TV and society Books

Book Synopsis This collection of essays focuses on two sub-genres of reality television: dating shows, like The Bachelor, Joe Millionaire, and the earlier Love Connection; and makeover reality shows, like The Swan and Are You Hot? The Search for America''s Sexiest People. Each author explores a different aspect of one or both of these types of shows, focusing especially on the cultural interaction between the text--dating and makeover shows--and society.

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Book SynopsisTraces the 40-year history of high definition television technology from initial studies in Japan, through its deployment in Europe, and then the US, where the first all-digital systems were developed. Details are provided about advances in HDTV technology in Australia and Japan, Europe's introduction of HDTV, Brazil's innovative use of MPEG-4 and China's terrestrial standard.

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Book SynopsisThe BBC television series Downton Abbey (2010-2016) developed and produced by Academy Award winner Julian Fellowes, became a cultural barometer with American viewers harkening back to the days when televised serial dramas ruled the airwaves.

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Book Synopsis Since the early 2000s, popular culture has experienced a Zombie Renaissance, beginning in film and expanding into books, television, video games, theatre productions, phone apps, collectibles and toys. Zombies have become allegorical figures embodying cultural anxieties, but they also serve as models for concepts in economics, political theory, neuroscience, psychology, computer science and astronomy. They are powerful, multifarious metaphors representing fears of contagion and doom but also isolation and abandonment, as well as troubling aspects of human cruelty, public spectacle and abusive relationships. This critical examination of the 21st-century zombie phenomenon explores how and why the public imagination has been overrun by the undead horde.

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Book Synopsis‘Motherhood and Popular Television’ is designed to introduce readers to key debates concerning the representations of motherhood and the maternal role in contemporary television programming.Table of Contents1. Introduction: Theorising Motherhood on the Small Screen; 2. Soap Opera: Challenging the ‘Good’ Mother Stereotype; 3. Situation Comedy: the (Un)Funny Mummy Wars; 4. Teen Drama: Absent, Inept and Intoxicated Mothers; 5. Dramedy: Struggling, Sexual and Sisterly Single Mothers; 6. Reality Parenting Programming: Fragile, Failing and Ineffectual Mothers; 7. Celebrity Reality Television: Maintaining the ‘Yummy Mummy’ Profile; 8. Factual Television: Pregnancy, Delivery and the New Mother; 9. Conclusion; Bibliography; Index

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Book SynopsisExplores the influence of the graphic user interface on contemporary screen mediaTrade Review"With sparkling prose, Nick Jones provides a multi-plane illumination of graphic user interfaces their provenance, aesthetics, inter-medial connections, and how they shape experience, imagination, and creative labour. Gooey Media should be essential reading for anyone seeking to understand this key layer of our screen lives, and its aesthetic links across our media ecology." -Lisa Bode, The University of Queensland

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Book SynopsisIn light of current and projected demographic changes in the U.S., this book examines the attention paid to Latina/o youth from mainstream media conglomerates and the subsequent impact of this attention. In-depth interviews conducted within a family setting provide a rare glimpse into respondents' media consumption patterns and process of reception, and explain the ways in which the media are woven into their daily lives. The book critiques the tendency of mainstream media to reify and contain a Latina/o identity that is then sold back to youth in ways that limit Latino/a agency. Throughout the interviews, young people articulate a hybrid identity highlighting their bicultural experiences. Listening to Latina/o Youth ultimately recommends opening up the possibilities of representation to encourage the acceptance of new voices that challenge the current modes of media production.Trade Review«Whether you are a Latina/o or not, Kristin C. Moran’s accessible and engaging book offers you a lively and valuable entree into the world of media and culture, the mediating role of the family, and what it means to juggle identities for those growing up in today’s multi-cultural world.» (Dafna Lemish, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; Editor of ‘Journal of Children and Media’)«Whether you are a Latina/o or not, Kristin C. Moran’s accessible and engaging book offers you a lively and valuable entree into the world of media and culture, the mediating role of the family, and what it means to juggle identities for those growing up in today’s multi-cultural world.» (Dafna Lemish, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; Editor of ‘Journal of Children and Media’)

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Book SynopsisIn light of current and projected demographic changes in the U.S., this book examines the attention paid to Latina/o youth from mainstream media conglomerates and the subsequent impact of this attention. In-depth interviews conducted within a family setting provide a rare glimpse into respondents' media consumption patterns and process of reception, and explain the ways in which the media are woven into their daily lives. The book critiques the tendency of mainstream media to reify and contain a Latina/o identity that is then sold back to youth in ways that limit Latino/a agency. Throughout the interviews, young people articulate a hybrid identity highlighting their bicultural experiences. Listening to Latina/o Youth ultimately recommends opening up the possibilities of representation to encourage the acceptance of new voices that challenge the current modes of media production.Trade Review«Whether you are a Latina/o or not, Kristin C. Moran’s accessible and engaging book offers you a lively and valuable entree into the world of media and culture, the mediating role of the family, and what it means to juggle identities for those growing up in today’s multi-cultural world.» (Dafna Lemish, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; Editor of ‘Journal of Children and Media’)«Whether you are a Latina/o or not, Kristin C. Moran’s accessible and engaging book offers you a lively and valuable entree into the world of media and culture, the mediating role of the family, and what it means to juggle identities for those growing up in today’s multi-cultural world.» (Dafna Lemish, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; Editor of ‘Journal of Children and Media’)

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Book SynopsisThrough the lens of TV news anchors, this book examines the impact that television news has had on traditional journalistic standards and practices. While TV news anchors boost the power, adulation, and authority of journalism in general, internally, the journalistic community feels that anchors undermine many key journalistic values. This book provides a historical overview of the impact they have had on American journalism, uncovering the changing values, codes of behavior, and boundaries of the journalistic community. In doing so, it reveals that challenges to journalistic standards provide an opportunity to engage in debate that is central to maintaining journalism's identity, and demonstrate the ability of the community to self-regulate. The result is that news anchors are kept in check by the community, and the community is prompted to reexamine itself and evolve. The book's findings also offer suggestions for thinking about how journalists are dealing with the latest technologicTrade Review«As news networks proliferate and an array of newcomers move onto the stage of evening television news, Kimberly Meltzer offers a timely and thoughtful assessment of the rise of the anchor, from Edward R. Murrow to Katie Couric. Meltzer examines the anomalous nature of these figures, who remain the most visible symbols of American journalism even as their celebrity status and often emotional personas contradict the ideals of that profession. Meltzer then relays industry insiders’ own views of the field, as they search for a new kind of relevance in the landscape of 21st-century journalism.» (Carolyn Kitch, Professor of Journalism; Director, Doctoral Program in Mass Media & Communication, Temple University; author of ‘Pages from the Past: History and Memory in American Magazines’) «Kimberly Meltzer offers a thorough and dispassionate explanation of how television journalism has emerged over the past fifty years as a formation that challenges, accepts, alters, and disdains newspaper conventions. In her capable hands, our obsession with television anchors – that is, the controversy and contention over anchors’ displays of emotion, appearance, and personality – finally begins to make sense. Without sugarcoating the downsides but also acknowledging the technological inevitability of television’s adaption of journalistic rules, she traces the emergence of the anchor’s ‘signature’. Drawing on her own experience as well as rich interview material, Meltzer explains just why we are so interested in Katie, Dan, and Tom – and quite literally, their bodies – and why this is likely to continue.» (Linda Steiner, Professor and Director of Research and Doctoral Studies, Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland, College Park)«As news networks proliferate and an array of newcomers move onto the stage of evening television news, Kimberly Meltzer offers a timely and thoughtful assessment of the rise of the anchor, from Edward R. Murrow to Katie Couric. Meltzer examines the anomalous nature of these figures, who remain the most visible symbols of American journalism even as their celebrity status and often emotional personas contradict the ideals of that profession. Meltzer then relays industry insiders’ own views of the field, as they search for a new kind of relevance in the landscape of 21st-century journalism.» (Carolyn Kitch, Professor of Journalism; Director, Doctoral Program in Mass Media & Communication, Temple University; author of ‘Pages from the Past: History and Memory in American Magazines’) «Kimberly Meltzer offers a thorough and dispassionate explanation of how television journalism has emerged over the past fifty years as a formation that challenges, accepts, alters, and disdains newspaper conventions. In her capable hands, our obsession with television anchors – that is, the controversy and contention over anchors’ displays of emotion, appearance, and personality – finally begins to make sense. Without sugarcoating the downsides but also acknowledging the technological inevitability of television’s adaption of journalistic rules, she traces the emergence of the anchor’s ‘signature’. Drawing on her own experience as well as rich interview material, Meltzer explains just why we are so interested in Katie, Dan, and Tom – and quite literally, their bodies – and why this is likely to continue.» (Linda Steiner, Professor and Director of Research and Doctoral Studies, Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland, College Park)

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Book SynopsisOne of the world's most influential and prolific media scholars, George Gerbner played a major role in the development of communication theory and research. His critical approach to mass communication changed the way we think about media industries, the messages and images they produce, and their social and cultural impacts. Gerbner is most widely known for his decades of work on television violence, but his research and writing focused on many other vital aspects of the symbolic cultural environment. This book provides a broad-based introduction to Gerbner's theories of mass communication, his long-term research on media content and effects, and the critical and policy contributions of his work. Although hundreds of studies have been conducted based on Gerbner's ideas, this is the first volume to provide a concise and comprehensive overview of his many contributions to the field.

