Description
Table of Contents
1 Mass Communication: A Critical Approach 
Culture and the Evolution of Mass Communication 
Oral and Written Eras in Communication 
The Print Revolution 
The Electronic Era 
The Digital Era
The Linear Model of Mass Communication
A Cultural Model for Understanding Mass Communication
The Development of Media and Their Role in Our Society 
The Evolution of Media: From Emergence to Convergence 
Media Convergence 
Stories: The Foundation of Media 
Media Stories in Everyday Life 
Agenda Setting and Gatekeeping 
Surveying the Cultural Landscape 
EXAMINING ETHICS Covering War and Displaying Images 
Culture as a Skyscraper 
Culture as a Map 
Cultural Values of the Modern Period 
Shifting Values in Postmodern Culture 
Critiquing Media and Culture 
Media Literacy and the Critical Process 
MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS 
Benefits of a Critical Perspective 
CHAPTER REVIEW 
LaunchPad 
For videos, review quizzing, and more, visit LaunchPad for Media & Culture at launchpadworks.com
PART 1: DIGITAL MEDIA AND CONVERGENCE 
2 The Internet, Digital Media, and Media Convergence 
The Development of the Internet and the Web 
The Birth of the Internet 
The Net Widens 
The Commercialization of the Internet 
Social Media and Democracy 
EXAMINING ETHICS Social Media Fraud and Elections 
Convergence and Mobile Media 
Media Converges on Our PCs and TVs 
Mobile Devices Propel Convergence 
The Impact of Media Convergence and Mobile Media 
The Next Era: The Semantic Web 
The Economics and Issues of the Internet 
Ownership: Controlling the Internet 
Targeted Advertising and Data Mining 
GLOBAL VILLAGE Designed in California, Assembled in China 
Security: The Challenge to Keep Personal Information Private 
MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS Note to Self for Healthy Digital Consumption 
Appropriateness: What Should Be Online? 
Access: The Fight to Prevent a Digital Divide 
Net Neutrality: Maintaining an Open Internet 
Net Neutrality 
Alternative Voices
The Internet and Democracy 
CHAPTER REVIEW 
LaunchPad 
3 Digital Gaming and the Media Playground 
The Development of Digital Gaming 
Mechanical Gaming 
The First Video Games 
Arcades and Classic Games 
Consoles and Advancing Graphics 
Gaming on PCs 
Portable Players
The Internet Transforms Gaming 
MMORPGs, MOBAs, Virtual Worlds, and Social Gaming 
Gaming Apps  
The Media Playground 
Video Game Genres 
Communities of Play: Inside the Game 
Communities of Play: Outside the Game 
GLOBAL VILLAGE Phones in Hand, the World Finds Pokémon (and Wizards) 
Trends and Issues in Digital Gaming 
Electronic Gaming and Media Culture 
Video Games at the Movies 
Electronic Gaming and Advertising 
Addiction and Other Concerns 
Examining Ethics The Gender Problem in Digital Games
Regulating Gaming
MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS First-Person Shooter Games: Misogyny as Entertainment? 
The Future of Gaming and Interactive Environments 
The Business of Digital Gaming 
The Ownership and Organization of Digital Gaming 
The Structure of Digital Game Publishing 
Selling Digital Games 
Alternative Voices 
Digital Gaming, Free Speech, and Democracy 
CHAPTER REVIEW 
LaunchPad 
PART 2: Sounds and Images 
4 Sound Recording and Popular Music 
The Development of Sound Recording 
From Cylinders to Disks: Sound Recording Becomes a Mass Medium 
From Phonographs to CDs: Analog Goes Digital 
Convergence: Sound Recording in the Internet Age 
Recording Music Today 
The Rocky Relationship between Records and Radio 
U.S. Popular Music and the Formation of Rock 
The Rise of Pop Music 
Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay 
Rock Muddies the Waters 
Battles in Rock and Roll 
A Changing Industry: Reformations in Popular Music 
The British Are Coming! 
