When Marshall McLuhan first coined the phrases global village and the medium is the message in 1964, no-one could have predicted today's information-dependent planet. No-one, that is, except for a handful of science fiction writers and Marshall McLuhan. Understanding Media was written twenty years before the PC revolution and thirty years before the rise of the Internet. Yet McLuhan's insights into our engagement with a variety of media led to a complete rethinking of our entire society. He believed that the message of electronic media foretold the end of humanity as it was known. In 1964, this looked like the paranoid babblings of a madman. In our twenty-first century digital world, the madman looks quite sane. Understanding Media: the most important book ever written on communication. Ignore its message at your peril.

This volume maps the landscape of media in Ireland from the foundation of the modern state in 1922 to the present. Covering all principal media forms, print and electronic, in the Republic and in Northern Ireland, the author shows how Irish history and politics have shaped the media of Ireland and, in turn, have been shaped by them. Beginning in a country ravaged by civil war, it traces the complexities of wartime censorship and details the history of media technology, from the development of radio to the inauguration of television in the 1950s and 1960s. It covers the birth, development and - sometimes - the death of major Irish media during this period, examining the reasons for failure and success, and government attempts to regulate and respond to change. Finally, it addresses questions of media globalization, ownership and control, and looks at issues of key significance for the future. It aims to demonstrates why, in a country whose political divisions and economic development have given it a place on the world stage out of all proportion to its size, the media have been and remain key players in Irish history.

Irish Media: A Critical History maps the landscape of media in Ireland from the foundation of the modern state in 1922 to the present. Covering all principal media forms, print and electronic, in the Republic and in Northern Ireland, John Horgan shows how Irish history and politics have shaped the media of Ireland and, in turn, have been shaped by them.
Beginning in a country ravaged by civil war, it traces the complexities of wartime censorship and details the history of media technology, from the development of radio to the inauguration of television in the 1950s and 1960s. It covers the birth, development and - sometimes - the death of major Irish media during this period, examining the reasons for failure and success, and government attempts to regulate and respond to change. Finally, it addresses questions of media globalisation, ownership and control, and looks at issues of key significance for the future.
Horgan demonstrates why, in a country whose political divisions and economic development have given it a place on the world stage out of all proportion to its size, the media have been and remain key players in Irish history.

In this short book, Evans interrogates the implications of VR's re-emergence into the media mainstream, critiquing the notion of a VR revolution by analysing the development and ownership of VR companies while also exploring the possibilities of immersion in VR and the importance of immersion in the interest and ownership of VR enterprises. He assesses how the ideologies and desires of both computer programmers and major Silicon Valley industries may influence how VR worlds are conceived and experienced by users while also exploring the mechanisms that create the immersive experience that underpins interest in the medium.

This thorough update to Benjamin Compaine's original 1979 benchmark and 1982 revisit of media ownership tackles the question of media ownership, providing a detailed examination of the current state of the media industry. Retaining the wealth of data of the earlier volumes, Compaine and his co-author Douglas Gomery chronicle the myriad changes in the media industry and the factors contributing to these changes. They also examine how the media industry is being reshaped by technological forces in all segments, as well as by social and cultural reactions to these forces.
This third edition of "Who Owns the Media?" has been reorganized and expanded, reflecting the evolution of the media industry structure. Looking beyond conventional wisdom and expectations, Compaine and Gomery examine the characteristics of competition in the media marketplace, present alternative positions on the meanings of concentration, and ultimately urge readers to draw their own conclusions on an issue that is neither black nor white.
Appropriate for media practitioners and sociologists, historians, and economists studying mass media, this volume can also be used for advanced courses in broadcasting, journalism, mass communication, telecommunications, and media education. As a new benchmark for the current state of media ownership, it is invaluable to anyone needing to understand who controls the media and thus the information and entertainment messages received by media consumers.

