Media and Society
A Critical Perspective
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- $32.99
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- $32.99
Publisher Description
Media and Society, Second Edition is a lively, illustrated introduction to the role that mass media play in our lives and our society. Featuring updated examples and illustrations, as well as expanded material on media theories and ideology, Media and Society helps us understand the relationship between consumers and media—the books, television, radio, magazines, websites, video games, newspapers, movies, and other mass media we encounter every day.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Part of Rowman & Littlefield's new series of condensed texts for mass communication courses, this work runs the gamut from linguist Roman Jakobson's and political scientist Harold Lasswell's communication models to Marshall McLuhan's"the medium is the message" theory. Because Berger, a communications professor emeritus at San Francisco State University, quotes more than he hypothesizes on his own, the book feels like an anthology. It serves as a generally thorough overview of mass communication theories, attempting to present both sides of scholastic arguments, and includes a helpful glossary. Unfortunately, however, the writing is flaccid and poorly organized. Berger divides chapters into short, shallow sub-sections and supplements them with often-random epigraphs, redundant charts and simplistic illustrations. When the author does hazard an opinion, it falls flat for lack of evidence, coherence and conviction. General readers looking for an insightful look at the relationship between media and society should look elsewhere.
