The reference will discuss mass media around the world in their varied forms—newspapers, magazines, radio, television, film, books, music, websites, and social media—and will describe the role of each in both mirroring and shaping society.

Setting the Agenda describes the mass media’s significant and sometimes controversial role in determining which topics are at the centre of public attention and action. Although Walter Lippman captured the essence of the media’s powerful influence early in the last century with his phrase, “the world outside and the pictures in our heads,” a detailed, empirical elaboration of this agenda-setting role of the mass media did not begin until the final quarter of the 20th century. In this comprehensive book, Maxwell McCombs, one of the founding fathers of agenda-setting tradition of research, synthesizes the hundreds of scientific studies carried out on this central role of the mass media in the shaping of public opinion. Across the world, the mass media strongly influences what the pictures of public affairs "in our heads" are about. The mass media also influences the very details of those pictures. In addition to describing this media influence on what we think about and how we think about it, Setting the Agenda also discusses the sources of these media agendas, the psychological explanation for their impact on the public agenda, and the subsequent consequences for attitudes, opinions and behaviour.

Mass Media and Health: Examining Media Impact on Individuals and the Health Environment covers media health influences from a variety of angles, including the impact on individual and public health, the intentionality of these effects, and the nature of the outcomes. Author Kim Walsh-Childers helps readers understand the influence that mass media has on an individual’s health beliefs and, in turn, their behaviors. She explains how public health policy can be affected, altering the environment in which a community’s members make choices, and discusses the unintentional health effects of mass media, examining them through the strategic lens of news framing and advocacy campaigns. Written for students across a variety of disciplines, Mass Media and Health will serve as primary reading for courses examining the broader view of mass media and health impacts, as well as providing supplemental reading for courses on health communication, public health campaigns, health journalism, and media effects.

Rev. ed. of: Media and culture. 2nd ed. c2000. Includes bibliographical references (p. 575-582) and index.

Diversity in U.S. Mass Media provides comprehensive coverage of the evolution and issues surrounding portrayals of social groups within the mass media of the United States. Focuses on past and current mass media representations of social groups Provides an overview of key theories that have guided research in mass media representations and stereotyping Discusses the impact new media has on representation and how technology is giving a new voice to various social groups Includes a chapter on how mass media industries are addressing diversity, complete with specially-commissioned interviews with media professionals Offers helpful supplementary features such as a glossary, questions for reflection, suggestions for projects related to diversity in mass media, and online resources for both instructors and students Accompanying website provides a glossary, links to related sites, recommendations of films to watch in the classroom, ideas for research projects, and an instructor's manual with sample syllabi