Synopses & Reviews
You will never look at your cell phone, TV, or computer the same way after reading this book. Greening the Media not only reveals the dirty secrets that hide inside our favorite electronic devices; it also takes apart the myths that have pushed these gadgets to the center of our lives. Marshaling an astounding array of economic, environmental, and historical facts, Maxwell and Miller debunk the idea that information and communication technologies (ICT) are clean and ecologically benign. The authors show how the physical reality of making, consuming, and discarding them is rife with toxic ingredients, poisonous working conditions, and hazardous waste. But all is not lost. As the title suggests, Maxwell and Miller dwell critically on these environmental problems in order to think creatively about ways to solve them. They enlist a range of potential allies in this effort to foster greener media--from green consumers to green citizens, with stops along the way to hear from exploited workers, celebrities, and assorted bureaucrats. Ultimately, Greening the Media rethinks the status of print and screen technologies, opening new lines of historical and social analysis of ICT, consumer electronics, and media production.
Review
"Someone once said that people should never go into the kitchen of a restaurant where they enjoy eating. Toby Miller and Richard Maxwell take us into the electronic media's kitchen, and the food will never taste the same again. In a brilliant, even stunning, expose of the environmental practices and impact of media corporations, Greening the Media is one of the most important media books in years. Extremely readable and entertaining, this highly original and well-researched book should be mandatory reading for everyone with a cell phone or a flat-screen television." --Robert W. McChesney, coauthor of The Death and Life of American Journalism
Synopsis
A lively, balanced, and insightful guide to interpreting the media, Doing 21st Century Media Studies gives readers a practical introduction to the major issues that comprise media studies--most significantly, the media's immense, relentless, and often pernicious effect on society. In this
compelling and accessible volume, Toby Miller and Richard Maxwell present analytical tools that work to decode media messages, motivating readers to become more critically and politically engaged with their own daily intake of media. By outlining a more proactive and constructive approach to media
studies, the authors argue that media is not merely something that is done to us--instead, they present it as an engaging arena through which we can better understand the world around us.
About the Author
Richard Maxwell is Professor and Chair of Media Studies at Queens College, City University of New York.
Toby Miller is Distinguished Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of California, Riverside.
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
1. CONSUMERS
2. WORDS
3. SCREENS
4. WORKERS
5. BUREAUCRATS
6. CITIZENS
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY