Democracy in the 20th century is intimately linked to the communications media. Understanding the functioning and health of contemporary political systems requires an appreciation of the role of the media in general and in particular, television. The theoretical concepts of civil society and the public sphere are clarified alongside a critical analysis of the practice of television as journalism, as information and as entertainment. The author demonstrates the limits and possibilites of the television medium and the formats of popular journalism. These questions are linked to the potential of the audience to interpret or resist messages, and to construct its own meanings. What does a realistic understanding of the working and capabilites of television imply for citizenship and democracy in a mediated age? Relatiing the social and cultural theory of mediated societies to the actual realities of televised communication, this text should be useful reading for students of media and communication studies, sociology and politics of the media.
The Economics and Politics of Convergence and Concentration in the UK and European Media
This book offers an up-to-date and timely critical overview of the contemporary media environment. The author: - examines the socio-political and cultural implications of media concentration - analyses how policy makers have responded - investigates the commercial and strategic advantages of consolidation - assesses the relationship between media ......
Praise for the First Edition: `I can't think of a book in media studies that handles so well the diversity of perspectives and issues that Stevenson addresses. Whether reconstructing Marxism or deconstructing postmodernism, tackling the pleasures of soap opera or the repetitive structures of daily news presentation, Stevenson is always clear and insightful' - Sociology The Second Edition of this book provides a comprehensive overview of the ways in which social theory has attempted to theorize the importance of the media in contemporary society. Now fully revised to take account of the recent theoretical developments associated with `new media' and `information society', as well as the audience and the public sphere, Understanding Media Cultures: - Critically examines the key social theories of mass communication - Highlights the work of individual theorists including Fiske, Williams, Hall, Habermas, Jameson, McLuhan and Baudrillard. - Covers the important traditions of media analysis from feminism, cultural studies and audience research. - Now includes a discussion of recent perspectives developed by Castells, Haraway, Virilio and Schiller. - Provides a glossary of key terms in media and social theory. Retaining all the strengths of the previous edition, Understanding Media Cultures offers a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the field. It will be essential reading for students of social theory, media and cultural studies.
This volume reveals how the news agencies have contributed both to the process of globalization and to the process of national construction. By both describing and theorizing these media, this book provides a critical survey of the contemporary international news business. The contributors take a look at news agencies from institutional, ......
This contribution to the expanding area of globalization in sociological and cultural studies has two organizing themes: social theory and social change. The contributors, who include Zygmunt Bauman, Jonathan Friedman, Anthony King, Ann Game and Goran Therborn concentrate on the spatialization of social theory, and offer a critique of previous positions on the study of modernity which have tended to prioritize history. This study argues for a self-reflexive approach to modernity, stresses the fluid character of interdependence and movement, and provides a commentary on the interplay between the local and the global, showing how global processes structure personal and social consciousness.
This book examines the complex and dynamic relationship between the popular press and popular culture. Martin Conboy rejects approaches to popular culture which restrict themselves to the contemporary, arguing for the importance of an historical perspective in understanding the contemporary relationship between the popular and the press. ......
In this book, Chris Atton offers an introduction to alternative media: one which is not limited to 'radical' media, but can also account for newer cultural forms such as zines, fanzines, and personal web- sites. Alternative Media: * examines how and why people produce and use alternative media - to make meaning, to interpret, and to change the ......
This contribution to the expanding area of globalization in sociological and cultural studies has two organizing themes: social theory and social change. The contributors, who include Zygmunt Bauman, Jonathan Friedman, Anthony King, Ann Game and Goran Therborn concentrate on the spatialization of social theory, and offer a critique of previous positions on the study of modernity which have tended to prioritize history. This study argues for a self-reflexive approach to modernity, stresses the fluid character of interdependence and movement, and provides a commentary on the interplay between the local and the global, showing how global processes structure personal and social consciousness.
Representing Black Britain offers the first critical history of Black and Asian representation on British television from the earliest days of broadcasting to the present day. Working through programmes as wide-ranging as the early documentaries to 'ethic sitcoms' and youth television, this book provides a detailed analysis of shifting ......
