Media Essentials : A Brief Introduction

by Campbell, Richard; Martin, Christopher R.; Fabos, Bettina

• ISBN13: 9780312590857
• ISBN10: 0312590857
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-07-23
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's

Summary

Media Essentialsis a new kind of introductory text. It's built to help students focus on the fundamentals, so that no matter how the media evolves, students can understand what's really going on. Brought to you by best-selling authors Richard Campbell, Christopher R. Martin, and Bettina Fabos, the book distills the essential information on media industries and major concepts, incorporates the authors' accessible critical approach, and gives students all the study tools they need to succeed in the course and to be savvy consumers. And all of this in a brief, attractive format -- for a very attractive price.

Author Biography

RICHARD CAMPBELL, director of the journalism program at Miami University, is the author of “60 Minutes” and the News: A Mythology for Middle America (1991) and coauthor of Cracked Coverage: Television News, the Anti-Cocaine Crusade and the Reagan Legacy (1994). Campbell has written for numerous publications including Columbia Journalism Review, Journal of Communication, and Media Studies Journal and he has served on the editorial boards of Critical Studies in Mass Communication and Television Quarterly. As a writer and media critic, he is a frequent speaker on public radio and television.

 

CHRISTOPHER R. MARTIN is a professor of journalism at University of Northern Iowa and author of Framed! Labor and the Corporate Media (2003). He has written articles and reviews on journalism, televised sports, the Internet, and labor for several publications, including Communication Research, Journal of Communication, Journal of Communication Inquiry, Labor Studies Journal, and Culture, Sport, and Society. He is also on the editorial board of the Journalism of Communication Inquiry.

 

BETTINA FABOS, an award-winning video maker and former print reporter, is an associate professor of visual communication and interactive media studies at University of Northern Iowa. She is the author of Wrong Turn on the Information Superhighway: Education and the Commercialized Internet (2003). Her areas of expertise include critical media literacy, Internet commercialization, the role of the internet in education, and media representations of popular culture. Her work has been published in Library Trends, Review of Educational Research, and Harvard Educational Review.

Table of Contents

Preface

 

PART ONE: MASS MEDIA INDUSTRIES

 

Chapter 1- Mass Communication: A Critical Approach    
THE EVOLUTION OF MASS COMMUNICATION    
     The Oral and Written Eras        
     The Print Era         
     Media Convergence        
MASS MEDIA AND THE PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION   
     The Evolution of a New Mass Medium     
     Debating Media's Role in Everyday Life     
MEDIA LITERACY: WAYS OF UNDERSTANDING    
     The Linear Model        
     The Cultural Model        
     The Social Scientific Model       
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE CULTURAL MODEL: SURVEYING THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE          
     The “Culture as Skyscraper” Metaphor     
     The “Culture as Map” Metaphor      
     Tracing Changes in Values       
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SOCIAL SCIENTIFIC MODEL: GATHERING DATA  
     Comparing Analyses of Cancer News Coverage    
     Gathering and Analyzing Data      
CRITIQUING MEDIA        
     Evaluating Cultural and Social Scientific Research   
     Conducting Our Own Critiques      
     Benefits of a Critical Perspective      
Media Literacy Case Study: Bedouins, Camels, Transistors, and Coke  
CHAPTER ESSENTIALS        

 

Chapter 2- Books and the Power of Print      
THE EARLY HISTORY OF BOOKS: FROM PAPYRUS TO PAPERBACKS 
     Papyrus, Parchment, and Codex: The Development Stage of Books 
     Writing and Printing Innovations: Books Enter the Entrepreneurial Stage 
     The Printing Press and the Publishing Industry: Books Become a Mass Medium  
THE EVOLUTION OF MODERN PUBLISHING     
     Early Publishing Houses       
     The Conglomerates        
     The Structure of Publishing Houses     
TYPES OF BOOKS: TRADITION MEETS TECHNOLOGY   
     Print Books         
     Electronic and Digital Publishing      
THE ECONOMICS OF THE BOOK INDUSTRY      

     Money In

     Money Out         
BOOKS IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY      
     Censorship         
Media Literacy Case Study: Banned Books and “Family Values”   
     Declining Readership       
     Physical Deterioration       
CHAPTER ESSENTIALS        

 

Chapter 3- Newspapers and the Rise and Decline of Modern Journalism 
THE EARLY HISTORY OF AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS    
     Colonial Newspapers and the Partisan Press    
     The Penny Press: Becoming a Mass Medium    
     Yellow Journalism        
THE EVOLUTION OF NEWSPAPERS: COMPETING MODELS OF MODERN  PRINT JOURNALISM        
     “Objectivity” in Modern Journalism      
     Interpretive Journalism        
     Literary Journalism         
     Journalism in the Technology Age       
CATEGORIZING NEWS AND U.S. NEWSPAPERS    
     Small Local Papers: Focus on Consensus     
     Regional and National Newspapers: Focus on Conflict   
     Ethnic and Minority Newspapers      
     The Underground Press       
THE ECONOMICS OF NEWSPAPERS      
     Money In         
     Money Out         
CHALLENGES FACING NEWSPAPERS      
     Declining Readership       
     Decreasing Competition       
Media Literacy Case Study: Newspaper Circulation Up! (For Free Papers)  
     Joint Operating Agreement       
     Newspaper Chains        
     Going Digital         
     Blogs          
     Citizen Journalism        
NEWSPAPERS IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY     
CHAPTER ESSENTIALS   

     

Chapter 4- Magazines in the Age of Specialization    
THE EARLY HISTORY OF MAGAZINES      
     The First Magazines: European Origins     
     Magazines in 18th Century America: The Voices of Revolution  
     Magazines in 19th Century America: Specialization and General Interest   
     Going National as the 20th Century Approaches    
THE EVOLUTION OF MODERN AMERICAN MAGAZINES   
     Distribution and Production Costs Plummet    
     Muckrackers Expose Social Ills      
     General-Interest Magazines Hit Their Stride    
Media Literacy Case Study: The Evolution of Photojournalism   
     General-Interest Magazines Decline     
TYPES OF MAGAZINES        
     Men's and Women's Magazines      
     Entertainment, Leisure, and Sports Magazines    
     Age-Specific Magazines       
     Elite Magazines        
     Minority Magazines        
     Alternative Magazines       
     Supermarket Tabloids       
     Online Magazines        
THE ECONOMICS OF MAGAZINES      
     Money In         
     Money Out         
MAGAZINES IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY     
CHAPTER ESSENTIALS    

    

Chapter 5- Sound Recording and Popular Music 
THE EARLY HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF SOUND RECORDING  
     From Cylinders to Disks: Sound Recording Becomes a Mass Medium  
     From Records to Tapes to CDs: Analog Goes Digital   
     From CDs to MP3s: Sound Recording in the Internet Age   

Media Literacy Case Study: The Rise of MP3s and Digital Downloading  
     Records and Radio: A Rocky Relationship    
U.S. POPULAR MUSIC AND THE RISE OF ROCK    
     The Rise of Pop Music       
     Rock and Roll is Here to Stay      
     Rock Blurs Additional Boundaries      
     Rock and Roll Embattled       
THE EVOLUTION OF POP MUSIC      
     The British Are Coming!       
     Motown: The Home of Soul       
     Folk and Psychedelic: Protest and Drugs     
     Punk, Grunge, and Alternative Rock: New Genres on the Horizon 
     Hip-Hop Redraws Musical Lines      
THE ECONOMICS OF SOUND RECORDING      
     A Shifting Power Structure       
     Making and Spending Money      
SOUND RECORDING IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY    
CHAPTER ESSENTIALS    

    

Chapter 6- Popular Radio and the Origins of Broadcasting   
THE EARLY HISTORY OF RADIO      
     Inventors Paving the Way: Morse, Maxwell, and Hertz   
     Innovators in Wireless: Marconi, Fessenden, and De Forest  
     Early Regulation of Wireless/Radio     
     The Networks        
     The Radio Act of 1927       
     The Golden Age of Radio       
THE EVOLUTION OF RADIO       
     Transistors: Making Radios Portable     
     The FM Revolution        
     The Rise of Format Radio       
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF CONTEMPORARY RADIO   
     Format Specialization       
Media Literacy Case Study: Host: The Origins of Talk Radio   
     Nonprofit Radio and NPR       
     Radio Goes Digital        
THE ECONOMICS OF COMMERCIAL RADIO     
     Money In and Money Out       
     From Payola to Pay-for-Play      
     Radio Ownership: From Diversity to Consolidation   
RADIO IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY      
CHAPTER ESSENTIALS        