This thorough update to Benjamin Compaine's original 1979 benchmark and 1982 revisit of media ownership tackles the question of media ownership, providing a detailed examination of the current state of the media industry. Retaining the wealth of data of the earlier volumes, Compaine and his co-author Douglas Gomery chronicle the myriad changes in the media industry and the factors contributing to these changes. They also examine how the media industry is being reshaped by technological forces in all segments, as well as by social and cultural reactions to these forces.
This third edition of "Who Owns the Media?" has been reorganized and expanded, reflecting the evolution of the media industry structure. Looking beyond conventional wisdom and expectations, Compaine and Gomery examine the characteristics of competition in the media marketplace, present alternative positions on the meanings of concentration, and ultimately urge readers to draw their own conclusions on an issue that is neither black nor white.
Appropriate for media practitioners and sociologists, historians, and economists studying mass media, this volume can also be used for advanced courses in broadcasting, journalism, mass communication, telecommunications, and media education. As a new benchmark for the current state of media ownership, it is invaluable to anyone needing to understand who controls the media and thus the information and entertainment messages received by media consumers.

Today more than ever, the mass media are the dominant influence in our culture. Markets are becoming global, and simultaneously, media ownership is becoming concentrated in the hands of a very few select conglomerates who, along with media professionals and advertisers, effectively control the information and ideas that impact our society, politics, and lifestyles.

Focusing on TV news and television in general, this book examines why this media gate-keeping happens, how it works, who the gate-keepers are, as well as the destructive effects of structuring the viewpoints presented in news and entertainment. Through interviews with major media figures, professionals from a wide range of backgrounds, and civic leaders, the author explains exactly how this modern mind control thrives, and offers practical suggestions for breaking the media stranglehold.

Examining digital imaging techniques across a wide range of media, including film, music, video, computer games, theme parks and simulation rides, Visual Digital Culture explores the relationship between evolving digital technologies and existing media, and considers the effect of these new image forms on the experience of visual culture.

A collection of new work from leading international contributors, "Media Power, Professionals and Policies" is a tribute to the career of Jeremy Tunstall, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Communications Policy Research Unit at City University. Contributors address the central themes of Tunstall's work: the history, structures and practices of the international media industry, the operation of media policy and the relationship between media and government, and the sociology of labor in the media industry.

The work of Jeremy Tunstall, one of the founding fathers of British media studies, is the inspiration behind Media Power, Professionals and Policies. In this collection of new work, leading international contributors address the central themes of Tunstall's work; the history, structures and practices of the international media industry, the relationship between media and government, and the sociology of labour in the media industry.
Divided into themed sections Media Power, Professionals and Policies explores:
* aspects of media policy, from the history of press reform to merger mania in the United States
* the idea of media power, tracing the development of mass communications research and addressing contemporary issues such as digital communication and the production of knowledge
* the management of the media, from the emergence of information policing in the 17th century to Labour's reform of Downing Street press practices, the use of negative political advertising and the role of news media in contemporary conflicts
* the role of journalists, their professional autonomy and their relationship with newspaper and tv proprietors
* international media operations, from international news agencies and satellite television, to the impact of information technology in the US on audience knowledge of the outside world.

British election campaigns are shaped not simply by what politicians do and say, but by how they are reported to the public through the mass media. This book examines the dialogue conducted via the press, television, advertising and the opinion polls beween politicians and the people in the 1997 campaign and its run-up. Special attention is paid to the innovations and changes that marked the 1997 campaign, including the Labour Party's Millbank communications machine, the Sun's endorsement of Labour, the political parties' strengthening grip of the campaign agenda, party campaigning on the Internet, the role of satellite TV, and changes of technique in the opinion polls. One expected innovation that failed to materialize - a television debate between the party leaders - is also explored.

This volume explores and interrogates the shifts and changes in both government and industry-based screen policies over the past 30 years. It covers a diverse range of film industries from different parts of the world, along with the interrelationship between different localities, policy regimes and technologies/media. Featuring in-depth case studies and interviews with practitioners and policy-makers, this book provides a timely overview of government and industry's responses to the changing landscape of the production, distribution, and consumption of screen media.

This book offers a strategic analysis of current and future perspectives of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows into the South East European media market. The author develops a hybrid FDI business model strategy to guide media companies wishing to more effectively position and leverage their media infrastructure within the increasingly globalized and expanding media market. By conducting sixteen comparative and exploratory case studies of the South East European media market, the author explores how specific microeconomic factors influence spillover effects, absorption capacities and investment incentives between local and foreign firms through FDI inflows. The book is directed towards researchers and students, as well as practitioners/professionals involved with media organizations.