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Book SynopsisFrom Frank's Place through Soul Food and Girlfriends, the increased involvement of African Americans in the production of television images has impacted the way television portrays the diversity of American life. Yet little research has been done to explore how minority television workers see their role as creators. This book explores television and race from the perspective of industry writers, producers, directors, and executives. Listening to those directly involved in bringing diversity to television helps uncover the process whereby difference is created and recreated in both the workplace, and on the television screen. Suitable for classes in race, gender, media, media culture, diversity and the media, and African Americans and popular culture, the book will also be of interest to those wishing to enter the television industry, providing insight from workers who have succeeded in an increasingly competitive business.Trade Review«‘African Americans in Television’ offers us unprecedented insight. It gives us what so few works about race and African Americans in television ever have: a broad, insider’s view of African Americans’ roles in, conflicts with, and dilemmas surrounding the television production process. Theoretically grounded and methodologically rigorous, Gregory Adamo’s work adds significantly to what should be a new era of conversation about the ways that African American involvement in and control (or lack thereof) over the television production process are producing new discourses about race in American life.» (Charlton McIlwain, New York University)«‘African Americans in Television’ offers us unprecedented insight. It gives us what so few works about race and African Americans in television ever have: a broad, insider’s view of African Americans’ roles in, conflicts with, and dilemmas surrounding the television production process. Theoretically grounded and methodologically rigorous, Gregory Adamo’s work adds significantly to what should be a new era of conversation about the ways that African American involvement in and control (or lack thereof) over the television production process are producing new discourses about race in American life.» (Charlton McIlwain, New York University)

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Book SynopsisNow in its second edition, Seeing the Bigger Picture examines the ways movies and popular culture can foster a deeper awareness of the political dilemmas and debates shaping our world. Reviewing commercial films and documentaries, the text illustrates the myriad ways that film and popular culture shape our understanding of capitalism and democracy, war and terrorism, civil rights and social justice, campaigns and elections and the presidency. This updated edition includes new chapters on media, human rights and the environment. In the aftermath of the American invasion of Iraq, the book discusses the broad new spectrum of films about war; it also looks at capitalism and financial markets in popular culture in light of the financial crisis of 2008. Examining a range of vital issues that dot the political landscape, this is an excellent comprehensive text for students of film and politics, and a creative resource for courses in American government, international relatiTrade Review«In every chapter of this update to their superb first edition, Sachelben and Yenerall demonstrate the astounding scope of their mastery over film history, pop culture and politics. Whether using Birth of a Nation and The Kids Are All Right to discuss civil rights, or Bugs Bunny and Alexander Nevsky to analyze war, the authors weave political science with careful film interpretation and history. Scholars, undergrads and film buffs can prepare for a ‘thrill ride’ of challenge, enlightenment and intellectual amusement. Break out your popcorn and Milk Duds!» (Scott L. McLean, Professor of Political Science, Quinnipiac University) «Not just a pop culture flight of fancy – these authors combine insightful film/television criticism and rigorous engagement with political theory. They adroitly demonstrate how popular screens reflect and frame how we understand and experience pivotal political issues – civil rights, labor controversy, and U.S.-style political campaigning, to name a few.» (Charlton D. McIlwain, Associate Professor of Media, Culture & Communication, New York University) «Serious scholarly attention to popular culture arrived far too late in the social sciences, and Sachleben and Yenerall are helping to fill the gap. They put forth sophisticated yet accessible analysis of a wide array of film and television programming in a way that piques interest and encourages a persistent and critical ‘reading’ of these important elements of our political socialization.» (Stephen Maynard Caliendo, Professor of Political Science, North Central College)

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Book SynopsisFor more than a decade, girl power has been a cultural barometer, reflecting girlhood's ever-changing meanings. How did girl power evolve from a subcultural rallying cry to a mainstream catchphrase, and what meaning did young girls find in its pop culture forms? From the riot grrrls to the Spice Girls to The Powerpuff Girls, and influenced by books like Reviving Ophelia and movements like Take Our Daughters to Work Day, Growing Up With Girl Power charts this history. It considers how real girls who grew up with girl power interpreted its messages about empowerment, girlhood, strength, femininity, race, and more, and suggests that for young girls, commercialized girl power had real strengths and limitations sometimes in fascinating, unexpected ways. Encompassing issues of pre-adolescent body image, gender identity, sexism, and racism, Growing Up With Girl Power underscores the importance of talking with young girls, and is a compelling addition to the literaTrade Review«Rebecca Hains insightful new book, ‘Growing up with Girl Power: Girlhood on Screen and in Everyday Life’, offers a critical engagement with a significant aspect of the cultural history of Girlhood Studies. Feminist studies more broadly, and girl-method in particular will benefit from the careful ‘recent history’ analysis of girl power provided by Hains. As such the book will be a welcome addition to the curriculum of Girlhood Studies courses, serving as it does, as a model for methodologies for working with girls, for carrying out textual readings, and for theorizing from the ground up. For scholars in the area of Girlhood Studies, the book stands out as one that is well researched and thoughtfully presented.» (Claudia Mitchell, James McGill Professor, McGill University, and editor of ‘Girlhood Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal’) «Hains has written a fascinating, scholarly, readable history of the use and abuse of the term ‘girl power.’ This book is absolutely essential for anyone interested in girlhood, feminism or media.» (Peggy Orenstein)«Rebecca Hains insightful new book, ‘Growing up with Girl Power: Girlhood on Screen and in Everyday Life’, offers a critical engagement with a significant aspect of the cultural history of Girlhood Studies. Feminist studies more broadly, and girl-method in particular will benefit from the careful ‘recent history’ analysis of girl power provided by Hains. As such the book will be a welcome addition to the curriculum of Girlhood Studies courses, serving as it does, as a model for methodologies for working with girls, for carrying out textual readings, and for theorizing from the ground up. For scholars in the area of Girlhood Studies, the book stands out as one that is well researched and thoughtfully presented.» (Claudia Mitchell, James McGill Professor, McGill University, and editor of ‘Girlhood Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal’) «Hains has written a fascinating, scholarly, readable history of the use and abuse of the term ‘girl power.’ This book is absolutely essential for anyone interested in girlhood, feminism or media.» (Peggy Orenstein)

