This book explores the American freemarket economy, espoused by Alan Greenspan, the longtime chairman of the Federal Reserve, through decoding the discourse of economics. Combining an analysis of both economics and language, the legacy of Reaganomics is examined in relation to economic inequality, fiscal policy, public discourse, and the moral economy. How notions of easy money, conspicuous consumption, and unlimited economic growth were harnessed to justify the Free Market revolution is also discussed. This book aims to highlight the drivers of modern inequality and economic distress. It will be relevant to students and researchers interested in the history of economic thought and economic discourse.

This book explores the American freemarket economy, espoused by Alan Greenspan, the longtime chairman of the Federal Reserve, through decoding the discourse of economics. Combining an analysis of both economics and language, the legacy of Reaganomics is examined in relation to economic inequality, fiscal policy, public discourse, and the moral economy. How notions of easy money, conspicuous consumption, and unlimited economic growth were harnessed to justify the Free Market revolution is also discussed. This book aims to highlight the drivers of modern inequality and economic distress. It will be relevant to students and researchers interested in the history of economic thought and economic discourse.

While transnational conglomerates consolidate their control of the global mediascape, local communities struggle to create democratic media systems. This groundbreaking study of community media, first published in 2005, combines original research with comparative and theoretical analysis in an engaging and accessible style. Kevin Howley explores the different ways in which local communities come to make use of various technologies such as radio, television, print and computer networks for purposes of community communication and considers the ways these technologies shape, and are shaped by, the everyday lived experience of local populations. He also addresses broader theoretical and philosophical issues surrounding the relationship between communication and community, media systems and the public sphere. Case studies illustrate the pivotal role community media play in promoting cultural production and communicative democracy within and between local communities. This book will make a significant contribution to existing scholarship in media and cultural studies on alternative, participatory and community-based media.

While transnational conglomerates consolidate their control of the global mediascape, local communities struggle to create democratic media systems. This groundbreaking study of community media, first published in 2005, combines original research with comparative and theoretical analysis in an engaging and accessible style. Kevin Howley explores the different ways in which local communities come to make use of various technologies such as radio, television, print and computer networks for purposes of community communication and considers the ways these technologies shape, and are shaped by, the everyday lived experience of local populations. He also addresses broader theoretical and philosophical issues surrounding the relationship between communication and community, media systems and the public sphere. Case studies illustrate the pivotal role community media play in promoting cultural production and communicative democracy within and between local communities. This book will make a significant contribution to existing scholarship in media and cultural studies on alternative, participatory and community-based media.

Alternative Media Meets Mainstream Politics: Activist Nation Rising demonstrates the rising role that alternative media play in contemporary mainstream political communication. The rise of the modern Internet and social media platforms have allowed for the proliferation of alternative media across society in ways that were not possible twenty years ago. Today, alternative media have become more intertwined with mainstream media and have become increasingly relevant in mainstream political communication. Contributors focus on three primary sites where such media seem to have established growing influence in recent years: political parties, mainstream political news, and the production of participatory media that allow for engagement. Scholars of communication, political science, sociology, and media studies will find this collection useful.

This collection of essays, the first book-length treatment of its kind, explicates the concept of "media interventions", which are herein defined as activities and projects that secure, exercise, challenge or acquire media power for tactical and strategic action. Drawing on insights from media, communication and cultural studies, contributors offer penetrating analyses of media interventions in a variety of social, political, and cultural settings from culture jamming and DIY media to public relations campaigns and reality television shows. In doing so, the volume develops an analytical framework for examining the complex and contradictory operation of media power in contemporary society. Providing a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding of the uneven, fluid, and heterogeneous operation of media power, this volume breaks new ground on the theory and practice of media interventions and also contributes to and stimulates the development of a productive line of inquiry into the study of media interventions.

"A text that reveals the value and significance of community media in an era of global communication"

With contributions from an international team of well-known experts, media activists, and promising young scholars, this comprehensive volume examines community-based media from theoretical, empirical, and practical perspectives. More than 30 original essays provide an incisive and timely analysis of the relationships between media and society, technology and culture, and communication and community.