This book is the first real inside look at the business of professional audio recording, which fuels a multibillion dollar global music industry. Industry pioneer Chris Stone, founder of the legendary Record Plant, provides hard-earned business strategies, guidelines, and advice on every aspect of launching and managing a professional audio recording business. This book is for every audio profit center - from the project studio in the garage to the multi-room diversified recording facility. With 30 years of practical business experience, Mr. Stone reveals the secrets of profitable survival in the pro audio world of today and tomorrow. Why be a player in the professional audio recording industry? What is the attraction and potential payoff? How big an operation are you contemplating? To succeed, one must categorize the various types and sizes of pro audio facilities and their customer bases. It is also essential to understand creative management, marketing, promotion, and the modern economics of pro audio. The professional of tomorrow anticipates recording for new media and is prepared for diversification. All of these issues and more are addressed in this book.

Since the explosion of multimedia, the creation and promotion of multimedia clusters has become a target for regional development strategies across the globe. This work offers the first inter-regional comparison of the multimedia industry.
Analysing thirteen American, European and Asian regions, leading academics examine factors which drive the emergence of multimedia clusters and processes by which they are formed,

Hailed as a 'great accomplishment' by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Susan Moeller's Compassion Fatigue warns that the American media threatens our ability to understand the world around us. Why do the media cover the world in the way that they do? Are they simply following the marketplace demand for tabloid-style international news? Or are they creating an audience that has seen too much - or too little - to care? Through a series of case studies of the 'Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse' - disease, famine, death and war - Moeller investigates how newspapers, newsmagazines and television have covered international crises over the last two decades, identifying the ruts into which the media have fallen and revealing why.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203900359

Google is synonymous with searching, but in this innovative new research volume, Micky Lee explores how the Alphabet Corporation, now the parent company of Google, is more than just a search engine. Using a political economic approach, Lee draws on the concept of networks to investigate the growth of this key media player. The establishment of the parent company, Alphabet, shows the company is expanding to other industries from equity investment to self-driving cars. This book first examines this history of expansion, before delving into the economic, political, and cultural profiles of the corporation. Lee ultimately finds that what makes Google powerful is not one genius idea, but rather networks of people, places, and capital. Alphabet: The Becoming of Google is a compelling dive into the sometimes inscrutable world of Google, ideal for students, scholars, and researchers interested in the fields of digital media studies, the politics and economies of online media, and the history of the internet.

This volume addresses the transformative power of tourism social media and offers novel theoretical and methodological approaches to its academic investigation. Acknowledging the collective value creation mechanisms of new media, the authors explore how technology nurtures, augments and modifies social or commercial interactions in tourism. The book emphasizes the role of fantasy and imagination in fluid tourism experiences and critically scrutinizes contested concepts pertaining to human interaction in cyberspace, such as equality, anonymity, transparency, democratization, and publicity culture. The chapters summon insights from Media Studies, Actor-Network Theory, Communicative Action and Symbolic Convergence among others, and offer a palette of emerging methods suitable for academic enquiries of virtual worlds. The theoretical grounding, empirical evidences, and interdisciplinary analysis of the anthology expand the actual research agenda and shed light on conceptual tensions and ambiguities in the present literature. As such, Tourism Social Media: Transformations in Identity, Community and Culture contributes to increasing research reflexivity in tourism studies at large.

This volume considers the emergence and development of modern retailing from an historical and management perspective in the period 1750-1950. The history of retail business development is an under researched area and these studies address the need for further research and provide examples of current research activity. the book considers, the early emergence of retail forms in the late 18th century, the evolution of retail forms in the 19th century and the late adaptation of retail innovation in the early 20th century.
This work brings together the literature from retail management as well as history. In this, it bridges the gap between the two disciplines. this gap in the understanding of the historical dimension within retail management studies and the understanding of retail management issues in history has hindered the development of valuable research in this area.

