Media/Society: Industries, Images, and Audiences

by David Croteau, William Hoynes

This book gives students an overview of the entire media process - from production to content to audiences - with an emphasis on how social forces influence the media and how media potentially affect society. A key emphasis throughout the work is how various elements in the media process interact with each other. This Third Edition of Media/Society provides students with conceptual tools for understanding the role of media in contemporary society - where mass media images come from, how and why they matter, and the kinds of questions and dilemmas that mass media raise about social life. 

Genres: Nonfiction, Sociology, Academic, Read For College

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Painful. An excruciatingly long read that only gets two starts because it DOES have educational value, but I'm not happy that I had to put up with it semester.

This book was assigned for my "Media & Society" course. Every chapter was a lesson in extreme discipline. I am a reader by nature, but this book completely failed to hold my attention. I would diligently take notes and STILL forget what I had just read. The authors are obviously well-schooled in what they are trying to convey, but the text is so dry you need a gallon of water sitting by you just to read a chapter. I usually space my text readings for any given class session over a few days to help absorb the information. It was impossible to do with this book, as I would forget what I had read the moment I closed the spine.

Croteau and his cohorts have put together a compendium that offers a lot of valuable information. They simply failed on their presentation to make it appealing to anyone with a sense of adventure.

[MM · Rating 3 out of 5]

So here's the thing. I do not like using textbooks when I teach. But I've been looking for the intro to media studies class -- something comprehensive, not too boring, not too simplified or didactic. So far so good with this one -- fits the bill. I'm supplementing it with articles and other books, and I imagine I'd use it again. Addendum: students found it boring, I think, and so did I eventually. I'm just not a fan of textbooks. I'll probably go back to assigning primary texts and using these for my own lectures.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a textbook, I was very impressed. This book captures the key issues necessary for learning about the development of media. As someone considering pursuing journalism, I felt that this book’s broad focus provided me with the context needed to start my exploration of the field.

[David Kirschner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really nice textbook for sociology of media. I think a new edition is coming out soon, as this one does feel a bit dated. Technology, social media, and research in these fields move so quickly that my students are constantly saying, "Well, Twitter isn't like this anymore," or "What about SnapChat?" and "The Oculus Rift shipped. Why doesn't this book have anything about VR?" and so on.

Besides the impossibility of being cutting edge, it's very well written, organized, and covers key topics without favoring any one pet topic. Great teacher resources as well--discussion questions, ideas for activities, journal articles, audiovisual materials, etc. Would use again.

[Ayeesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

i'm reading this book again for another class, and i think it does a great job of introducing someone to the field of "media studies."

in fact, the next time someone asks about what i study, i should just send them a copy of the book.

[Taylor Marr · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was reeeaaalllyyy dry, but it had some damn fine insight.

[Kimmy]

Creepy ass book cover.