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Book SynopsisFor more than a decade, girl power has been a cultural barometer, reflecting girlhood's ever-changing meanings. How did girl power evolve from a subcultural rallying cry to a mainstream catchphrase, and what meaning did young girls find in its pop culture forms? From the riot grrrls to the Spice Girls to The Powerpuff Girls, and influenced by books like Reviving Ophelia and movements like Take Our Daughters to Work Day, Growing Up With Girl Power charts this history. It considers how real girls who grew up with girl power interpreted its messages about empowerment, girlhood, strength, femininity, race, and more, and suggests that for young girls, commercialized girl power had real strengths and limitations sometimes in fascinating, unexpected ways. Encompassing issues of pre-adolescent body image, gender identity, sexism, and racism, Growing Up With Girl Power underscores the importance of talking with young girls, and is a compelling addition to the literaTrade Review«Rebecca Hains insightful new book, ‘Growing up with Girl Power: Girlhood on Screen and in Everyday Life’, offers a critical engagement with a significant aspect of the cultural history of Girlhood Studies. Feminist studies more broadly, and girl-method in particular will benefit from the careful ‘recent history’ analysis of girl power provided by Hains. As such the book will be a welcome addition to the curriculum of Girlhood Studies courses, serving as it does, as a model for methodologies for working with girls, for carrying out textual readings, and for theorizing from the ground up. For scholars in the area of Girlhood Studies, the book stands out as one that is well researched and thoughtfully presented.» (Claudia Mitchell, James McGill Professor, McGill University, and editor of ‘Girlhood Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal’) «Hains has written a fascinating, scholarly, readable history of the use and abuse of the term ‘girl power.’ This book is absolutely essential for anyone interested in girlhood, feminism or media.» (Peggy Orenstein)«Rebecca Hains insightful new book, ‘Growing up with Girl Power: Girlhood on Screen and in Everyday Life’, offers a critical engagement with a significant aspect of the cultural history of Girlhood Studies. Feminist studies more broadly, and girl-method in particular will benefit from the careful ‘recent history’ analysis of girl power provided by Hains. As such the book will be a welcome addition to the curriculum of Girlhood Studies courses, serving as it does, as a model for methodologies for working with girls, for carrying out textual readings, and for theorizing from the ground up. For scholars in the area of Girlhood Studies, the book stands out as one that is well researched and thoughtfully presented.» (Claudia Mitchell, James McGill Professor, McGill University, and editor of ‘Girlhood Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal’) «Hains has written a fascinating, scholarly, readable history of the use and abuse of the term ‘girl power.’ This book is absolutely essential for anyone interested in girlhood, feminism or media.» (Peggy Orenstein)

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Book SynopsisPortable phones are now miniature multi-media centers that can fit neatly in one's pocket, and media industries of all types are adapting content for these new platforms, or innovating entirely new forms. In the light of this explosive growth, this diverse collection of essays establishes conceptual, critical frameworks for evaluating the latest transformations of the media landscape. Some essays provide historical context, exploring older phenomena such as the CB radio, automobile radio, and hand-held video games, while others unpack the behind-the-scenes negotiations that determine what kinds of services are available to consumers of the latest technology. The Mobile Media Reader is a comprehensive road map, enabling both scholars and students to examine the social, cultural, and commercial implications of media that are available anywhere at any time.Trade Review«In ‘The Mobile Media Reader’, Noah Arceneaux and Anandam Kavoori bring together a fine collection of essays on the history, design, and affordances of mobile communication. In particular, the historical material adds a needed dimension to the study of this rapidly growing phenomenon.» (Rich Ling, IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark) «An up-to-date, insightful anthology about the devices we carry in our pockets, which connect us not only to each other but to the burgeoning cosmos of information which is the Web. If you’d like this ongoing revolution placed in historical context and pitched into our future, pick up this book.» (Paul Levinson, Fordham University; Author of ‘Cellphone: The Story of the World’s Most Mobile Medium and New New Media’)«In ‘The Mobile Media Reader’, Noah Arceneaux and Anandam Kavoori bring together a fine collection of essays on the history, design, and affordances of mobile communication. In particular, the historical material adds a needed dimension to the study of this rapidly growing phenomenon.» (Rich Ling, IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark) «An up-to-date, insightful anthology about the devices we carry in our pockets, which connect us not only to each other but to the burgeoning cosmos of information which is the Web. If you’d like this ongoing revolution placed in historical context and pitched into our future, pick up this book.» (Paul Levinson, Fordham University; Author of ‘Cellphone: The Story of the World’s Most Mobile Medium and New New Media’)Table of ContentsContents: Noah Arceneaux/Anandam Kavoori: Introduction: Mapping Mobile Media – Jason Farman: Historicizing Mobile Media: Locating the Transformations of Embodied Space – Scott W. Ruston: Calling Ahead: Cinematic Imaginations of Mobile Media’s Critical Affordances – Matthew A. Killmeier: Analog Analogue: U.S. Automotive Radio as Mobile Medium – Noah Arceneaux: CB Radio: Mobile Social Networking in the 1970s – Thomas W. Hazlett: A Brief History of U.S. Mobile Spectrum – Aymar Jean Christian: Not TV, Not the Web: Mobile Video Between Openness and Control – Gerard Goggin/Caroline Hamilton: Reading After the Phone: E-readers and Mobile Media – Collette Snowden: As It Happens: Mobile Communications Technology, Journalists and Breaking News – Samuel Tobin: Time and Space in Play: Saving and Pausing with the Nintendo DS – Ben Aslinger: You Can Ring My Bell and Tap My Phone: Mobile Music, the Ringtone Economy, and the Rise of Apps – Burçe Çelik: Appropriation of Cell Phones by Kurds: The Social Practice of Struggle for Political Identities in Turkey – Imar de Vries: Through the Looking Cell Phone Screen: Dreams of Omniscience in an Age of Mobile Augmented Reality.

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Book SynopsisPortable phones are now miniature multi-media centers that can fit neatly in one's pocket, and media industries of all types are adapting content for these new platforms, or innovating entirely new forms. In the light of this explosive growth, this diverse collection of essays establishes conceptual, critical frameworks for evaluating the latest transformations of the media landscape. Some essays provide historical context, exploring older phenomena such as the CB radio, automobile radio, and hand-held video games, while others unpack the behind-the-scenes negotiations that determine what kinds of services are available to consumers of the latest technology. The Mobile Media Reader is a comprehensive road map, enabling both scholars and students to examine the social, cultural, and commercial implications of media that are available anywhere at any time.Trade Review«In ‘The Mobile Media Reader’, Noah Arceneaux and Anandam Kavoori bring together a fine collection of essays on the history, design, and affordances of mobile communication. In particular, the historical material adds a needed dimension to the study of this rapidly growing phenomenon.» (Rich Ling, IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark) «An up-to-date, insightful anthology about the devices we carry in our pockets, which connect us not only to each other but to the burgeoning cosmos of information which is the Web. If you’d like this ongoing revolution placed in historical context and pitched into our future, pick up this book.» (Paul Levinson, Fordham University; Author of ‘Cellphone: The Story of the World’s Most Mobile Medium and New New Media’)«In ‘The Mobile Media Reader’, Noah Arceneaux and Anandam Kavoori bring together a fine collection of essays on the history, design, and affordances of mobile communication. In particular, the historical material adds a needed dimension to the study of this rapidly growing phenomenon.» (Rich Ling, IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark) «An up-to-date, insightful anthology about the devices we carry in our pockets, which connect us not only to each other but to the burgeoning cosmos of information which is the Web. If you’d like this ongoing revolution placed in historical context and pitched into our future, pick up this book.» (Paul Levinson, Fordham University; Author of ‘Cellphone: The Story of the World’s Most Mobile Medium and New New Media’)Table of ContentsContents: Noah Arceneaux/Anandam Kavoori: Introduction: Mapping Mobile Media – Jason Farman: Historicizing Mobile Media: Locating the Transformations of Embodied Space – Scott W. Ruston: Calling Ahead: Cinematic Imaginations of Mobile Media’s Critical Affordances – Matthew A. Killmeier: Analog Analogue: U.S. Automotive Radio as Mobile Medium – Noah Arceneaux: CB Radio: Mobile Social Networking in the 1970s – Thomas W. Hazlett: A Brief History of U.S. Mobile Spectrum – Aymar Jean Christian: Not TV, Not the Web: Mobile Video Between Openness and Control – Gerard Goggin/Caroline Hamilton: Reading After the Phone: E-readers and Mobile Media – Collette Snowden: As It Happens: Mobile Communications Technology, Journalists and Breaking News – Samuel Tobin: Time and Space in Play: Saving and Pausing with the Nintendo DS – Ben Aslinger: You Can Ring My Bell and Tap My Phone: Mobile Music, the Ringtone Economy, and the Rise of Apps – Burçe Çelik: Appropriation of Cell Phones by Kurds: The Social Practice of Struggle for Political Identities in Turkey – Imar de Vries: Through the Looking Cell Phone Screen: Dreams of Omniscience in an Age of Mobile Augmented Reality.

