This book moves beyond the narrow focus of much of the work on media and cultural studies to examine the whole process of interaction between the media and the social world. Rejecting approaches which focus only on ownership or discourse or audience reception, this new book from the Glasgow Media Group, examines: promotional strategies; media production; representation and audience responses; as well as broader impacts on policy, culture and society.

Using a detailed analysis of the struggle over representation during the AIDS crisis as point of departure, The Circuit of Mass Communication reveals the power of the media to influence public opinion, and the complex interaction between media coverage, audience response and contemporary power relations. Based on extensive empirical research, this book offers a range of challenging insights on media power, active audiences and moral panics.

Reviews
The book begins by documenting the politics of AIDS health education initiatives in Britain and goes on to examine the nature of the media coverage, identifying how it has changed over time and differed between newspapers, TV news, documentary and fiction. Challenging a simple `moral panic' model of the AIDS crisis, the authors provide detailed documentation and critical analysis of the complex interaction between policy makers, health education, the media and `the public'.

`Beyond its obvious appeal to those interested in the history, sociology, and cultural study of AIDS in the United Kingdom, this collection also provides a valuable contribution to the broader areas of media history and the contemporary history of health and medicine, two areas that, as this book demonstrates, share a complex and largely un-researched history.' - Social History of Medicine

Book Information
ISBN 9780803977037
Author David Miller
Format Paperback
Page Count 256
Imprint Sage Publications Ltd
Publisher Sage Publications Ltd
Weight(grams) 440g