 

Chapter 7- Movies and the Impact of Images     
THE EARLY HISTORY OF MOVIES      
     Advances in Film Technology      
     Telling Stories: The Introduction of Narrative    
     The Arrival of Nickelodeons      
THE EVOLUTION OF THE HOLLYWOOD STUDIO SYSTEM   
     Edison's Attempt to Control the Industry     
    A Closer Look at the Three Pillars      
HOLLYWOOD'S GOLDEN AGE: THE DEVELOPMENT OF STYLE  
     Narrative Techniques in the Silent Era     
     Augmenting Images with Sound      
     Inside the Hollywood System: Setting the Standard for Narrative Style  
Media Literacy Case Study: Breaking through Hollywood's Race Barrier  
     Outside the Hollywood System: Providing Alternatives   
THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE STUDIO SYSTEM    
     The Hollywood Ten        
     The Paramount Decision       
     Flight to the Suburbs       
     Television         
     Home Entertainment         
THE ECONOMICS OF THE MOVIE BUSINESS     
     Money In         
     Money Out         
     New Uncertainties in the Digital Age     
THE MOVIES IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY     
CHAPTER ESSENTIALS        

 

Chapter 8- Television, Cable, and Specialization in Visual Culture  
THE EARLY HISTORY OF TELEVISION      
     Becoming a Mass Medium       
     Controlling TV Content       
     Staining TV's Reputation       
     Introducing Cable        
THE EVOLUTION OF NETWORK PROGRAMMING    
     Information: Network News      
     Entertainment: Comedy       
     Entertainment: Drama       
     Talk Shows and TV News Magazines     
     Reality TV         
     Public Television        
THE EVOLUTION OF CABLE PROGRAMMING     
Media Literacy Case Study: The United Segments of America: Niche Marketing
in Cable           
     Basic Cable         
     Premium Cable        
REGULATORY CHALLENGES FACING TELEVISION AND CABLE   
     Restricting Broadcast Networks' Control     
     Reining in Cable's Growth-for Awhile     
TELEVISION AND CABLE IN THE DIGITAL AGE    
     Home Video         
     The Internet         
     DBS          
     Cell Phones, Mobile Video, and WiMax     
THE ECONOMICS OF TELEVISION AND CABLE    
     Money In         
     Money Out         
     Ownership and Consolidation      
TELEVISION IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY     
CHAPTER ESSENTIALS        

 

Chapter 9- The Internet and New Technologies: The Media Converge  
THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE INTERNET     
     Military Functions, Civic Roots      
     The Net Widens        
THE EVOLUTION OF THE INTERNET: FROM WEB 1.0 TO WEB 2.0 AND BEYOND          
     Web 1.0         
     Web 2.0         
     Web 3.0         
THE ECONOMICS OF THE INTERNET       
     Money In

     Money Out       
     The Noncommercial Web       
SECURITY AND APPROPRIATENESS ON THE INTERNET   
     Information Security: What's Private?     
     Personal Safety: Online Predators      
     Appropriateness: What Should Be Online?    
THE INTERNET IN A DEMOCRACRATIC SOCIETY    
     Access: Closing the Digital Divide      
     Ownership and Customization      
Media Literacy Case Study: Net Neutrality      
CHAPTER ESSENTIALS   

     

PART TWO: MEDIA FRAMING INDUSTRIES

 

Chapter 10- Advertising and Commercial Culture    
EARLY HISTORY OF AMERICAN ADVERTISING: 1850s TO 1950s   
     The First Advertising Agencies        
     Retail Stores: Giving Birth to Branding      
     Patent Medicines: Making Outrageous Claims     
     Department Stores: Fueling a Consumer Culture     
     Transforming American Society        
     Early Regulation of Advertising        
THE EVOLUTION OF U.S. ADVERTISING: 1950s TO TODAY   
     Visual Design Comes to the Fore         
     New Breeds of Advertising Agencies Are Born     
     Ad Agencies Develop a Distinctive Structure     
     The Internet Alters the Ad Landscape       
PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES IN CONTEMPORARY ADVERTISING  
     Using Conventional Persuasive Strategies      
     Associating Products with Values        
     Telling Stories           
     Placing Products in Media         
COMMERCIAL SPEECH AND REGULATION OF ADVERTISING  
     Targeting Children and Teens        
     Triggering Anorexia and Overeating       
     Promoting Smoking          
     Promoting Drinking          
     Hawking Drugs Directly to Consumers      
     Monitoring the Advertising Industry       
ADVERTISING IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY      
CHAPTER ESSENTIALS         

