Media Today: An Introduction to Mass Communication

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Media Today puts students at the center of the profound changes in the twenty-first century media world – from digital convergence to media ownership – and gives them the skills to think critically about what these changes mean for the role of media in their lives. Media Today, Fourth Edition is built around four key concepts: * A media systems apporach allows students to understand the interconnected cultural, political, and economic foreces that shape media they encounter every day. * Unique ins into media trends give students an insider's perspective on how media industries are responding to changes from globalization to social networking. * Focus on digital convergence shows in each chapter how digital media is transforming traditional mass media such as newspapers, magazines, and television. * A media literacy goal encourages and builds critical skills to make students more informed and engaged citizens in our media-driven society. Completely revised with updated examples, new case studies, and new online video resources, the 4th edition of Media Today connects the latest trends, debates, and technologies to the history of media, highlighting the impact and meaning of today's changes to the media landscape, especially how traditional industries have blurred together with digital convergence. This book uses a media systems approach to look closely at the production, distribution, and exhibition of media, from Hollywood films to Facebook, giving students an insider's perspective on how media industries operate. Exploring media through the cultural, political, and economic forces that shape them, Media Today builds media literacy to make students more informed consumers and more engaged citizens. Additional learning resources including a new set of online video resources, interactive quizzes, study resources, and instructor guides are available on the free companion website at www.routledge.com/textbooks/mediatoday4e.