The Future of the Mass Audience focuses on how the changing technology and economics of the mass media in postindustrial society will influence public communication. It summarizes the results of a five-year study conducted in cooperation with the senior corporate planners at ABC, CBS, NBC, Time Warner, The New York Times, and the Washington Post. The central question is whether the new electronic media and the use of personal computers in the communication process will lead to a fragmentation or "demassification" of the mass audience. This study demonstrates, contrary to the opinion of some analysts, that the movement toward fragmentation and specialization will be modest and that the national media and common political culture will remain robust. W. Russell Neuman, directs the Communications Research Group of MIT's Media Laboratory. He has published widely and among his recent books are The Paradox of Mass Politics (1986) and the The Telecommunications Revolution (1991). Prior to teaching at MIT he held posts at Yale University and University of California, Berkeley.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"A pathbreaking study of how changes in the character and control of information technologies affect social structure and political communications. An important book." Daniel Bell, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
"Instead of wishful crystal-ball gazing, the reader gets historically and scientifically grounded, sensitively interpreted projections of the interplay between technological developments and the prevailing political culture and political economy. Social scientists, policy makers and communication professionals will benefit immensely." Doris Graber, University of Illinios, Chicago
"The most coherent and intelligent guide available about postindustrial society. He aligns the reader to the new emerging range of questions--cultural, technological, economic, social--which constitute the aftermath of mass society." Anthony Smith, Magdalen College, Oxford
"The Future of the Mass Audience presents a concise and highly readable summary of trends and theories affecting the business of communications...a valuable addition to the literature in this field." Harold Vogel, Merrill Lynch
"His research on audience psychology and newer communications technologies is exemplary...He speaks from a small data to big issues." George Comstock, Syracuse University
"A crucial contribution to the most important debate in America: the future, if any, of television." George Gilder, Manhatten Institute
"In his useful book The Future of the Mass Audience, W. Russell Neuman recently suggested that there is very little evidence to support the most alarming speculations that have been advanced by social scientists." -- The New Republic
"Instead of wishful crystal-ball gazing, the reader gets historically and scientifically grounded, sensitively interpreted projections of the interplay between technological developments and the prevailing political culture and political economy. Social scientists, policy makers and communication professionals will benefit immensely." Doris Graber, University of Illinios, Chicago
"The most coherent and intelligent guide available about postindustrial society. He aligns the reader to the new emerging range of questions--cultural, technological, economic, social--which constitute the aftermath of mass society." Anthony Smith, Magdalen College, Oxford
"The Future of the Mass Audience presents a concise and highly readable summary of trends and theories affecting the business of communications...a valuable addition to the literature in this field." Harold Vogel, Merrill Lynch
"His research on audience psychology and newer communications technologies is exemplary...He speaks from a small data to big issues." George Comstock, Syracuse University
"A crucial contribution to the most important debate in America: the future, if any, of television." George Gilder, Manhatten Institute
"In his useful book The Future of the Mass Audience, W. Russell Neuman recently suggested that there is very little evidence to support the most alarming speculations that have been advanced by social scientists." -- The New Republic
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A seminal work,
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This review is from: The Future of the Mass Audience (Hardcover)
It is inconceivable to me that I am the first to review this book.
And before I say anything more, let me be clear: I have no personal interest in the sales volume of this work. If you want to understand how communications affect society, you will read and re-read this book. It is a seminal work that explains the technology and culture that lies at the heart of modern civilization--communications technology and its effects. It is smart. It is insightful. It is essential. Anyone with an interest in the gears that drive modern life should own this book.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Perhaps the mass media and the mass audience will prove to be historical anomalies. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
mass society theory, viewing group, communications volume Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Vannevar Bush, World War, Big Brother, New York, Third World, Year Figure, Program Type, Thomas Paine, Main Street, Star Wars, Television Audience Assessment, Daniel Bell, Ithiel de Sola Pool, Nielsen Company New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Perhaps the mass media and the mass audience will prove to be historical anomalies. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
mass society theory, viewing group, communications volume Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Vannevar Bush, World War, Big Brother, New York, Third World, Year Figure, Program Type, Thomas Paine, Main Street, Star Wars, Television Audience Assessment, Daniel Bell, Ithiel de Sola Pool, Nielsen Company New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 100
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91
books
cite this book:
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- Democracy in America (Signet Classics) by Alexis de Tocqueville on page 173, and Back Matter
- Social Psychology by Elliot Aronson in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville on page 173, and Back Matter
- Effects of Mass Communication by Joseph T. Klapper in Back Matter
- Coping With Crime: Individual and Neighborhood Reactions (Sage Library of Social Research: V. 124) by Wesley G. Skogan in Back Matter
See all 100 books this book cites
- Understanding Society, Culture, and Television by Paul Monaco on 5 pages
- Information and American Democracy: Technology in the Evolution of Political Power (Communication, Society and Politics) by Bruce Bimber on 5 pages
- Understanding Society, Culture, and Television by Paul Monaco on 5 pages
- A Virtuous Circle: Political Communications in Postindustrial Societies (Communication, Society and Politics) by Pippa Norris in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- The Empire of Mind: Digital Piracy and the Anti-Capitalist Movement (Digital Futures) by Michael Strangelove in Front Matter, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 91 books citing this book
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