The Media Studies Reader

by Tim O'Sullivan (Editor)

A stimulating introduction to the key debates and dimensions in media studies, this Reader is a valuable resource for first level students. Posing questions about the nature of culture in modern society, it looks at the historical development of the various media, their relationship with modernity and the critical commentaries that have evolved as a result of their public and private presence. The readings encompass a wide range of media forms, from television, radio, film, magazines, newspapers and advertising to emergent and changing media forms focusing on media production, media texts and media reception. The comprehensive selection of both short and complete extracts is set in context and linked throughout by means of an engaging, student-friendly commentary, a set of questions to promote discussion and suggestions for further reading, making this an essential introduction to studying of the media in its public, private and popular forms.

480 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Tim O'Sullivan came from incredibly humble beginnings. Born to Irish immigrants, he and his siblings lived a hand-to-mouth existence when their father abandoned them and their mother.

Coming from an impoverished background and with little in the way of a career ahead of him, Tim worked his way through many different jobs before eventually taking up an apprenticeship as a refrigeration engineer. Eventually, Tim set up his own company.

Tim managed to overcome his dirt-poor beginnings to establish a successful business, suffering heartbreaking loss along the way and prejudice as the child of immigrants.

Having come from a childhood that offered few prospects, he would go on to build a successful refrigeration and air-conditioning business and later a property company in Leicester.