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Book SynopsisBoth law and popular culture pervade our lives. Popular culture constructs our perceptions of law and changes the way that players in the legal system behave. Now in its second edition, Law and Popular Culture: A Course Book explores the interface between two subjects of enormous importance to everyone law and popular culture. Each chapter takes a particular legally themed film or television show, such as Philadelphia, Dead Man Walking, or Law and Order, treating it as both a cultural text and a legal text. The new edition has been updated with new photos and includes greater emphasis on television than in the first edition because there are so many DVDs of older TV shows now available. Law and Popular Culture is written in an accessible and engaging style, without theoretical jargon, and can serve as a basic text for undergraduates or graduate courses and be taught by anyone who enjoys pop culture and is interested in law. An instructorTrade Review«An understanding of the interrelationship between law and popular culture is key to shaping the future of law and justice in contemporary society. While a number of areas may reflect and influence popular culture, one of the most powerful is cinematic entertainment. The second edition of Law and Popular Culture: A Course Book retains all of its original brilliance as the guide for creating a graduate or undergraduate course focusing on how the portrayal of attorneys and the legal system in film and on television shapes public perception of lawyers, creates viewer expectations regarding law and justice, and may even influence the conduct of practicing attorneys and judges.» (Taylor Simpson-Wood, Professor of Law, Barry University, Dwight O. Andreas School of Law) «Law and Popular Culture: A Course Book is a welcome addition to the teaching literature in this important and burgeoning field. It may be used as a primary or secondary text, with a concise introductory overview followed by analytical chapters on important individual films or television shows in the context of this dynamic field of study. This structure, together with thoughtful organization (initially by broad topic such as ‘the adversary system’, and later by subject matter, either civil or criminal) facilitates teacher flexibility in which chapters to include and which films or television shows (or substitutes) to assign for student viewing before each class. I highly recommend this book.» (Donald Papy, Adjunct Faculty, University of Miami School of Law) «While teaching an honors class on Law and Society, I found the Asimow – Mader book to be a constant source of quotable and relevant source material for classroom use. The chapters were especially nuanced in combining social science findings with insights from cinema studies. After retirement, I continue to find the chapters relevant in film lectures on legal themes to audiences of retirees. A second edition will make an original work only more relevant and up to date.» (Edward Gross, University of Washington, Dept of Sociology (emeritus)) «Michael Asimow and Shannon Mader convincingly argue that popular representations of law are crucial to how people understand and perceive the legal system. This is an important, social constructionist insight that is not stressed often enough in law schools. The book is very well organized and shines in its emphasis on cinematic techniques, using films as illuminating case studies through which to more fully understand the American criminal and civil justice systems. The authors’ cultural legal approach is exciting because it treats popular culture as just as worthy of study as the cases and statutes normally studied in law schools. This is the leading text for Law and Popular Culture courses – enjoy!» (Dr. Jennifer L. Schulz, Associate Dean and Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Manitoba, Canada) «Using both familiar (‘Anatomy of a Murder’, ‘Twelve Angry Men’) and less known texts (‘Counsellor at Law’, ‘Philadelphia’) from a variety of eras, Law and Popular Culture offers an excellent framework for introducing college students to the study of film and its pervasive influence on our understanding of the law and lawyers. Scholarly yet accessible, it works not only as an authoritative text on popular culture, but also as a clear and concise guide to understanding how our legal system functions, making it easily adaptable to diverse audiences, including freshmen students. The questions included at the end of each chapter work exceptionally well in generating spirited yet thoughtful class discussion and debate.» (Gary Peter, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota)Table of ContentsContents: Introduction to Law and Popular Culture – The Adversary System and the Trial Genre. Assigned Film: Anatomy of a Murder (1959) – Lawyers as Heroes. Assigned Film: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) – Lawyers as Villains. Assigned Film: The Verdict (1982) – The Life of Lawyers. Assigned Film: Counsellor at Law (1933) – Legal Education. Assigned Film: The Paper Chase (1973) – Law on Television. Assigned Material: Boston Legal, Season 1, disk 1 (episodes 1–4) – The Criminal Justice System. Assigned Television Show: Law & Order (Season 5, episodes 1–4) – The Jury. Assigned Film: 12 Angry Men (1957) – Military Justice. Assigned Film: A Few Good Men (1992) – The Death Penalty. Assigned Film: Dead Man Walking (1996) – The Civil Justice System. Assigned Film: A Civil Action (1998) – Civil Rights. Assigned Film: Philadelphia (1993) – Family Law. Assigned Film: Kramer vs. Kramer (1979).

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Book SynopsisOffering a comprehensive analysis of mediated representations of global pandemics, this book engages with the construction, management, and classification of difference in the global context of a pandemic, to address what it means culturally, politically, and economically to live in an infected, diseased body. Marina Levina argues that mediated representations are essential in translating and making sense of difference as a category of subjectivity and as a mode of organizing and distributing change. Using textual analysis of media texts on pandemics and disease, she illustrates how they represent a larger mediascape that drafts stories of global instabilities and global health. Levina explains how the stories we tell about disease matter; that the media is instrumental in constructing and disseminating these stories; and that mediated narratives of pandemics are rooted in global flows of policies, commerce, and populations. Pandemics are, by definition, global crises.Trade Review«‘Pandemics and the Media’ deftly examines the intersection of politics, popular culture, economics, and technology to provide insight into the global preoccupation with pandemics. Marina Levina­ investigates the moral implications and cautionary tales underwriting fears of contamination, carefully scrutinizing how meaning is crafted and circulated through various media. The provocative case studies explore everything from the promiscuous bites of vampires to the geopolitical panic of zombie narratives to the fragility of national security in popular films about contagions.» (Jeffrey Bennett, author of ‘Banning Queer Blood: Rhetorics of Citizenship, Contagion, and Resistance’) «In this exceptionally well-researched and thoughtful book, Marina Levina reminds us that pandemics tell us as much about culture, economic relations, and political commitments as they do about any ‘brute facts’ of the biological body. And those commitments matter. During a time when we see growing disparities in the distribution of basic material resources and when fear of contagion is used to justify policies and interventions based on implicit notions of the body as a racialized and sexualized threat, we need the kind of courageous scholarship that ‘Pandemics and the Media’ exemplifies. Levina’s intellectual engagement with our most fundamental beliefs about risk, vulnerability, the normal, and the pathological is a necessary first step toward realizing a critical, affirmative biopolitics.» (Kelly Happe, author of ‘The Material Gene: Gender, Race, and Heredity after the Human Genome Project’)«‘Pandemics and the Media’ deftly examines the intersection of politics, popular culture, economics, and technology to provide insight into the global preoccupation with pandemics. Marina Levina­ investigates the moral implications and cautionary tales underwriting fears of contamination, carefully scrutinizing how meaning is crafted and circulated through various media. The provocative case studies explore everything from the promiscuous bites of vampires to the geopolitical panic of zombie narratives to the fragility of national security in popular films about contagions.» (Jeffrey Bennett, author of ‘Banning Queer Blood: Rhetorics of Citizenship, Contagion, and Resistance’) «In this exceptionally well-researched and thoughtful book, Marina Levina reminds us that pandemics tell us as much about culture, economic relations, and political commitments as they do about any ‘brute facts’ of the biological body. And those commitments matter. During a time when we see growing disparities in the distribution of basic material resources and when fear of contagion is used to justify policies and interventions based on implicit notions of the body as a racialized and sexualized threat, we need the kind of courageous scholarship that ‘Pandemics and the Media’ exemplifies. Levina’s intellectual engagement with our most fundamental beliefs about risk, vulnerability, the normal, and the pathological is a necessary first step toward realizing a critical, affirmative biopolitics.» (Kelly Happe, author of ‘The Material Gene: Gender, Race, and Heredity after the Human Genome Project’)Table of ContentsContents: Keeping the Blood Flowing: Disease, Community, and Public Imaginaries – HIV/AIDS and Mediated Narratives of Morality and Citizenship –Vampires and HIV/AIDS in the Popular Imagination – Globalization, Pandemics, and the Problem of Security – Zombie Pandemic and Governance of Life Itself – Pandemics and Digital Media Technologies.

