Media/Impact: An Introduction to Mass Media

Consistently praised for its engaging writing style, currency, and visual appeal, MEDIA/IMPACT introduces students to today's converged mass media-its industries and support industries, as well as the legal, ethical, social, global, and technological issues that accompany them. Emphasizing the impact of the media on individuals and society, Biagi grounds her discussion in the fact that the media are first and foremost in the business of making money, and provides concise histories of each industry before giving students an insider's look at what it's like to work in each industry. The new edition of this enduring bestseller offers several important new features, including a media literacy case study in each chapter; enhanced chapter review materials, including new Critical Questions; an extensive online media careers guide; and an entirely new collection of video clips with critical viewing questions.

From media history to today's rapid-fire changes, MEDIA/IMPACT takes you on a tour of the events, people, and technologies that have shaped and are shaping the industry. Known for its engaging writing style, currency, and visual appeal, this book explores the converged mass media--its industries and support industries as well as the legal, ethical, social, global, and technological issues that accompany them. Emphasizing the impact of the media on individuals and society, the book illustrates that the media are foremost in the business of making money and shows you what it's like to work in each industry. Included are media literacy case studies, an extensive online media careers guide, and a new collection of video clips.

Shirley Biagi is a professor in the Department of Communication Studies at California State University, Sacramento. Also, she currently is working as an Internet and publications consultant to the California Chamber of Commerce. From 1998 to 2000, she was Editor of AMERICAN JOURNALISM, the national media history quarterly published by the American Journalism Historians Association. She has served as guest faculty for the Center for Digital Government, the Poynter Institute, the American Press Institute, the National Writers Workshop, and the Hearst Fellowship Program at the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. She also was one of eight project interviewers for the award-winning Washington (D.C.) Press Club Foundation's Women in Journalism Oral History Project sponsored by the National Press Club. Biagi's international experience includes currently serving on the board of the Arab-United States Association of Communication Educators (AUSACE) and guest lectureships at Al Ahram Press Institute in Cairo; Egypt; and Queensland University in Brisbane, Australia.

'\"This is a great text for an introductory course on the mass media. The book provides all the relevant economic, technical, political, historical and cultural information necessary for a general survey class, and it does so in a way that?s interesting to students.\"\"I think Biagi?s book gets at some seminal materials and matters. And I especially like the InfoTrac (College Edition) exercises. I think that?s one of the more useful, well-thought-out instructional methods I?ve seen in a book in a while. I like that it doesn?t merely say ?go look this up.? These exercises walk them through the thinking process rather than giving them mere procedure.\"\"After looking at several Mass Media textbooks and in particular this one from Shirley Biagi, I found this book to have a certain flare for writing on each specific subject, and incorporate excellent images to supplement the text in each chapter. The material is historically accurate, and it has current, up-to-date information on digital technology as it relates to mass media. By having ?Impact? sections and InfoTrac (College Edition) exercises, and an accompanying CD-ROM, students are encouraged to engage in critical thinking skills to answer questions and complete assignments.\"\"I think this text is visually interesting, (with) a ?fun? approach.\"\"I think the strengths of the text are the layout and division of chapters. I like the idea of overall perspectives and their impact on our lives in the first chapter and then the break out into the various forms of the media. The layout is easy to follow and is eye-catching. The graphics and charts enhance the text.\"\n

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