Mass Communication: Living in a Media World

"Mass Communication" delivers an engaging and compact introduction to the field of mass comm without the glitz that does little to improve students' ability to be smarter consumers of media or think critically about the media's role in today's society. Ralph E. Hanson combines solid content, incisive analysis, fun and conversational writing in a highly readable and informative text. Employing an effective media literacy perspective, Hanson shows students that media are not something to be feared or demonized, but rather are an essential part of our lives that should be thoughtfully consumed.
Updated to reflect changes in the media landscape, "Mass Communication" offers expanded discussion of: the role of social media in breaking domestic and international news stories; video games as a form of interactive media; the newspaper industry's continuing financial woes; further consolidation of the media industry with the NBC/Comcast merger and the News Corporation's purchase of the "Wall Street Journal"; public relations as a way of creating, developing, and nurturing relationships between an organization and its key publics; and, integrated marketing communication in the advertising chapter. Chapter-opening vignettes feature media professionals from Jon Stewart and Annie Leibovitz to Steve Jobs and Twitter founders Evan Williams, Jack Dorsey, and Biz Stone. Timelines place important media events in a broader historical context. Test your media literacy boxes showcase current research, interviews, or noteworthy events with questions that model critical thinking, helping to cultivate critical media consumption. There is a marginal glossary that helps reinforce learning of key concepts as students read.