This book addresses many of the issues facing new and seasoned communication and media administrators. Though there are business-oriented management and leadership books, there is no handbook--to the editor's knowledge--that emphasizes academic administration. This book fills an important gap in the literature by providing--in one place--interesting, important, and useful information that will help administrators by anticipating problems and suggesting strategies for the variety of challenges they face.
This scholarly, anecdotal, useful, and very readable volume is conceived as an action handbook that contains philosophical, theoretical, and practical information. It is divided into three sections: "background" material, "programmatic" challenges facing administrators, and "specific" challenges facing administrators. It contains information that both the seasoned administrator and those faculty who are thinking about moving into administration will find useful. Although aimed at the communication and media disciplines, administrators in other fields will also find it valuable. In addition, deans and vice presidents outside the discipline who are responsible for communication and media programs will view the book a "must" read.

This book addresses many of the issues facing new and seasoned communication and media administrators. Though there are business-oriented management and leadership books, there is no handbook--to the editor's knowledge--that emphasizes academic administration. This book fills an important gap in the literature by providing--in one place--interesting, important, and useful information that will help administrators by anticipating problems and suggesting strategies for the variety of challenges they face.
This scholarly, anecdotal, useful, and very readable volume is conceived as an action handbook that contains philosophical, theoretical, and practical information. It is divided into three sections: "background" material, "programmatic" challenges facing administrators, and "specific" challenges facing administrators. It contains information that both the seasoned administrator and those faculty who are thinking about moving into administration will find useful. Although aimed at the communication and media disciplines, administrators in other fields will also find it valuable. In addition, deans and vice presidents outside the discipline who are responsible for communication and media programs will view the book a "must" read.

The V-chip is a highly significant part of the discussion about whether television (or broadcasting in general) deserves some special attention in terms of its accessibility to children, its particular power to affect conduct, and its invasiveness. But as this notion of filtering and labeling has caught the imagination of the regulator, the legislator, and all those who wish to consider new ways to alter bargaining over imagery in society, the very "idea" of the V-chip or its equivalent is moving across other technologies, including the Internet. The V-chip issue has also fueled the ongoing debate about violence and sexual practices in society, and how representations on television relate to those practices.
Although the initial concept of the V-chip is simple, its flow into the public realm raises so many extraordinary questions that the introduction and production of the chip virtually serves as a case study in problems of law and public policy. The very conceptualization of speech in society is being affected by this issue. Accordingly, the place of the V-chip in this debate is increasingly important; indeed, it may be argued that the V-chip's contribution to legal argumentation may be greater than its ultimate contribution to the relationship between children and imagery. Among the questions the contributors address are:
*What research basis is necessary to require a framework for labeling and rating?
*What relationship between government and the image-producing industries can be characterized--for constitutional and other reasons--as voluntary as opposed to coercive?
*Who should evaluate these images?
*To what extent should the evaluation process be centralized and/or distributed?
*What assessment is appropriate to evaluate whether the experiment is "successful?"
In addition to the V-chip's origin's in Canada and its further evolution in the United States, this book discusses the development of the V-chip and television rating systems in Europe, Australia, and throughout the world. It also includes essays which contrast the very different approaches in Canada and the United States in terms of the role of regulatory agency, industry, and government.

Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Telecommunications Policy Research Conference (TPRC), this volume begins with a historical survey of a quarter-century of TPRC meetings as one measure of change in and research about the telecommunications industry. Additional papers reflecting the ongoing pace of change in technological, economic, and policy issues are organized around four topics:
* economic analysis of local and international telephone policy;
* media industry studies including video competition, guidelines for children's educational television, and the setting of AM stereo standards;
* applications and policy regarding the Internet; and
* comparative studies in telephone and satellite policy.
Collectively, the contents of this volume assess key issues for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners. Research reported in this volume illustrates the continually expanding scope of scholarly concerns about the telecommunications and information industry and contributes to further policy research and analysis.

MediaSport discusses the ways in which sport and the media interact. It is a comprehensive introduction, written by leading experts from around the world in the field of sports studies, sports journalism and leisure studies. Among the subjects covered are:
* sports ethics
* sport and race
* sport and gender
* sport and violence on television
* he globalisation of sports
* marketing sports on the internet.

MediaSport is a comprehensive introduction to the ways in which sport and the media interact. It is written by leading experts from around the world in the field of sports studies, sports journalism and leisure studies.
Among the subjects covered are:
* sports ethics
* sport and race
* sport and gender
* sport and violence on television
* the globalization of sports
* marketing sports on the Internet.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203014057