Motor City Music: Detroit Gives America Soul 
Folk and Psychedelic Music Reflect the Times 
MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS Music Preferences across Generations 
Punk and Indie Respond to Mainstream Rock 
Hip-Hop Redraws Musical Lines 
The Reemergence of Pop 
The Business of Sound Recording 
Music Labels Influence the Industry 
Making, Selling, and Profiting from Music 
GLOBAL VILLAGE Latin Pop Goes Mainstream
Alternative Strategies for Music Marketing 
Examining Ethics The Music Industry’s Day of Reckoning
Alternative Voices 
Streaming Music Videos 
Sound Recording, Free Expression, and Democracy 
CHAPTER REVIEW 
LaunchPad 
5 Popular Radio and the Origins of Broadcasting 
Early Technology and the Development of Radio 
Maxwell and Hertz Discover Radio Waves 
Marconi and the Inventors of Wireless Telegraphy 
Wireless Telephony: De Forest and Fessenden 
Regulating a New Medium 
The Evolution of Radio 
Building the First Networks 
Sarnoff and NBC: Building the “Blue” and “Red” Networks 
Government Scrutiny Ends RCA-NBC Monopoly 
CBS and Paley: Challenging NBC 
Bringing Order to Chaos with the Radio Act of 1927 
The Golden Age of Radio 
Radio Reinvents Itself 
Transistors Make Radio Portable 
The FM Revolution and Edwin Armstrong 
The Rise of Format and Top 4 Radio 
Resisting the Top 4  
The Sounds of Commercial Radio 
Format Specialization 
Examining Ethics How Did Talk Radio Become So One Sided? 
Nonprofit Radio and NPR 
MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS Comparing Commercial and Noncommercial Radio 
New Radio Technologies Offer More Stations 
Going Visual: Video, Radio, and the Web 
Radio and Convergence 
GLOBAL VILLAGE Radio Stories from Around the World 
Radio: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow 
The Economics of Broadcast Radio 
Local and National Advertising 
Manipulating Playlists with Payola 
Radio Ownership: From Diversity to Consolidation 
Alternative Voices 
Radio and the Democracy of the Airwaves 
CHAPTER REVIEW 
LaunchPad 
6 Television and Cable: The Power of Visual Culture 
The Origins and Development of Television 
Early Innovations in TV Technology 
Electronic Technology: Zworykin and Farnsworth 
Controlling Content—TV Grows Up 
The Development of Cable 
CATV—Community Antenna Television 
The Wires and Satellites behind Cable Television 
Cable Threatens Broadcasting 
Cable Services 
DBS: Cable without Wires 
GLOBAL VILLAGEÂ Telling and Selling Stories around the World
Technology and Convergence Change Viewing Habits 
Television Networks Evolve 
Home Video 
The Third Screen: TV Converges with the Internet 
Fourth Screens: Smartphones and Mobile Video 
EXAMINING ETHICSÂ #MeToo and TV Station Policy
Major Programming Trends 
TV Entertainment: Our Comic Culture 
TV Entertainment: Our Dramatic Culture 
Television Drama: Then and Now 
TV Information: Our Daily News Culture 
Reality TV and Other Enduring Genres 
Public Television Struggles to Find Its Place 
MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS TV and the State of Storytelling 
Regulatory Challenges to Television and Cable 
What Makes Public Television Public? 
Government Regulations Temporarily Restrict Network Control 
Balancing Cable’s Growth against Broadcasters’ Interests 
Franchising Frenzy 
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 
The Economics and Ownership of Television and Cable 
Production 
Distribution 
Syndication Keeps Shows Going and Going . . . 
Measuring Television Viewing 
The Major Programming Corporations 
Alternative Voices 
Television, Cable, and Democracy 
CHAPTER REVIEW 
LaunchPad 
7 Movies and the Impact of Images 
Early Technology and the Evolution of Movies 
The Development of Film 
The Introduction of Narrative 
The Arrival of Nickelodeons 
The Rise of the Hollywood Studio System 
Production 
Distribution 
Exhibition 
The Studio System’s Golden Age 
Hollywood Narrative and the Silent Era 
The Introduction of Sound 
The Development of the Hollywood Style 
Breaking Barriers with 12 Years a Slave 
Outside the Hollywood System 
Examining Ethics Breaking through Hollywood’s Race Barrier 
GLOBAL VILLAGE Beyond Hollywood: Asian Cinema 
The Transformation of the Studio System 
The Hollywood Ten 
The Paramount Decision 
Moving to the Suburbs 
Television Changes Hollywood 
Hollywood Adapts to Home Entertainment 
The Economics of the Movie Business 
Production, Distribution, and Exhibition Today 
The Major Studio Players 
MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS The Blockbuster Mentality 
Convergence: Movies Adjust to the Digital Turn 
Alternative Voices 
Popular Movies and Democracy 
More Than a Movie: Social Issues and Film 
CHAPTER REVIEW 
LaunchPad 
PART 3: Words and Pictures 
8 Newspapers: The Rise and Decline of Modern Journalism 
The Evolution of American Newspapers 
Colonial Newspapers and the Partisan Press 
The Penny Press Era: Newspapers Become Mass Media 
The Age of Yellow Journalism: Sensationalism and Investigation 
Competing Models of Modern Print Journalism 
“Objectivity” in Modern Journalism 
Interpretive Journalism 
Literary Forms of Journalism 
