Questioning the Media : A Critical Introduction

by John D. H. Downing

• ISBN13: 9780803971974
• ISBN10: 0803971974
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1995-03-15
• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc

Summary

The Second Edition of this successful text has been updated and extensively revised to provide students with an engaging introduction to media studies.Practical and accessible, Questioning the Media invites readers to be active participants in the process of understanding the importance of the media today. New chapters on media and identity, global media influences, computer-mediated communication, feminist media theories, popular music and news coverage of AIDS enhance the previous collection of original works by distinguished contributors.With helpful introductions to each section and chapter, this innovative volume offers diverse critical perspectives on media studies, political economy, cultural studies, the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory, feminism, audience ethnography and cultural dependency. Students can examine thoroughly topics in mass culture, technology, international communication and more. Throughout the book sophisticated terms and concepts are explained, making this the ideal critical introduction to media studies.

Table of Contents

PART I: INTRODUCTORY PERSPECTIVES: CULTURE, HISTORY, TECHNOLOGY - Alan O'Connor and John Downing

Culture and Communication - Annabelle Sreberny-Mohammadi

Forms of Media as Ways of Knowing - Joshua Meyrowitz

Mediating Communication

What Happens? - Brian Winston

How Are Media Born and Developed?

PART II: MEDIA, POWER AND CONTROL - Edward Herman

Media in the US Political Economy - Cedric J Robinson

Mass Media and the US Presidency - Donna A Demac and John Downing

The Tug-of-War over the First Amendment - Am[ac]erica Rodr[ac]iguez

Control Mechanisms of National News Making

Britain, Canada, Mexico and the United States - Denis McQuail

Western European Media

The Mixed Model under Threat - Andrew Jakubowicz

Media in Multicultural Nations

Some Comparisons - John Downing

Media, Dictatorship and the Reemergence of `Civil Society'

PART III: AUDIENCES AND USERS - Ien Ang

The Nature of the Audience - Oscar H Gandy Jr

Tracking the Audience

Personal Information and Privacy - John Downing

Alternative Media and the Boston Tea Party

PART IV: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES - Nikhil Sinha and Allucqu[ac]ere Rosanne Stone

Computers and Communication - Donna A Demac with Liching Sung

New Communication Technologies and Deregulation - Cees J Hamelink

Information Imbalance across the Globe

PART V: MASS MEDIA AND POPULAR CULTURE - Liesbet van Zoonen

Gender, Representation and the Media - Douglas Kellner

Advertising and Consumer Culture - Ash Corea

Racism and the American Way of Media - Ali Mohammadi

Cultural Imperialism and Cultural Identity - Keith Negus

Popular Music

Between Celebration and Despair - Mary Desjardins

Cinema and Communication - Kevin Williams and David Miller

AIDS News and News Cultures - Annabelle Sreberny-Mohammadi

Global News Media Cover the World - Sari Thomas

Myths in and about Television

Entertainers and Economics - Michael Real

Sport and the Spectacle