Media Perspectives for the 21st Century brings together key international scholars to explore concepts, topics and issues concerning the communication environment in contemporary democratic societies. It combines qualitative and quantitative approaches to provide an interdisciplinary and truly global perspective that reflects the trends, theories and issues in current media and communication research. The collection raises significant questions about the study of the media by challenging approaches to major media and societal issues, and analyses in more depth the range of concerns that shape both the present and the future media landscape and the issues these can create for communication. It also investigates the main effects of technological developments on the domain of the news media and journalism. Divided into two main sections, Part I provides accounts of the role of the media in society, and deals with agendas that affect the field of communications studies. Part II goes on to examine the world of new media and offers analyses on the developments of the 21st century. Chapters deal with various dimensions of media from a number of different perspectives and socio-political contexts, covering a wide range of topics including Social Networking, Political Communication, Public Journalism, Global Infotainment and Consumer Culture. Media Perspectives for the 21st Century will be highly useful to undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as researchers and academics, in the fields of media and communication studies, mass communication, journalism and new media.

Hailed as one of the "most significant books of the twentieth century" by Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Mediating the Message has long been an essential text for media effects scholars and students of media sociology. This new edition of the classic media sociology textbook now offers students a comprehensive, theoretical approach to media content in the twenty-first century, with an added focus on entertainment media and the Internet.

Media events have been described as broadcasts that involve an engaged audience viewing the same event simultaneously; though this definition is still relevant, the way media outlets interact with and react to their audiences has greatly changed. This is in part due to the emergence of social media platforms which allow a participatory audience, something that genre-specific television channels now rely on. Because these genre-specific, 24-hour channels seek to hook viewers with hyperbolic presentation and the illusion of large media events, the original definition must be adapted. Global Perspectives on Media Events in Contemporary Society seeks to re-define the role of the media in relaying information about current events within a modern context. Determining what constitutes as and the proper presentation of a media event is of great importance given the ubiquity of media consumption. This book approaches the topic from historical, ceremonial, and globally cultural perspectives while addressing news, sports, and other significant current events. It is a vital resource for students and teachers of communication, media, and journalism, professionals in the media industry, policy makers, and sociologists.

Media Perspectives for the 21st Century brings together key international scholars to explore concepts, topics and issues concerning the communication environment in contemporary democratic societies. It combines qualitative and quantitative approaches to provide an interdisciplinary and truly global perspective that reflects the trends, theories and issues in current media and communication research. The collection raises significant questions about the study of the media by challenging approaches to major media and societal issues, and analyses in more depth the range of concerns that shape both the present and the future media landscape and the issues these can create for communication. It also investigates the main effects of technological developments on the domain of the news media and journalism. Divided into two main sections, Part I provides accounts of the role of the media in society, and deals with agendas that affect the field of communications studies. Part II goes on to examine the world of new media and offers analyses on the developments of the 21st century. Chapters deal with various dimensions of media from a number of different perspectives and socio-political contexts, covering a wide range of topics including Social Networking, Political Communication, Public Journalism, Global Infotainment and Consumer Culture. Media Perspectives for the 21st Century will be highly useful to undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as researchers and academics, in the fields of media and communication studies, mass communication, journalism and new media.

"There can be no doubt that social media has fundamentally transformed how people relate to each other and navigate the social environment of the contemporary era. While social media makes it easier than ever before for people to connect, it can also lead to negative effects on mental health and well-being, as it facilitates social comparison which, ironically, can leave people feeling more isolated and detached. Chapter One of this book explores how social movement actors utilize Instagram to deliver complex political messages and discusses the importance of understanding the possibilities and dangers of social media's influence on political reality. Chapter Two analyses online social comparison from a social psychological perspective and highlights the differences between its occurrence in face-to-face and social media contexts, as well as the implications for mental health. Chapter Three focuses on the influence of Instagram upon millennials' purchase intention via celebrity endorsement and other Instagram visuals, particularly in connection with the use of color and the visual attractiveness of celebrities. Lastly, Chapter Four addresses the semiotic aspects of Instagram by comparing a typical semiotic communication model to Instagram's communication model and explaining design aspects of Instagram's model"--

“a simple yet excellent overview of the multilayered path of audience research, tracing its evolution over the last century…” European Journal of Communication *How has the concept of 'the audience' changed over the past 50 years? *How do audiences become producers and not just consumers of media texts? *How are new media affecting the ways in which audiences are researched? The audience has been a central concept in both in media and cultural studies for some considerable time, not least because there seems little point exploring forms of increasingly global communication in terms of their content if the targets of media messages are not also the focus of study. This book ranges across a wide literature, taking both a chronological as well as thematic approach, in order to explore the ways in which the audience, as an analytical concept has changed, as well as examining the relationships which audiences have with texts and the ways in which they exert their power as consumers. We also look at the political economy of audiences and the ways in which they are 'delivered' to advertisers as well as attending to the ratings war being waged by broadcasters and the development of narrowcasting and niche audiences. Finally, the book looks ahead to the future of audience research, suggesting that new genres such as 'reality TV' and new ICTs such as the internet, are already revolutionising the way in which research with audiences is taking place in the 21st century, not least because of the level of interactivity enabled by new media.

Africa’s Media Image in the 21st Century is the first book in over twenty years to examine the international media’s coverage of sub-Saharan Africa. It brings together leading researchers and prominent journalists to explore representation of the continent, and the production of that image, especially by international news media. The book highlights factors that have transformed the global media system, changing whose perspectives are told and the forms of media that empower new voices. Case studies consider questions such as: how has new media changed whose views are represented? Does Chinese or diaspora media offer alternative perspectives for viewing the continent? How do foreign correspondents interact with their audiences in a social media age? What is the contemporary role of charity groups and PR firms in shaping news content? They also examine how recent high profile events and issues been covered by the international media, from the Ebola crisis, and Boko Haram to debates surrounding the "Africa Rising" narrative and neo-imperialism. The book makes a substantial contribution by moving the academic discussion beyond the traditional critiques of journalistic stereotyping, Afro-pessimism, and ‘darkest Africa’ news coverage. It explores the news outlets, international power dynamics, and technologies that shape and reshape the contemporary image of Africa and Africans in journalism and global culture.