Contemporary Journalism in the TV and Internet Age 
Newspapers and the Internet: Convergence 
The Business and Ownership of Newspapers 
Consensus versus Conflict: Newspapers Play Different Roles 
MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS Covering the News Media Business 
Newspapers Target Specific Readers 
Newspaper Operations 
Examining Ethics Alternative Journalism: The Activism of Dorothy Day and I. F. Stone 
Newspaper Ownership: Chains Lose Their Grip 
Joint Operating Agreements Combat Declining Competition 
Challenges Facing Newspapers Today 
Readership Declines in the United States 
GLOBAL VILLAGEÂ Newspaper Readership across the Globe
Going Local: How Small and Campus Papers Retain Readers 
Community Voices: Weekly Newspapers 
Convergence: Newspapers Struggle in the Move to Digital 
New Models for Journalism 
Alternative Voices 
Newspapers and Democracy 
CHAPTER REVIEW 
LaunchPad 
9 Magazines in the Age of Specialization 
The Early History of Magazines 
The First Magazines 
Magazines in Colonial America 
U.S. Magazines in the Nineteenth Century 
National, Women’s, and Illustrated Magazines 
The Development of Modern American Magazines 
Social Reform and the Muckrakers 
The Rise of General-Interest Magazines 
Examining Ethics The Evolution of Photojournalism  
The Fall of General-Interest Magazines 
Convergence: Magazines Confront the Digital Age 
The Domination of Specialization 
Magazine Specialization Today 
Men’s and Women’s Magazines 
GLOBAL VILLAGEÂ Cosmopolitan Style Travels the World
Sports, Entertainment, and Leisure Magazines 
Magazines for the Ages 
Elite Magazines 
Media Literacy and the Critical Process Uncovering American Beauty 
Minority-Targeted Magazines 
Supermarket Tabloids 
The Organization and Economics of Magazines 
Magazine Departments and Duties 
Narrowcasting in Magazines 
Major Magazine Chains 
Alternative Voices 
Magazines in a Democratic Society 
CHAPTER REVIEW 
LaunchPad 
1 Books and the Power of Print 
The History of Books, from Papyrus to Paperbacks 
The Development of Manuscript Culture 
The Innovations of Block Printing and Movable Type 
The Gutenberg Revolution: The Invention of the Printing Press 
The Birth of Publishing in the United States 
Modern Publishing and the Book Industry 
The Formation of Publishing Houses 
Types of Books 
EXAMINING ETHICS Contemporary Politics Revives Interest in Classic Novels 
Trends and Issues in Book Publishing 
Based On: Making Books into Movies 
Influences of Television and Film 
Audio Books 
Convergence: Books in the Digital Age 
Preserving and Digitizing Books 
Censorship and Banned Books 
GLOBAL VILLAGE Buenos Aires, the World’s Bookstore Capital 
MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS Banned Books and “Family Values” 
The Organization and Ownership of the Book Industry 
Ownership Patterns 
The Structure of Book Publishing 
Selling Books: Book Superstores and Independent Booksellers 
Selling Books Online 
Alternative Voices 
Books and the Future of Democracy 
CHAPTER REVIEW 
LaunchPad 
PART 4: The Business of Mass Media 
11 Advertising and Commercial Culture 
Early Developments in American Advertising 
The First Advertising Agencies 
Advertising in the 18 s 
Promoting Social Change and Dictating Values 
Early Ad Regulation 
The Shape of U.S. Advertising Today 
The Influence of Visual Design 
Types of Advertising Agencies 
The Structure of Ad Agencies 
Trends in Online Advertising 
Advertising in the Digital Age 
Persuasive Techniques in Contemporary Advertising 
Conventional Persuasive Strategies 
The Association Principle 
Advertising as Myth and Story 
Product Placement 
EXAMINING ETHICS Do Alcohol Ads Encourage Binge Drinking? 
MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS The Branded You 
Commercial Speech and Regulating Advertising 
Critical Issues in Advertising 
Advertising and Effects on Children 
GLOBAL VILLAGE Smoking Up the Global Market 
Watching Over Advertising 
Alternative Voices 
Advertising, Politics, and Democracy 
Advertising’s Role in Politics 
The Future of Advertising 
CHAPTER REVIEW 
LaunchPad 
12 Public Relations and Framing the Message 
Early Developments in Public Relations 
P. T. Barnum and Buffalo Bill 
Big Business and Press Agents 
The Birth of Modern Public Relations 
The Practice of Public Relations 
Approaches to Organized Public Relations 
Performing Public Relations 
EXAMINING ETHICS  Public Relations and “Alternative Facts”
GLOBAL VILLAGE Public Relations and Bananas 
Public Relations Adapts to the Internet Age 
Public Relations during a Crisis 
Tensions between Public Relations and the Press 
Elements of Professional Friction 
Give and Take: Public Relations and Journalism 
Shaping the Image of Public Relations 
Alternative Voices 
Public Relations and Democracy 
MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS The Invisible Hand of PR 
CHAPTER REVIEW 
LaunchPad 
13 Media Economics and the Global Marketplace 
Analyzing the Media Economy 
The Structure of the Media Industry 
The Business of Media Organizations 
EXAMINING ETHICSÂ Are the Big Digital Companies Too Big?