 

Chapter 11- Public Relations and Framing the Message    
EARLY HISTORY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS      
     Age of the Press Agent: P. T. Barnum and Buffalo Bill    
     Business Adopts Press Agent Methods     
     Professional Public Relations Emerges     
THE EVOLUTION OF PUBLIC RELATIONS     
     PR Agencies and In-House PR Services     
     A Closer Look at Public-Relations Functions      
TENSIONS BETWEEN PUBLIC RELATIONS AND THE PRESS   
     Elements of Interdependence         
     Journalists' Skepticism About PR Practices      
     Shaping PR's Image          
PUBLIC RELATIONS IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY      
CHAPTER ESSENTIALS        

  

PART THREE: MEDIA EXPRESSIONS

 

Chapter 12- The Culture of Journalism: Values, Ethics, and Democracy 
MODERN JOURNALISM IN THE INFORMATION AGE    
     What Is News?           
     Values in American Journalism       

ETHICS AND THE NEWS MEDIA  
     Ethical Predicaments          
     Resolving Ethical Dilemmas        
REPORTING RITUALS         
     Focusing on the Present       
     Relying on Experts        
     Creating and Balancing Story Conflict     
     Acting as Adversaries        
JOURNALISM IN THE AGE OF TV AND THE INTERNET   
     Comparing Print and TV News      
     Adapting to the Internet       
     The Power of Visual Language      
ALTERNATIVE MODELS: PUBLIC JOURNALISM AND FAKE NEWS 
     Public Journalism        
     Fake News         
JOURNALISM IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY      
CHAPTER ESSENTIALS        

 

Chapter 13- Legal Controls and Freedom of Expression    
THE ORIGINS OF FREE EXPRESSION AND FREE PRESS     
     A Closer Look at the First Amendment     
     Interpretations of “Free Expression”      
     The Evolution of Censorship       
     Unprotected Forms of Expression      
     First Amendment versus Sixth Amendment     
THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND FILM      
     Citizens and Lawmakers Control the Movies    
     The Movie Industry Regulates Itself      
THE FIRST AMENDMENT, BROADCASTING, AND THE INTERNET   

     Two Pivotal Court Cases       
     Dirty Words, Indecent Speech, and Hefty Fines    
     Political Broadcasts and Equal Opportunity    
     Fair Coverage of Controversial Issues     
     Communication Policy and the Internet     
THE FIRST AMENDMENT IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY   
CHAPTER ESSENTIALS        

 

Chapter 14- Media Economics and the Global Marketplace   
ANALYZING THE MEDIA ECONOMY      
     How Media Industries Are Structured     
     How Media Companies Operate      
     How the Internet Is Changing the Game     
THE TRANSITION TO AN INFORMATION ECONOMY   
     Deregulation Trumps Regulation      
     The Rise of Media Powerhouses      
     Business Trends in Media Industries     
     The Age of Hegemony       
SPECIALIZATION AND GLOBAL MARKETS     
     The Rise of Specialization and Synergy     
     Disney: A Postmodern Media Conglomerate    
     The Growth of Global Audiences      
SOCIAL ISSUES IN MEDIA ECONOMICS     
     The Limits of Antitrust Laws      
     A Vast Silence        
     Cultural Imperialism       
THE MEDIA MARKETPLACE IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY   
CHAPTER ESSENTIALS       

 

Chapter 15- Social Scientific and Cultural Approaches to Research  
EARLY MEDIA RESEARCH METHODS      
     Propaganda Analysis       
     Public-Opinion Research       
     Social-Psychology Studies       
     Marketing Research        
SOCIAL SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH       
     Early Theories of Media Effects      
     Early Approaches to Social Scientific Media Research   
     Contemporary Media-Effects Theories     
     Evaluating Social Scientific Research     
CULTURAL APPROACHES TO MEDIA RESEARCH    
     Early Developments in Cultural Studies Media Research  
     Contemporary Cultural Studies Approaches    
     Evaluating Cultural Studies Research     
MEDIA RESEARCH IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY    
CHAPTER ESSENTIALS 
       
Notes  
Glossary 
Index