Key FeaturesProvides vivid examples of community and alternative media initiatives from around the worldExplores a wide range of media institutions, forms, and practices community radio, participatory video, street newspapers, Independent Media Centers, and community informaticsOffers cutting-edge analysis of community and alternative media with original essays from new, emerging, and established voices in the fieldTakes a multidimensional approach to community media studies by highlighting the social, economic, cultural, and political significance of alternative, independent, and community-oriented media organizationsEnters the ongoing debates regarding the theory and practice of community media in a comprehensive and engaging fashion

Intended Audience

This core text is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses such as Community Media, Alternative Media, Media & Social Change, Communication & Culture, and Participatory Communication in the departments of communication, media studies, sociology, and cultural studies."

"A text that reveals the value and significance of community media in an era of global communication"

With contributions from an international team of well-known experts, media activists, and promising young scholars, this comprehensive volume examines community-based media from theoretical, empirical, and practical perspectives. More than 30 original essays provide an incisive and timely analysis of the relationships between media and society, technology and culture, and communication and community.

Key FeaturesProvides vivid examples of community and alternative media initiatives from around the worldExplores a wide range of media institutions, forms, and practices community radio, participatory video, street newspapers, Independent Media Centers, and community informaticsOffers cutting-edge analysis of community and alternative media with original essays from new, emerging, and established voices in the fieldTakes a multidimensional approach to community media studies by highlighting the social, economic, cultural, and political significance of alternative, independent, and community-oriented media organizationsEnters the ongoing debates regarding the theory and practice of community media in a comprehensive and engaging fashion

Intended Audience

This core text is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses such as Community Media, Alternative Media, Media & Social Change, Communication & Culture, and Participatory Communication in the departments of communication, media studies, sociology, and cultural studies."

Alternative Media Meets Mainstream Politics: Activist Nation Rising demonstrates the rising role that alternative media play in contemporary mainstream political communication. The rise of the modern Internet and social media platforms have allowed for the proliferation of alternative media across society in ways that were not possible twenty years ago. Today, alternative media have become more intertwined with mainstream media and have become increasingly relevant in mainstream political communication. Contributors focus on three primary sites where such media seem to have established growing influence in recent years: political parties, mainstream political news, and the production of participatory media that allow for engagement. Scholars of communication, political science, sociology, and media studies will find this collection useful.

Drones: Media Discourse and the Public Imagination starts with a basic premise: technology shapes and is shaped by the stories we tell about it. Stories about drones-at once anxious and hopeful, fearful and awe-inspired-are emblematic of the profound ambivalence that frequently accompanies the introduction of new technologies. Through critical analysis of a variety of cultural forms-from newspaper headlines, nightly newscasts, and documentary films, to advertising, entertainment media, and graphic arts-this book demonstrates the prevalence of drones in global battlefields and domestic airspace, public discourse, and the popular imagination. Written in a lively, engaging, and accessible style, Kevin Howley argues that media discourse plays a decisive role in shaping these new technologies, understanding their application in various spheres of human activity, and integrating them into everyday life. In doing so, Howley highlights the relationship between discursive and material practice in the social construction of technology.

Drones: Media Discourse and the Public Imagination starts with a basic premise: technology shapes and is shaped by the stories we tell about it. Stories about drones-at once anxious and hopeful, fearful and awe-inspired-are emblematic of the profound ambivalence that frequently accompanies the introduction of new technologies. Through critical analysis of a variety of cultural forms-from newspaper headlines, nightly newscasts, and documentary films, to advertising, entertainment media, and graphic arts-this book demonstrates the prevalence of drones in global battlefields and domestic airspace, public discourse, and the popular imagination. Written in a lively, engaging, and accessible style, Kevin Howley argues that media discourse plays a decisive role in shaping these new technologies, understanding their application in various spheres of human activity, and integrating them into everyday life. In doing so, Howley highlights the relationship between discursive and material practice in the social construction of technology.