Mass Communication: Living in a Media World [Paperback]

Ralph E Hanson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 2010 | ISBN-10: 1604266007 | ISBN-13: 978-1604266009 | Edition: 3rd

Mass Communication delivers an engaging and compact introduction to the field of mass comm without the glitz that does little to improve students’ ability to be smarter consumers of media or think critically about the media’s role in today’s society. Ralph E. Hanson combines solid content, incisive analysis, fun and conversational writing in a highly readable and informative text that will save your students as much as $50.

Employing an effective media literacy perspective, Hanson shows students that media are not something to be feared or demonized, but rather are an essential part of our lives that should be thoughtfully consumed. Updated to reflect changes in the media landscape, Mass Communication offers expanded discussion of:

• the role of social media in breaking domestic and international news stories;
• video games as a form of interactive media;
• the newspaper industry’s continuing financial woes;
• further consolidation of the media industry with the NBC/Comcast merger and the News Corporation’s purchase of the Wall Street Journal;
• public relations as a way of creating, developing, and nurturing relationships between an organization and its key publics; and
• integrated marketing communication in the advertising chapter.

UNIQUE FEATURES HELP REINFORCE THE BOOK’S APPROACH:
• Chapter-opening vignettes feature media professionals from Jon Stewart and Annie Leibovitz to Steve Jobs and Twitter founders Evan Williams, Jack Dorsey, and Biz Stone.
• Timelines place important media events in a broader historical context.
• Test Your Media Literacy boxes showcase current research, interviews, or noteworthy events with questions that model critical thinking, helping to cultivate critical media consumption.
• A marginal glossary helps reinforce learning of key concepts as students read.

THE SEVEN TRUTHS “THEY” DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT THE MEDIA:
1. The media are essential components of our lives.
2. There are no mainstream media (MSM).
3. Everything from the margin moves to the center.
4. Nothing’s new—everything that happened in the past will happen again.
5. New media are always scary.
6. Activism and analysis are not the same thing.
7. There is no “they.”

Editorial Reviews

Review

Students cheer when I explain the reasons why the text is more reasonably priced than most others, which makes me look good! I like the timelines that put media in the context of other historic events. Overall, I am a big fan of Ralph Hanson's holistic and thoughtful approach to mass communication for freshmen, and his dedication to keeping examples current and available to instructors online. I plan to use Mass Communication: Living in a Media World in the future, and I recommend it to peers. --- Jennifer Fleming, California State University-Long Beach

The third edition of Mass Communication: Living in a Media World makes media literacy truly come alive for students and faculty alike. With his breezy writing style and insight-laden unique approach, Dr. Ralph Hanson entertains and informs without either the dry pomposity or shallow flipness evident in so many of the other comparable texts. This up-to-date book, along with its invaluable and innovative web resources, is a joy to use. In the vastly and rapidly changing media landscape, this text delivers. And how! --- Martin D. Sommerness, Northern Arizona University

The second part of the title helps distinguish this book: Living in a Media World. Current issues and examples are blended with parallels in media history. This balance between historical and modern perspectives helps the students put the media world in which they live in context. The book is visually appealing, has thought provoking material in the 'Test Your Media Literacy' section, and provides starting points to engage the students in discussion. - --Dolores Sierra, Black Hawk College-Moline

When searching for a text for a beginning media studies course, there really is no choice better than Hanson's Mass Communication: Living in a Media World. Its no-frills, cost-effective approach is at once student friendly and instructor approved. Understanding the complex relationship between media and society can be overwhelming but not when reading this text. It is, quite simply, the most comprehensive and down-to-earth look at media effects theory on the market today. --Don Lowe, University of Kentucky

Students cheer when I explain the reasons why the text is more reasonably priced than most others, which makes me look good! I like the timelines that put media in the context of other historic events. Overall, I am a big fan of Ralph Hanson's holistic and thoughtful approach to mass communication for freshmen, and his dedication to keeping examples current and available to instructors online. I plan to use Mass Communication: Living in a Media World in the future, and I recommend it to peers. --Jennifer Fleming, California State University-Long Beach

When searching for a text for a beginning media studies course, there really is no choice better than Hanson's Mass Communication: Living in a Media World. Its no-frills, cost-effective approach is at once student friendly and instructor approved. Understanding the complex relationship between media and society can be overwhelming but not when reading this text. It is, quite simply, the most comprehensive and down-to-earth look at media effects theory on the market today. --Don Lowe, University of Kentucky

Students cheer when I explain the reasons why the text is more reasonably priced than most others, which makes me look good! I like the timelines that put media in the context of other historic events. Overall, I am a big fan of Ralph Hanson's holistic and thoughtful approach to mass communication for freshmen, and his dedication to keeping examples current and available to instructors online. I plan to use Mass Communication: Living in a Media World in the future, and I recommend it to peers. --Jennifer Fleming, California State University-Long Beach

About the Author

Ralph E. Hanson is the chair of the communications department at University of Nebraska at Kearney. Previously, he was associate dean of the P.I. Reed School of Journalism at West Virginia University where he taught for fifteen years. For more than a decade he has taught introduction to mass communication. He founded West Virginia University s online extended learning program, and he writes occasional commentary for the Charleston Daily Mail. He has also taught newswriting, editorial writing, and media ethics. Ralph has a bachelor s degree in journalism and anthropology from Iowa State University, a master s degree in journalism from Iowa State, and a doctorate in sociology from Arizona State University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 550 pages
• Publisher: CQ Press; 3rd edition (March 2, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1604266007
• ISBN-13: 978-1604266009
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #56,400 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.