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Book SynopsisOffering a comprehensive analysis of mediated representations of global pandemics, this book engages with the construction, management, and classification of difference in the global context of a pandemic, to address what it means culturally, politically, and economically to live in an infected, diseased body. Marina Levina argues that mediated representations are essential in translating and making sense of difference as a category of subjectivity and as a mode of organizing and distributing change. Using textual analysis of media texts on pandemics and disease, she illustrates how they represent a larger mediascape that drafts stories of global instabilities and global health. Levina explains how the stories we tell about disease matter; that the media is instrumental in constructing and disseminating these stories; and that mediated narratives of pandemics are rooted in global flows of policies, commerce, and populations. Pandemics are, by definition, global crises.Trade Review«‘Pandemics and the Media’ deftly examines the intersection of politics, popular culture, economics, and technology to provide insight into the global preoccupation with pandemics. Marina Levina­ investigates the moral implications and cautionary tales underwriting fears of contamination, carefully scrutinizing how meaning is crafted and circulated through various media. The provocative case studies explore everything from the promiscuous bites of vampires to the geopolitical panic of zombie narratives to the fragility of national security in popular films about contagions.» (Jeffrey Bennett, author of ‘Banning Queer Blood: Rhetorics of Citizenship, Contagion, and Resistance’) «In this exceptionally well-researched and thoughtful book, Marina Levina reminds us that pandemics tell us as much about culture, economic relations, and political commitments as they do about any ‘brute facts’ of the biological body. And those commitments matter. During a time when we see growing disparities in the distribution of basic material resources and when fear of contagion is used to justify policies and interventions based on implicit notions of the body as a racialized and sexualized threat, we need the kind of courageous scholarship that ‘Pandemics and the Media’ exemplifies. Levina’s intellectual engagement with our most fundamental beliefs about risk, vulnerability, the normal, and the pathological is a necessary first step toward realizing a critical, affirmative biopolitics.» (Kelly Happe, author of ‘The Material Gene: Gender, Race, and Heredity after the Human Genome Project’)«‘Pandemics and the Media’ deftly examines the intersection of politics, popular culture, economics, and technology to provide insight into the global preoccupation with pandemics. Marina Levina­ investigates the moral implications and cautionary tales underwriting fears of contamination, carefully scrutinizing how meaning is crafted and circulated through various media. The provocative case studies explore everything from the promiscuous bites of vampires to the geopolitical panic of zombie narratives to the fragility of national security in popular films about contagions.» (Jeffrey Bennett, author of ‘Banning Queer Blood: Rhetorics of Citizenship, Contagion, and Resistance’) «In this exceptionally well-researched and thoughtful book, Marina Levina reminds us that pandemics tell us as much about culture, economic relations, and political commitments as they do about any ‘brute facts’ of the biological body. And those commitments matter. During a time when we see growing disparities in the distribution of basic material resources and when fear of contagion is used to justify policies and interventions based on implicit notions of the body as a racialized and sexualized threat, we need the kind of courageous scholarship that ‘Pandemics and the Media’ exemplifies. Levina’s intellectual engagement with our most fundamental beliefs about risk, vulnerability, the normal, and the pathological is a necessary first step toward realizing a critical, affirmative biopolitics.» (Kelly Happe, author of ‘The Material Gene: Gender, Race, and Heredity after the Human Genome Project’)Table of ContentsContents: Keeping the Blood Flowing: Disease, Community, and Public Imaginaries – HIV/AIDS and Mediated Narratives of Morality and Citizenship –Vampires and HIV/AIDS in the Popular Imagination – Globalization, Pandemics, and the Problem of Security – Zombie Pandemic and Governance of Life Itself – Pandemics and Digital Media Technologies.

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Book SynopsisTime on TV examines the massive aesthetic and structural changes happening across today's television programs. Time travel, flash forwards, fake memories: Paul Booth's analysis reveals the theory and practices that are changing television and online media as we know them. His engaging examination of the mashup of television and social media uncovers a temporal complexity at the heart of our own lives. The characteristically enigmatic television narrative becomes emblematic of a very human interaction with social and digital media. A perfect book for twenty-first century television studies, media studies, or anyone who wants to know why there's so much time travel on television, Time on TV answers questions you didn't even know you had about today's television, digital technology, and our daily lives.Trade Review«It’s about time we got a book about television temporality, and Paul Booth does a wonderful job delivering it. A great read that takes a refreshingly innovative approach to television analysis.» (Jonathan Gray, Author of ‘Television Entertainment ’; Co-author of ‘Television Studies’) «‘Time on TV’ is a preemptive sequel to my own book on Complex TV, even before that book was published. But through Booth’s analysis of temporality, memory, and networking, this chronology seems somehow possible and even appropriate! Regardless of what sort of time travel he may have used to write it, this book connects television aesthetics with shifts in digital media and participatory culture through compelling analyses that should resonate across multiple timeframes.» (Jason Mittell, Middlebury College, Author of ‘Television and American Culture’)«It’s about time we got a book about television temporality, and Paul Booth does a wonderful job delivering it. A great read that takes a refreshingly innovative approach to television analysis.» (Jonathan Gray, Author of ‘Television Entertainment ’; Co-author of ‘Television Studies’) «‘Time on TV’ is a preemptive sequel to my own book on Complex TV, even before that book was published. But through Booth’s analysis of temporality, memory, and networking, this chronology seems somehow possible and even appropriate! Regardless of what sort of time travel he may have used to write it, this book connects television aesthetics with shifts in digital media and participatory culture through compelling analyses that should resonate across multiple timeframes.» (Jason Mittell, Middlebury College, Author of ‘Television and American Culture’)

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Book SynopsisIn the documentary Celluloid Closet (1995), actress Susan Sarandon said films are important and they're dangerous because we're the keepers of the dreams. The visual media hold a powerful sway, influencing attitudes on class, gender, race, and ethnicity, politics, religion, and sexual orientation. Dangerous Dreams: Essays on American Film and Television employs aesthetic, feminist, historical, Marxist, psychoanalytic, semiological, and sociological criticism to explore five decades of film and television texts that have captivated audiences. From Ordinary People (1980) to Shutter Island (2011) and from The Beverly Hillbillies (19621971) to Sex and the City (19982004), the study is divided into four sections, each comprised of several essays that explore the effects of narrative and visual texts. Sections include The Role of Literature in Film and Television, Portrayals of Race, Ethnicity, and Sexual Orientation in Film; Portrayals of Race, EthnicityTrade Review«Jan Whitt’s splendid Dangerous Dreams is a groundbreaking work. It places film and television at the center stage of modern American culture. Its absorbing essays probe the meaning of electronic media's personal influence for over five decades, offered in a variety of contexts. The vivid exploration of adaptations include literary classics and authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and Virginia Woolf, and extend to impact on individual audience members through filmmakers like Alfred Hitchcock and Martin Scorsese. The result is a complex, but complete picture in mass media territory unexplored by others.» (Michael D. Murray, University of Missouri Board of Curators Distinguished Professor in Media Studies)

