Whether we are watching TV, surfing the Internet, listening to our iPods, or reading a novel, we all engage with media as an audience. . Despite the widespread use of this term in our popular culture, the meaning of "audience" is complex, and it has undergone significant historical shifts as new forms of mediated communication have developed from print, telegraphy, and radio to film, television, and the Internet. Media Audiences: Effects, Users, Institutions, and Power 2nd Edition explores the concept of media audiences from four broad perspectives: as "victims" of mass media, as market constructions and commodities, as users of media, and as producers and subcultures of mass media. The goal of the text is for students to be able to think critically about the role and status of media audiences in contemporary society, reflecting on their relative power in relation to institutional media producers.


About the Author
John L. Sullivan is Associate Professor of Media & Communication at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. He earned his B.A. in German and Media Studies from Pomona College and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Communication from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Sullivan's research explores the links between media industries and systems of social and economic power. More specifically, he focuses on audience constructions within media organizations, the implementation of U.S. media policies, and the political economy of cultural production. Recently, Dr. Sullivan has begun a longer-term project to study the political economy of free, open source software (F/OSS) movements.

Reviews

"Great introduction for Level 4."

-- Paula Hearsum

"The best book in the field right now."

"Good primer for students, you can't go wrong with this."

"Yes, it links theory with examples and research. The only thing close is Abercrombie and that book is hugely dated. I see it as a successor to Abercrombie."

-- Robbie Smyth

"Sullivan has written a lucid and challenging introduction to the study of media audiences from both scholarly and industry perspectives. The complex conceptual material will stimulate and engage the most curious students while providing practical directions for emerging scholars and professionals."

-- Robert Huesca



Book Information
ISBN 9781506397405
Author John L. Sullivan
Format Paperback
Page Count 368
Imprint SAGE Publications Inc
Publisher SAGE Publications Inc
Weight(grams) 670g