The notion of "the public sphere" has become increasingly central to theories and studies of democracy, media, and culture over the last few decades. It has also gained political importance in the context of the European Union's efforts to strengthen democracy, integration, and identity. The Idea of the Public Sphere offers a wide-ranging, accessible, and easy-to-use introduction to one of the most influential ideas in modern social and political thought, tracing its development from the origins of modern democracy in the Eighteenth Century to present day debates. This book brings key texts by the leading contributors in the field together in a single volume. It explores current topics such as the role of religion in public affairs, the implications of the internet for organizing public deliberation, and the transnationalisation of public issues.

The notion of 'the public sphere' has become increasingly central to theories and studies of democracy, media, and culture over the last few decades. It has also gained political importance in the context of the European Union's efforts to strengthen democracy, integration, and identity. The Idea of the Public Sphere offers a wide-ranging, accessible, and easy-to-use introduction to one of the most influential ideas in modern social and political thought, tracing its development from the origins of modern democracy in the Eighteenth Century to present day debates. This book brings key texts by the leading contributors in the field together in a single volume. It explores current topics such as the role of religion in public affairs, the implications of the internet for organizing public deliberation, and the transnationalisation of public issues.

This book tells the story of an unprecedented experiment in public participation: the government-sponsored debate on the possible commercialization of 'GM' crops in the UK. Giving a unique and systematic account of the debate process, this revealing volume sets it within its political and intellectual contexts, and examines the practical implications for future public engagement initiatives. The authors, an experienced team of researchers, produce a conceptually-informed and empirically-based evaluation of the debate, drawing upon detailed observation of both public and behind-the-scenes aspects of the process, the views of participants in debate events, a major MORI-administered survey of public views, and details of media coverage. With innovative methodological work on the evaluation of public engagement and deliberative processes, the authors analyze the design, implementation and effectiveness of the debate process, and provide a critique of its official findings. The book will undoubtedly be of interest to a wide readership, and will be an invaluable resource for researchers, policy-makers and students concerned with cross-disciplinary aspects of risk, decision-making, public engagement, and governance of technology.

The new edition of the highly respected Researching Communications is a comprehensive and authoritative guide to researching media and communication. Researching Communications, Third Edition is an invaluable guide to performing and analysing research tasks, introducing the major research methods, giving detailed examples of research analysis and practical step-by-step guidance in clear language. Written by highly regarded experts in the field, the third edition includes new sections on social media analysis, digital research methods and comparative research, as well as updated case studies, international examples and details of recent developments in media and communication studies. Undergraduate and postgraduate media and communication students will find Researching Communications an invaluable resource at all stages of their course.

These two volumes bring together key readings in the political economy of the mass media and analyse and explain the role of the media in modern society. Covering a wide spectrum of articles on media and communications over a broad period of time, the collection includes discussion on the political economy approach to communications, the capitalist enterprise and creation of communications, ideology, and protecting the common good in the management and regulation of communications and the media.The Political Economy of the Media includes official documents, otherwise accessible articles as well as carefully selected extracts from key commentators and seminal thinkers in the field, including among others, Nicholas Garnham, Herbert I. Schiller, Dallas W. Smythe, Francis Williams, Harold Evans, Ben H. Bagdikian, Upton Sinclair, Jurgen Habermas, Edward S. Herman and Peter Jay.

Money Talks explores the ways the financial concepts of money and capital are understood and talked about by a range of people, from traders to ordinary investors, and how these accounts are framed and represented across a range of media. This collection brings together leading writers and emerging researchers to demonstrate how work in media and cultural studies can contribute to debates around the meanings of money, the operations of capital and the nature of the current crisis. Drawing on a range of work from across disciplines, Money Talks offers a provocative and path-breaking demonstration of the value of incorporating approaches from media and cultural studies into an understanding of economic issues.

This volume examines the role of communication in contributing to and contesting the current climate crisis. There is now widespread agreement that even if increases in carbon emissions are kept to the current international target the climate crisis will continue to intensify. This book brings together, for the first time, state-of-the-art research with activists' interventions to place debate around climate crisis within the wider conversation about the changing relations between communications and contemporary capitalism. Contributors include; Naomi Klein, Michael Mann, Alan Rusbridger, Vincent Mosco, Jodi Dean, and leading figures in Greenpeace and 350.org.

The new edition of the highly respected Researching Communications is a comprehensive and authoritative guide to researching media and communication. Researching Communications, Third Edition is an invaluable guide to performing and analysing research tasks, introducing the major research methods, giving detailed examples of research analysis and practical step-by-step guidance in clear language. Written by highly regarded experts in the field, the third edition includes new sections on social media analysis, digital research methods and comparative research, as well as updated case studies, international examples and details of recent developments in media and communication studies. Undergraduate and postgraduate media and communication students will find Researching Communications an invaluable resource at all stages of their course.

Combining institutional textual and audience analysis, this book introduces students to the factors which have shaped television's development in contemporary Europe, and invites them to assess the issues that are at stake in its future. Divided into three parts, the book moves from the European broadcasting environment, through current patterns and trends in programming and programme making, to TV genres and issue-specific broadcasting. Incorporating a range of pedagogical devices: boxes of key facts, activities and notes for further reading, Television across Europe offers an essential introductory guide to television in Western Europe.

The new edition of the highly respected Researching Communications is a comprehensive and authoritative guide to researching media and communication. Introducing the major research methods, giving detailed examples of research analysis and practical step-by-step guidance in clear language, Researching Communications, Second Edition is an invaluable guide to performing and analyzing research tasks. Written by highly regarded experts in the field, the new edition includes expanded and updated sections on the Internet, online databases and the latest CAQDAS packages, as well as new case studies, international examples, and details of recent developments in media and communication studies. Undergraduate and postgraduate media- and communication-studies students will find Researching Communications an invaluable resource at all stages of their course.

This book tells the story of an unprecedented experiment in public participation: the government-sponsored debate on the possible commercialization of 'GM' crops in the UK. Giving a unique and systematic account of the debate process, this revealing volume sets it within its political and intellectual contexts, and examines the practical implications for future public engagement initiatives.

The authors, an experienced team of researchers, produce a conceptually-informed and empirically-based evaluation of the debate, drawing upon detailed observation of both public and behind-the-scenes aspects of the process, the views of participants in debate events, a major MORI-administered survey of public views, and details of media coverage.

With innovative methodological work on the evaluation of public engagement and deliberative processes, the authors analyze the design, implementation and effectiveness of the debate process, and provide a critique of its official findings.

The book will undoubtedly be of interest to a wide readership, and will be an invaluable resource for researchers, policy-makers and students concerned with cross-disciplinary aspects of risk, decision-making, public engagement, and governance of technology.