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Book SynopsisSpanning several years of research, this book compares and contrasts how public and commercial TV stations present foreign, domestic, and hybrid news from a number of different countries. It examines what viewers of television news think about foreign news, their interest in it, and what sense they make of it. The book also assesses what the gatekeepers of foreign news journalists, producers, and editors think about what they produce, and about their viewers. This book shows that while globalization is a dominant force in society, and though news can be instantaneously broadcast internationally, there is relatively little commonality throughout the world in the depiction of events occurring in other countries. Thus, contrary to McLuhan's famous but untested notion of the global village, television news in the countries discussed in this book actually presents more variability than similarity. The research gathered here is based on a quantitative content analysis of over 17,00Trade Review»This examination of foreign news on television in 17 countries is an ambitious and path-breaking approach to the expanding field of international journalism scholarship. It links data from content analyses, audience surveys, and interviews with editorial personnel. The research reveals far more difference and variety than similarity or uniformity in how foreign news is presented and received across the world. The implications for the concept of a ‘global village’ are discussed in an excellent concluding chapter.» (Jay Blumler, University of Leeds) «This comprehensive book about foreign news provides rich and substantive findings generated from intriguing cross-national comparisons. Above all, the conclusions shed light on the role foreign news plays in the elusive concept of ‘global village.’ It is a must-read for scholars in the fields of international communication, international relations, journalism, and regional studies.» (H. Denis Wu, Boston University)»This examination of foreign news on television in 17 countries is an ambitious and path-breaking approach to the expanding field of international journalism scholarship. It links data from content analyses, audience surveys, and interviews with editorial personnel. The research reveals far more difference and variety than similarity or uniformity in how foreign news is presented and received across the world. The implications for the concept of a ‘global village’ are discussed in an excellent concluding chapter.» (Jay Blumler, University of Leeds) «This comprehensive book about foreign news provides rich and substantive findings generated from intriguing cross-national comparisons. Above all, the conclusions shed light on the role foreign news plays in the elusive concept of ‘global village.’ It is a must-read for scholars in the fields of international communication, international relations, journalism, and regional studies.» (H. Denis Wu, Boston University)Table of ContentsContents: Akiba A. Cohen/Thomas Hanitzsch/Agnieszka Stępińska/William Porath/Christine Heimprecht: Rationale, Design, and Methodologies – Agnieszka Stępińska/William Porath/Constanza Mujica/Xiaoge Xu/Akiba A. Cohen: The Prevalence of News: Domestic, Foreign, and Hybrid – Knut De Swert/António Belo/Rasha Kamhawi/Ven-hwei Lo/Constanza Mujica/William Porath: Topics in Foreign and Domestic Television News – Jürgen Wilke/Christine Heimprecht/Youichi Ito: Countries of Location and Countries Involved – António Belo/Elizabeth Godo/Knut De Swert/André Sendin: Actors in Foreign News – Jürgen Wilke/Christine Heimprecht: Formal Features and Sources in Foreign News – Joseph M. Chan/Francis L.F. Lee: Foreign News on Public and Commercial Stations – Lars Willnat/David Weaver/Agnieszka Stępińska/Ven-hwei Lo: Who Uses News, How Much, and Why? – Thomas Hanitzsch/Abby Goodrum/Thorsten Quandt/Thilo von Pape: Interest in Foreign News – Thilo von Pape/Thorsten Quandt/Thomas Hanitzsch/Jacques Alkalai Wainberg: Countries of Interest – Constanza Mujica/Thomas Hanitzsch: Gatekeepers on Decision-Making in Foreign News – Lars Willnat/Akiba A. Cohen: Self-Reflexivity of Gatekeepers on Content and Viewers of Foreign News – Knut De Swert/Akiba A. Cohen: Linking Content and Audiences: Topics in the News – Francis Lee/Jürgen Wilke/Akiba A. Cohen: Linking Content and Audiences: Countries of Interest – All Project Participants: Overall Conclusions for Individual Countries – Akiba A. Cohen: Where in the World Is the Global Village?

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Book SynopsisSpanning several years of research, this book compares and contrasts how public and commercial TV stations present foreign, domestic, and hybrid news from a number of different countries. It examines what viewers of television news think about foreign news, their interest in it, and what sense they make of it. The book also assesses what the gatekeepers of foreign news journalists, producers, and editors think about what they produce, and about their viewers. This book shows that while globalization is a dominant force in society, and though news can be instantaneously broadcast internationally, there is relatively little commonality throughout the world in the depiction of events occurring in other countries. Thus, contrary to McLuhan's famous but untested notion of the global village, television news in the countries discussed in this book actually presents more variability than similarity. The research gathered here is based on a quantitative content analysis of over 17,00Trade Review»This examination of foreign news on television in 17 countries is an ambitious and path-breaking approach to the expanding field of international journalism scholarship. It links data from content analyses, audience surveys, and interviews with editorial personnel. The research reveals far more difference and variety than similarity or uniformity in how foreign news is presented and received across the world. The implications for the concept of a ‘global village’ are discussed in an excellent concluding chapter.» (Jay Blumler, University of Leeds) «This comprehensive book about foreign news provides rich and substantive findings generated from intriguing cross-national comparisons. Above all, the conclusions shed light on the role foreign news plays in the elusive concept of ‘global village.’ It is a must-read for scholars in the fields of international communication, international relations, journalism, and regional studies.» (H. Denis Wu, Boston University)»This examination of foreign news on television in 17 countries is an ambitious and path-breaking approach to the expanding field of international journalism scholarship. It links data from content analyses, audience surveys, and interviews with editorial personnel. The research reveals far more difference and variety than similarity or uniformity in how foreign news is presented and received across the world. The implications for the concept of a ‘global village’ are discussed in an excellent concluding chapter.» (Jay Blumler, University of Leeds) «This comprehensive book about foreign news provides rich and substantive findings generated from intriguing cross-national comparisons. Above all, the conclusions shed light on the role foreign news plays in the elusive concept of ‘global village.’ It is a must-read for scholars in the fields of international communication, international relations, journalism, and regional studies.» (H. Denis Wu, Boston University)Table of ContentsContents: Akiba A. Cohen/Thomas Hanitzsch/Agnieszka Stępińska/William Porath/Christine Heimprecht: Rationale, Design, and Methodologies – Agnieszka Stępińska/William Porath/Constanza Mujica/Xiaoge Xu/Akiba A. Cohen: The Prevalence of News: Domestic, Foreign, and Hybrid – Knut De Swert/António Belo/Rasha Kamhawi/Ven-hwei Lo/Constanza Mujica/William Porath: Topics in Foreign and Domestic Television News – Jürgen Wilke/Christine Heimprecht/Youichi Ito: Countries of Location and Countries Involved – António Belo/Elizabeth Godo/Knut De Swert/André Sendin: Actors in Foreign News – Jürgen Wilke/Christine Heimprecht: Formal Features and Sources in Foreign News – Joseph M. Chan/Francis L.F. Lee: Foreign News on Public and Commercial Stations – Lars Willnat/David Weaver/Agnieszka Stępińska/Ven-hwei Lo: Who Uses News, How Much, and Why? – Thomas Hanitzsch/Abby Goodrum/Thorsten Quandt/Thilo von Pape: Interest in Foreign News – Thilo von Pape/Thorsten Quandt/Thomas Hanitzsch/Jacques Alkalai Wainberg: Countries of Interest – Constanza Mujica/Thomas Hanitzsch: Gatekeepers on Decision-Making in Foreign News – Lars Willnat/Akiba A. Cohen: Self-Reflexivity of Gatekeepers on Content and Viewers of Foreign News – Knut De Swert/Akiba A. Cohen: Linking Content and Audiences: Topics in the News – Francis Lee/Jürgen Wilke/Akiba A. Cohen: Linking Content and Audiences: Countries of Interest – All Project Participants: Overall Conclusions for Individual Countries – Akiba A. Cohen: Where in the World Is the Global Village?

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Book SynopsisIn response to the growing scope and popularity of wedding-related offerings and the media attention given to celebrity and royal weddings, The Bride Factory critically examines various bridal media outlets, artifacts, and the messages they convey about women today. The book departs from conventional wisdom and other treatments of the bridal industry as a scholarly topic by revealing how media portray women in modern American society, and how these portrayals reflect feminism and femininity and illustrate the hegemony created by these media. The book discusses the portrayal of women as brides in media coverage throughout history; the various forms of wedding media, including print, television, and the Internet; how bridal media forward ideals of feminine beauty; how reality wedding programs depict brides and the new bridezilla as agents of control over their perfect day; the role of men in wedding planning; and the extent to which the white wedding ideal is embraced or resiste

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Book SynopsisIn response to the growing scope and popularity of wedding-related offerings and the media attention given to celebrity and royal weddings, The Bride Factory critically examines various bridal media outlets, artifacts, and the messages they convey about women today. The book departs from conventional wisdom and other treatments of the bridal industry as a scholarly topic by revealing how media portray women in modern American society, and how these portrayals reflect feminism and femininity and illustrate the hegemony created by these media. The book discusses the portrayal of women as brides in media coverage throughout history; the various forms of wedding media, including print, television, and the Internet; how bridal media forward ideals of feminine beauty; how reality wedding programs depict brides and the new bridezilla as agents of control over their perfect day; the role of men in wedding planning; and the extent to which the white wedding ideal is embraced or resiste

