures and local invisibilities challenge the grand narrative of the ephemeral nature of a global data infrastructure. They make visible local working and living conditions, and the resources and arrangements required to operate and run them. Secondly, the book examines ambivalences between the state and data justice. It considers data justice in relation to state surveillance and data capitalism, and reflects on the ambivalences between an "entrepreneurial state" and a "welfare state." Thirdly, the authors discuss ambivalences of everyday practices and collective action, in which civil society groups, communities, and movements try to position the interests of people against the "big players" in the tech industry. The book includes eighteen chapters that provide new and varied perspectives on the role of data and data infrastructures in our increasingly datafied societies. Andreas Hepp is Professor of Media and Communications and Head of ZeMKI, Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research, University of Bremen, Germany. He is the author of 12 monographs including The Mediated Construction of Reality (with Nick Couldry, 2017), Transcultural Communication (2015) and Cultures of Mediatization (2013). Juliane Jarke is a senior researcher at the Institute for Information Management Bremen (ifi b) and Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research (ZeMKI) at the University of Bremen, Germany. Jarke co-edited The Datafication of Education (with Andreas Breiter, 2019) and Probes as Participatory Design Practice (with Susanne Maa, 2018). Leif Kramp is a post-doctoral media, communication and history scholar and Research Coordinator of the Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research at the University of Bremen (ZeMKI), Germany. Kramp has authored and edited various books about the transformation of media and journalism and is a founding member of the German Association of Media and Journalism Criticism (VfMJ).

Makes a major intervention in debates around the nature of the political economy of Pakistan, focusing on its contemporary social dynamics.

That risk communication ranks high on the policymaking agenda is beyond discussion today. The field is a point of intersection of social communication, practical management and policy making. It covers such diverse activities as to inform and educate the public about risk, and risk management in order to influence attitudes and behaviour, to act in situations of emergency or crises, to aid in decision-making and to assist in conflict resolution. Communication has grown into a major concern in current risk governance based on network co-ordinated management of public affairs conducted by authorities and companies and is recognized as a key component in the government of risk. This is especially salient in policy fields relating to environmental planning and resource management, urban planning, chemical and food regulation, or infrastructure planning, development and maintenance. This book explores risk communication research with a focus on new theoretical perspectives, research findings, and applied goals. It reflects on a broad range of innovative theoretical perspectives, methodological approaches and empirical areas. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Risk Research.