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Combining a critical survey of the field with a finely judged assessment of cutting-edge developments, this second edition cements its reputation as the ´must have´ text for any undergraduate student studying media and communication studies.

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´In his beautifully balanced, clear and broad-ranging account of a fast-changing field, Paul Hodkinson has successfully brought together myriad perspectives with which to critically analyse today´s media culture and media society.´ – Sonia Livingstone, Professor of Media & Communication, LSE

Paul Hodkinson´s bestseller is back, once again exploring the concepts and complexities of the media in an accessible, balanced and engaging style. Additions to the Second Edition include:

A new chapter on advertising and sponsorship
Extensive revision and updating throughout all chapters
New material on technologies, censorship, online news, fan cultures and representations of poverty
Greater emphasis on and examples of digital, interactive and mobile media throughout
Fully reworked chapter on media, community and difference
Up-to-date examples covering everything from social media, contemporary advertising, news events and mobile technologies, to representations of class, ethnicity and gender.
Combining a critical survey of the field with a finely judged assessment of cutting-edge developments, this Second Edition cements its reputation as the must-have text for any undergraduate student studying media, culture and society.

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Chapter 1: Introduction
PART ONE: ELEMENTS OF MEDIA
Chapter 2: Media Technologies
Chapter 3: Media Industry
Chapter 4: Media Content
Chapter 5: Media Users
PART TWO: MEDIA, POWER AND CONTROL
Chapter 6: Media as Manipulation: Marxism and Ideology
Chapter 7: Construction of News
Chapter 8: Public Service or Personal Entertainment? Controlling Media Orientation
Chapter 9: Advertising: Emergence, Expansion and Transformation
Chapter 10: Decline of the National Public: Digitalization, Commercialization and Fragmentation
PART THREE: MEDIA, IDENTITY AND CULTURE
Chapter 11: Media, Community and Difference: From Mass Stigmatization to Grassroots Identity Groups
Chapter 12: Media, Race and Ethnicity
Chapter 13: Media, Gender and Sexuality
Chapter 14: Saturation, Fluidity and Loss of Meaning

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Praise for the first edition:

In his beautifully balanced, clear and broad-ranging account of a fast-changing field, Paul Hodkinson has successfully brought together myriad perspectives with which to critically analyse today´s media culture and media society. Sonia Livingstone

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