Understanding Media: Communication, Power and Social Change

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An authoritative and accessible guide to the world's most influential force - the contemporary media Our lives are more mediated than ever before. Adults in economically advanced countries spend, on average, over eight hours per day interacting with the media. The news and entertainment industries are being transformed by the shift to digital platforms. But how much is really changing in terms of what shapes media content What are the impacts on our public and imaginative life And is the Internet a democratising tool of social protest, or of state and commercial manipulation Drawing on decades of research to examine these and other questions, Understanding Media interrogates claims about the Internet, explores how representations in TV and film may influence perceptions of self, and traces overarching trends while attending to crucial local context, from the United States to China, Norway to Malaysia, and Brazil to Britain. Understanding Media is an accessible and essential guide to the world's most influential force - the contemporary media.

Reviews

Drawing from history, political economy, and international case studies, Curran and Redden provide a masterful evidence-based media analysis that wrestles with the thorniest of questions and delivers compellingly clear yet nuanced answers. Everyone scholars, journalists, activists, and concerned citizens should read, engage with, and ultimately heed the insights contained in this impeccably researched and superbly written book -- Victor Pickard
A wide-ranging, magisterial account of communication's role in society. Based on decades of rigorous, critical research yet presented in an accessible engaging style, it is a must-read for anyone asking difficult questions about modern media's place in the world -- Aeron Davis
Going far beyond any standard media textbook, Curran and Redden provide an illuminating account of the relationship between media and social change by seeking out to answer two central questions: is the media revolutionary and does it represent society Providing both history and reflections on recent technological shifts from social media to Artificial Intelligence, this is a crucial guide for anyone interested in the power of the media and how power shapes the media -- Lina Dencik
A remarkably comprehensive assessment of the forces for both continuity and change in our bewilderingly complex media landscapes. An essential overview of what is, and isnt, going on in todays media -- Nick Couldry
Incredibly wise and engaging, this book asks all the right questions about the media and provides the most illuminating answers. Smart, lively and refreshingly direct, this is essential reading for anyone trying to understand how the media has changed and how it hasnt -- Sally Young
A must-read book that provides readers with an engaging and rigorously analytical approach on the media's pivotal role in contemporary society -- Alfonso Albuquerque
This is an outstanding book that offers an in-depth analysis of contemporary media and how these shape society. It denounces the myth of an enduring media revolution that is changing the world for the better and counters the mantra of digital technologies as tools for citizen empowerment. It is a must-read for communication and media scholars or anyone interested in understanding how the media function in contexts marked by authoritarian popularism and the rise of neoliberalism and social liberalism -- Nelson Ribeiro
This book explores the dynamic world of contemporary media cultures in the digital era by incorporating cutting-edge scholarship. With a special emphasis on globalization including Japan, where I am based, and the rest of East Asia, it invites readers on a journey through the interconnected world of media and social change. James Curran poses critical and urgent questions about our engagement with media today and offers nuanced perspectives that transcend simple optimism or pessimism -- Kaori Hayashi

Author Bio

James Curran (Author) James Curran is Professor of Communications at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is the co-author of award-winning Power Without Responsibility, now going into its ninth edition. His other books include Media and Democracy (translated into Arabic, Hungarian and Korean) and Media and Power (translated into Spanish, Greek, Korean, Japanese and Chinese). He gained the C. Edwin Baker Award for his work on media, markets and democracy from the International Communication Association. He secured a e1.25 million grant from the Leverhulme Trust to research the internet. He has been a Visiting Professor at California, Pennsylvania, Stanford, Oslo and Stockholm Universities. Joanna Redden (Author) Joanna Redden is an Associate Professor at Western University. She is author of The Mediation of Poverty, co-author of Data Justice and co-editor of Compromised Data- From Social Media to Big Data.