Media Studies: An Introductory Guide

by Sue Thornham

Media A Reader provides a thorough introduction to the full range of theoretical perspectives on the mass media from the past thirty years. Ranging from the arguments between the American mass communication tradition and the Europe-centered Frankfurt School of the 1940s, to the analyses of communication technologies by Marshall McLuhan and Raymond Williams in the 1960s, Media A Reader maps the mass media field, its varied and often conflicting histories, and its current debates.Sixty-five articles provide comprehensive coverage of all the main theorists and approaches. The first half, Studying the Media, explores in detail three core elements of media production and regulation of mass media; media texts; and reception and consumption of media. The second half brings together concrete examples of how theoretical debates can be realized in a series of case studies on soap operas, the news, and advertising.

A general introduction and introductions to each section summarize and contextualize the debates.

Contributors Theodor W. Adorno, Marshal McLuhan, Raymond Williams, Stuart Hall, Annette Kuhn, Jürgen Habermas, John Fiske, Richard Dyer, Niki Strange, Danae Clark, Angela McRobbie, Bill Nichols, Lynne Joyrich, David Morley, Ien Ang, Janice Radway, Henry Jenkins, Tania Modleski, Anne McClintock, Sadie Plant.

240 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1998