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Book SynopsisNeil Postman's most popular work, Amusing Ourselves to Death (1985), provided an insightful critique of the effects of television on public discourse in America, arguing that television's bias towards entertaining content trivializes serious issues and undermines the basis of democratic culture. Lance Strate, who earned his doctorate under Neil Postman and is one of the leading media ecology scholars of our time, re-examines Postman's arguments, updating his analysis and critique for the twenty-first-century media environment that includes the expansion of television programming via cable and satellite as well as the Internet, the web, social media, and mobile technologies. Integrating Postman's arguments about television with his critique of technology in general, Strate considers the current state of journalism, politics, religion, and education in American culture. Strate also contextualizes Amusing Ourselves to Death through an examination of Postman's life and caTrade Review«When Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death is brought into the classroom, or given as a gift, or handed from one reader to another, a problem is created: into what frame should we place this book? For that’s how unique it is. Lance Strate has solved that problem by writing a graceful and learned companion to Postman’s original. It doubles as a biographical sketch of a great man and his intellectual times. It is also an act of love. And if you love the book it’s about, you will be grateful for Strate’s Amazing Ourselves to Death. I am. And I highly recommend it.» (Jay Rosen, Professor of Journalism, New York University) «Lance Strate masterfully brings to a new generation, and a new century, Neil Postman’s enligh-tening and essential insights into the ways that our uses of media reflect and reshape our society. He further shows how we can reclaim control, so we can use the ever-evolving media rather than letting them use us.» (Deborah Tannen, University Professor and Professor of Linguistics, Georgetown University) «This book, I believe, will remain a foundational text in the field of educational technology. The content presented by the author is based on validated teaching and learning theories and reliable pedagogical principles. For those who are not familiar with Postman’s body of work and that of his contemporaries, this homage is a useful compendium and foundation from which to examine emerging technologies and their impacts on culture and education.» (Diane Gayeski, Educational Technology, January/February 2015)«When Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death is brought into the classroom, or given as a gift, or handed from one reader to another, a problem is created: into what frame should we place this book? For that’s how unique it is. Lance Strate has solved that problem by writing a graceful and learned companion to Postman’s original. It doubles as a biographical sketch of a great man and his intellectual times. It is also an act of love. And if you love the book it’s about, you will be grateful for Strate’s Amazing Ourselves to Death. I am. And I highly recommend it.» (Jay Rosen, Professor of Journalism, New York University) «Lance Strate masterfully brings to a new generation, and a new century, Neil Postman’s enligh-tening and essential insights into the ways that our uses of media reflect and reshape our society. He further shows how we can reclaim control, so we can use the ever-evolving media rather than letting them use us.» (Deborah Tannen, University Professor and Professor of Linguistics, Georgetown University) «This book, I believe, will remain a foundational text in the field of educational technology. The content presented by the author is based on validated teaching and learning theories and reliable pedagogical principles. For those who are not familiar with Postman’s body of work and that of his contemporaries, this homage is a useful compendium and foundation from which to examine emerging technologies and their impacts on culture and education.» (Diane Gayeski, Educational Technology, January/February 2015)

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Book SynopsisNeil Postman's most popular work, Amusing Ourselves to Death (1985), provided an insightful critique of the effects of television on public discourse in America, arguing that television's bias towards entertaining content trivializes serious issues and undermines the basis of democratic culture. Lance Strate, who earned his doctorate under Neil Postman and is one of the leading media ecology scholars of our time, re-examines Postman's arguments, updating his analysis and critique for the twenty-first-century media environment that includes the expansion of television programming via cable and satellite as well as the Internet, the web, social media, and mobile technologies. Integrating Postman's arguments about television with his critique of technology in general, Strate considers the current state of journalism, politics, religion, and education in American culture. Strate also contextualizes Amusing Ourselves to Death through an examination of Postman's life and caTrade Review«When Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death is brought into the classroom, or given as a gift, or handed from one reader to another, a problem is created: into what frame should we place this book? For that’s how unique it is. Lance Strate has solved that problem by writing a graceful and learned companion to Postman’s original. It doubles as a biographical sketch of a great man and his intellectual times. It is also an act of love. And if you love the book it’s about, you will be grateful for Strate’s Amazing Ourselves to Death. I am. And I highly recommend it.» (Jay Rosen, Professor of Journalism, New York University) «Lance Strate masterfully brings to a new generation, and a new century, Neil Postman’s enligh-tening and essential insights into the ways that our uses of media reflect and reshape our society. He further shows how we can reclaim control, so we can use the ever-evolving media rather than letting them use us.» (Deborah Tannen, University Professor and Professor of Linguistics, Georgetown University) «This book, I believe, will remain a foundational text in the field of educational technology. The content presented by the author is based on validated teaching and learning theories and reliable pedagogical principles. For those who are not familiar with Postman’s body of work and that of his contemporaries, this homage is a useful compendium and foundation from which to examine emerging technologies and their impacts on culture and education.» (Diane Gayeski, Educational Technology, January/February 2015)«When Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death is brought into the classroom, or given as a gift, or handed from one reader to another, a problem is created: into what frame should we place this book? For that’s how unique it is. Lance Strate has solved that problem by writing a graceful and learned companion to Postman’s original. It doubles as a biographical sketch of a great man and his intellectual times. It is also an act of love. And if you love the book it’s about, you will be grateful for Strate’s Amazing Ourselves to Death. I am. And I highly recommend it.» (Jay Rosen, Professor of Journalism, New York University) «Lance Strate masterfully brings to a new generation, and a new century, Neil Postman’s enligh-tening and essential insights into the ways that our uses of media reflect and reshape our society. He further shows how we can reclaim control, so we can use the ever-evolving media rather than letting them use us.» (Deborah Tannen, University Professor and Professor of Linguistics, Georgetown University) «This book, I believe, will remain a foundational text in the field of educational technology. The content presented by the author is based on validated teaching and learning theories and reliable pedagogical principles. For those who are not familiar with Postman’s body of work and that of his contemporaries, this homage is a useful compendium and foundation from which to examine emerging technologies and their impacts on culture and education.» (Diane Gayeski, Educational Technology, January/February 2015)

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Book SynopsisJournalism is in crisis. The rise of the internet through social media and citizen journalism and the financial crisis of 2008 have taken their toll. Thousands of reporters and editors have been laid off; nightly news on the major networks is losing close to one million viewers a year; newspapers have seen declining ad revenues and circulation figures cut in half; and the old business model for newspapers based on advertising and subscriptions appears to be collapsing. Filling the void is commentary, punditry, and even bigotry. It may have an audience, but it's not journalism in the professional sense: a commitment to objectivity and a separation of news and opinion. At this important juncture in the evolution of journalism, Media Smackdown takes a close look at the history of the news media in America in order to address the historical, legal, economic, theoretical, and political issues that affect the practice as well as the changing face and future of journalism.Trade Review«The rise and fall of newspapers presents a failed business model but not failed journalism. Major issues in journalism are thoroughly explored and a roadmap for the future of journalism concludes this book.» (James W. Brown, Indiana University School of Journalism) «…Journalism is in trouble, largely from its own hand. The authors navigate the current state of the field and conclude with a much-needed call to action for students and practitioners.» (Hal W. Fulmer, Troy University) «This is a thoughtful, well-researched book crafted with an eye toward readability ... Whether a journalist, academic, or interested general reader, Media Smackdown will offer insights into the contemporary difficulties and possibilities facing journalism today.» (Robert E. Denton, Jr., Virginia Tech) «This book is written in blunt language. It pulls no punches in its dissection of the news industry’s malaise, and it plays no favorites. In short, it's the kick in the pants that's long overdue.» (Stephen D. Cooper, Marshall University) «Readers get an encyclopedic review of the tumultuous and painful transition of newspapers in the technology age.» (Ward Bushee, Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle)«The rise and fall of newspapers presents a failed business model but not failed journalism. Major issues in journalism are thoroughly explored and a roadmap for the future of journalism concludes this book.» (James W. Brown, Indiana University School of Journalism) «…Journalism is in trouble, largely from its own hand. The authors navigate the current state of the field and conclude with a much-needed call to action for students and practitioners.» (Hal W. Fulmer, Troy University) «This is a thoughtful, well-researched book crafted with an eye toward readability ... Whether a journalist, academic, or interested general reader, Media Smackdown will offer insights into the contemporary difficulties and possibilities facing journalism today.» (Robert E. Denton, Jr., Virginia Tech) «This book is written in blunt language. It pulls no punches in its dissection of the news industry’s malaise, and it plays no favorites. In short, it's the kick in the pants that's long overdue.» (Stephen D. Cooper, Marshall University) «Readers get an encyclopedic review of the tumultuous and painful transition of newspapers in the technology age.» (Ward Bushee, Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle)Table of ContentsContents: Abe Aamidor/Jim A. Kuypers: Why Journalism Matters – Abe Aamidor: The Rise and Fall of the Newspaper Industry – Susan Wiesinger: The Evolution of Media Technologies – Abe Aamidor: Regulating the Press, Guaranteeing a Free Press – Abe Aamidor: New Business Models for Journalism – Jim A. Kuypers: Issues of Bias in the News Media: How Our Reality Is Shaped by the News – Abe Aamidor: What Liberal Media? – Abe Aamidor/Jim A. Kuypers/Susan Wiesinger: The Future of Journalism.