The Transition to an Information Economy 
From Regulation to Deregulation 
Media Powerhouses: Consolidation, Partnerships, and Mergers 
Business Tendencies in Media Industries 
Economics, Hegemony, and Storytelling 
Specialization, Global Markets, and Convergence 
The Rise of Specialization and Synergy 
Disney: A Postmodern Media Conglomerate 
Disney’s Global Brand 
Global Audiences Expand Media Markets 
The Internet and Convergence Change the Game 
MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS Cultural Imperialism and Movies 
Social Issues in Media Economics 
The Limits of Antitrust Laws 
GLOBAL VILLAGE China’s Dominant Media Corporations Rival America’s 
The Impact of Media Ownership 
The Fallout from a Free Market 
Cultural Imperialism 
The Media Marketplace and Democracy 
The Effects of Media Consolidation on Democracy 
The Media Reform Movement 
CHAPTER REVIEW 
LaunchPad 
PART 5: Democratic Expression and the Mass Media 
14 The Culture of Journalism: Values, Ethics, and Democracy 
Modern Journalism in the Information Age 
What Is News? 
Values in American Journalism 
GLOBAL VILLAGE  News Bias around the Globe 
Ethics and the News Media 
Ethical Predicaments 
Resolving Ethical Problems 
Reporting Rituals and the Legacy of Print Journalism 
Focusing on the Present 
MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS Telling Stories and Covering Disaster 
Relying on Experts…Usually Men 
Balancing Story Conflict 
Acting as Adversaries 
Journalism in the Age of TV and the Internet 
Differences between Print, TV, and Internet News 
Pundits, “Talking Heads,” and Politics 
Convergence Enhances and Changes Journalism 
The Contemporary Journalist: Pundit or Reporter? 
The Power of Visual Language 
Alternative Models: Public Journalism and “Fake” News 
The Rise and Decline of the Public Journalism Movement 
The Shifting Meanings of “Fake” News and the Rise of Satiric Journalism  
Democracy and Reimagining Journalism’s Role 
Social Responsibility 
Deliberative Democracy 
A Lost Generation of Journalists
EXAMINING ETHICS WikiLeaks, Secret Documents, and Good Journalism 
CHAPTER REVIEW 
LaunchPad 
15 Media Effects and Cultural Approaches to Research 
Early Media Research Methods 
Propaganda Analysis 
Public Opinion Research 
Social Psychology Studies 
Marketing Research 
Research on Media Effects 
Early Theories of Media Effects 
Media Effects Research 
Conducting Media Effects Research 
MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS Wedding Media and the Meaning of the Perfect Wedding Day 
Contemporary Media Effects Theories 
Evaluating Research on Media Effects 
Cultural Approaches to Media Research 
Early Developments in Cultural Studies Research 
GLOBAL VILLAGEÂ International Media Research
Conducting Cultural Studies Research 
EXAMINING ETHICS Our Masculinity Problem 
Cultural Studies’ Theoretical Perspectives 
Evaluating Cultural Studies Research 
Media Research and Democracy 
CHAPTER REVIEW 
LaunchPad 
16 Legal Controls and Freedom of Expression 
The Origins of Free Expression and a Free Press 
Models of Expression 
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution 
Censorship as Prior Restraint 
Unprotected Forms of Expression 
Media Literacy and the Critical Process Who Knows the First Amendment? 
CASE STUDY Is “Sexting” Pornography? 
First Amendment versus Sixth Amendment 
Film and the First Amendment 
Social and Political Pressures on the Movies 
Self-Regulation in the Movie Industry 
The MPAA Ratings System 
Expression in the Media: Print, Broadcast, and Online 
The FCC Regulates Broadcasting 
Dirty Words, Indecent Speech, and Hefty Fines 
Political Broadcasts and Equal Opportunity 
The Demise of the Fairness Doctrine 
Bloggers and Legal Rights 
Communication Policy and the Internet 
EXAMINING ETHICS  Is “Sexting” Pornography?
The First Amendment and Democracy 
CHAPTER REVIEW 
LaunchPad 
Extended Case Study Can We Trust Facebook with Our Personal Data?
Step 1: Description 
Step 2: Analysis 
Step 3: Interpretation 
Step 4: Evaluation 
Step 5: Engagement 
Notes
Glossary
Credits
Index
