The Media of Mass Communication: United States Edition - Softcover

Vivian, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0205693059 ISBN 13: 9780205693054

Publisher: Pearson, 2010

Synopsis

Updated in a new 10th edition, this book is organized around a "balanced" approach and provides the principles and foundations of media literacy with coverage of contemporary media issues.

This book covers the on-going transformations in mass media and offers accessible insight into the important issues through lively examples, streamlined coverage, and a robust media tools.

About this title

From the Back Cover

If you’re wondering why you should buy this new edition of The Media of Mass Communication, here are 5 good reasons!

 

This is the most exciting time in human history to be studying mass media. So much is in flux. Although self-proclaimed gurus are everywhere, nobody knows for certain how the commotion will really settle. This new edition of The Media of Mass Communication will help you see why the media are in such a tumultuous transition and provide you with tools for understanding the reshaping of entire the media industry. Reflecting the transformations in the mass media, this 10th edition is the most thorough overhaul in the book’s 20-year history. Consider these changes:

 

1. New Media Landscape. A new chapter explores the contemporary media landscape that is daily more dominated by digital delivery. What is shaping this new landscape? What will our media landscape look like tomorrow? Is there a place for traditional media industries? Traditional content? How will media people stay on top of their game? Is Glenn Beck the future? Or Arianna Huffington? Or, as Time magazine suggested in its annual Person of the Year cover article, is the future you? Think Facebook. Think Twitter.

 

2. Media Economics. A new chapter, “Media Economics,” underscores how mass media are driven by financial engines. The economic dynamics are complex and entire industries are rising and falling as you read this. How much longer will newspapers be with us? What are the implications? How will society be different without newspapers? How will the shifting industry affect citizen involvement in public policy? Can democracy survive in such a drastically different media environment?

 

3. Fading Industries. Until recently the primary print media―newspapers, magazines and books―each warranted a chapter. No more. Industries rooted in Gutenberg technology are becoming an ever-thinner sliver of the media landscape. Reflecting this reality, the 10th Edition has consolidated the major print media into a single chapter, “Ink On Paper,” the conceptually related industries of radio and sound recording into “Sound Media”, and the movie and television industries into “Visual Media.”

 

4. Media Infrastructure. Throughout this edition are updates on dramatic changes that are afoot in underlying structures of media industries. The recording industry, as an example, wobbled to the verge of extinction with the advent of digital downloads. Questions are being asked about the validity of copyright protections in the 21st century. Those protections, embedded in the U.S. Constitution, could force an entire reinvention of media structures and practices. Can Hollywood survive this new era of content downloading?

 

5. Updated MyCommunicationLab for Mass Communication. (www.mycommunicationlab.com) New features

in this interactive and instructive online solution help foster your understanding of media literacy and provide you with opportunities to learn more about careers in the media. The tenth edition is a tool to help you as a student become more intelligent and discerning as a media consumer. If you plan on a media career, the book is intended to orient you to the courses that will follow in your curriculum. This book, though, is only one of many tools for staying on top of the subject for many years to come.

About the Author

John Vivian's academic home is Winona State University in Minnesota, where has taught a wide range of mass communication courses. He holds a Medill journalism degree from Northwestern University and earlier from Gonzaga University. He has done additional work at Marquette University and the University of Minnesota. As an undergrad Vivian worked for United Press International. Later he joined the Associated Press in four Western cities. His work has won numerous professional awards, including Minaret Awards as an Army Reservist. Vivian is a former national president of Text and Academic Authors. His The Media of Mass Communication has been the leading textbook in its field since the first edition. Judges for the TAA Texty Award gave the title the first perfect score in history. Vivian is at home in the scholarly and pedagogical journals of his field. With Alfred Lorenz, he co-authored News Reporting and Writing. Besides journalism, public relations and advertising, Vivian's academic focus is media law and history. He invites feedback from students and adopters at jvivian@winona.edu.

About this edition

• Publisher: Pearson
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0205693059
• ISBN 13: 9780205693054
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 504