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Book SynopsisThis is the first in-depth look at the development of the television newscast, the most popular source of news for over forty-five years. During the 1940s, most journalists ignored or dismissed television, leaving the challenge to a small group of people working above New York City's Grand Central Terminal. Without the pressures of ratings, sponsors, company oversight, or many viewers, the group refused to recreate newspapers, radio, or newsreels on the new medium. They experimented, argued, tested, and eventually settled on a format to exploit television's strengths. This book documents that process, challenging common myths including the importance of a popular anchor, and television's inability to communicate non-visual stories and crediting those whose work was critical in the formation of television as a news format, and illustrating the pressures and professional roadblocks facing those who dare question journalistic traditions of any era.Trade Review«Did you know Ed Murrow once wished aloud that television had never been invented? That was just one of many things I learned from this fine account of the beginning of TV news. Masterful research and a pleasure to read.» (Bob Schieffer, CBS News chief Washington correspondent and moderator of ‘Face the Nation’) «Mike Conway skillfully reconstructs a lost chapter in the history of television: how a few creative and dedicated CBS employees invented television news in the 1940s. In the process, Conway upends the widely held view that TV news possessed few virtues until Ed Murrow and Fred Friendly launched ‘See It Now’ in 1951. This book is essential reading for historians of journalism and broadcasting.» (James L. Baughman, University of Wisconsin) «This book is a remarkable piece of serious scholarship. Mike Conway has told a fiercely accurate story of the development of the industry. His rich detail [and] his authentic descriptions of events of long ago come to life for me as vividly as if they happened only yesterday.» (Chester Burger, CBS Television News, 1946-1954) «Anyone who laments the passing of the old guard in TV news will greatly benefit from reading this superbly-researched, insightful account of the founding of the field at CBS News, by the most respected emerging scholar in the field of journalism history, Mike Conway. While our landscape is littered with memoirs by CBS news pioneers, this book provides a serious, scholarly examination of the medium’s early era and its influence. It offers the underlying rationale for broadcast innovations and some indispensable perspective on what passes for news today. The author explains what made TV news tick – and how it translates to the modern day.» (Mike Murray, University of Missouri-St.Louis, Editor-in-chief, ‘Encyclopedia of Television News’)«Did you know Ed Murrow once wished aloud that television had never been invented? That was just one of many things I learned from this fine account of the beginning of TV news. Masterful research and a pleasure to read.» (Bob Schieffer, CBS News chief Washington correspondent and moderator of ‘Face the Nation’) «Mike Conway skillfully reconstructs a lost chapter in the history of television: how a few creative and dedicated CBS employees invented television news in the 1940s. In the process, Conway upends the widely held view that TV news possessed few virtues until Ed Murrow and Fred Friendly launched See It Now in 1951. This book is essential reading for historians of journalism and broadcasting.» (James L. Baughman, University of Wisconsin) «This book is a remarkable piece of serious scholarship. Mike Conway has told a fiercely accurate story of the development of the industry. His rich detail (and) his authentic descriptions of events of long ago come to life for me as vividly as if they happened only yesterday.» (Chester Burger, CBS Television News, 1946-1954) «Anyone who laments the passing of the old guard in TV news will greatly benefit from reading this superbly-researched, insightful account of the founding of the field at CBS News, by the most respected emerging scholar in the field of journalism history, Mike Conway. While our landscape is littered with memoirs by CBS news pioneers, this book provides a serious, scholarly examination of the medium’s early era and its influence. It offers the underlying rationale for broadcast innovations and some indispensable perspective on what passes for news today. The author explains what made TV news tick – and how it translates to the modern day.» (Mike Murray, University of Missouri-St.Louis, Editor-in-chief, ‘Encyclopedia of Television News’)

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Book SynopsisIntercultural Communication as a Clash of Civilizations argues that Al-Jazeera is not an agent of globalization, as is widely argued, but a tool used by the Qatari government to advance its political as well as Islamist goals. This book also maps the Western tendency to reject the network outright despite Al-Jazeera's billion-dollar investments designed to gain entrance into Western markets; it shows empirically that this rejection is similarly rooted in religious, cultural and national motives. This book asserts that the main outcome of Al-Jazeera's activities is the promotion of religious and cultural conflicts. The network persistently portrays global events through the prism of conflicting religious and cultural values propelling a clash of civilizations as per Samuel P. Huntington's well-known thesis.Trade Review«By writing this empirically rich and theoretically sophisticated book, Tal Samuel-Azran has contributed to widening the terms of debate in global news flow. By linking Al-Jazeera with the discourse of soft power, the book also contributes to the much-needed conversation between scholars of international relations and international communication. Researchers and policy mandarins will find this book a valuable resource to make sense of the growing importance of soft power in public diplomacy and the primacy of communication in this process.» (From the foreword by Daya Thussu)«By writing this empirically rich and theoretically sophisticated book, Tal Samuel-Azran has contributed to widening the terms of debate in global news flow. By linking Al-Jazeera with the discourse of soft power, the book also contributes to the much-needed conversation between scholars of international relations and international communication. Researchers and policy mandarins will find this book a valuable resource to make sense of the growing importance of soft power in public diplomacy and the primacy of communication in this process.» (From the foreword by Daya Thussu)Table of ContentsContents: The Qatar-Al-Jazeera Nexus – Qatar Invents the Most Effective Contemporary State-Sponsored Broadcasting Network – Qatar’s Soft Power: A Macro Perspective – Qatar Operates Al-Jazeera as a Smart Power Tool in Its Relationship With Saudi Arabia – Al-Jazeera’s Role in Qatar’s Race to Become a «Core State» in the Muslim World During the Arab Spring – Al-Jazeera’s Obsession With the Clash-of-Civilizations Theory and Its Contribution to Qatar’s Core-State Ambition – Part II: Al-Jazeera’s Soft Power Strategies in the West – Al-Jazeera in the US – Al-Jazeera’s Soft Power and Israel – Putting It All Together: The Al-Jazeera Effect and What It Means for International and Intercultural Studies.

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Book SynopsisIntercultural Communication as a Clash of Civilizations argues that Al-Jazeera is not an agent of globalization, as is widely argued, but a tool used by the Qatari government to advance its political as well as Islamist goals. This book also maps the Western tendency to reject the network outright despite Al-Jazeera's billion-dollar investments designed to gain entrance into Western markets; it shows empirically that this rejection is similarly rooted in religious, cultural and national motives. This book asserts that the main outcome of Al-Jazeera's activities is the promotion of religious and cultural conflicts. The network persistently portrays global events through the prism of conflicting religious and cultural values propelling a clash of civilizations as per Samuel P. Huntington's well-known thesis.Trade Review«By writing this empirically rich and theoretically sophisticated book, Tal Samuel-Azran has contributed to widening the terms of debate in global news flow. By linking Al-Jazeera with the discourse of soft power, the book also contributes to the much-needed conversation between scholars of international relations and international communication. Researchers and policy mandarins will find this book a valuable resource to make sense of the growing importance of soft power in public diplomacy and the primacy of communication in this process.» (From the foreword by Daya Thussu)«By writing this empirically rich and theoretically sophisticated book, Tal Samuel-Azran has contributed to widening the terms of debate in global news flow. By linking Al-Jazeera with the discourse of soft power, the book also contributes to the much-needed conversation between scholars of international relations and international communication. Researchers and policy mandarins will find this book a valuable resource to make sense of the growing importance of soft power in public diplomacy and the primacy of communication in this process.» (From the foreword by Daya Thussu)Table of ContentsContents: The Qatar-Al-Jazeera Nexus – Qatar Invents the Most Effective Contemporary State-Sponsored Broadcasting Network – Qatar’s Soft Power: A Macro Perspective – Qatar Operates Al-Jazeera as a Smart Power Tool in Its Relationship With Saudi Arabia – Al-Jazeera’s Role in Qatar’s Race to Become a «Core State» in the Muslim World During the Arab Spring – Al-Jazeera’s Obsession With the Clash-of-Civilizations Theory and Its Contribution to Qatar’s Core-State Ambition – Part II: Al-Jazeera’s Soft Power Strategies in the West – Al-Jazeera in the US – Al-Jazeera’s Soft Power and Israel – Putting It All Together: The Al-Jazeera Effect and What It Means for International and Intercultural Studies.

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