The Second Edition of this book provides a comprehensive overview of the ways in which social theory has attempted to theorize the importance of the media in co

The mass media open our private lives to the world around us. They are central to economic, cultural and political processes, through words, images and music. T

When first published, Marshall McLuhan's Understanding Media made history with its radical view of the effects of electronic communications upon man and life in

From Facebook to the iPhone, from YouTube to Wikipedia, from Grand Auto Theft to Second Life, this book explores media's important issues and debates. It covers

What are alternative media? What roles do alternative media play in pluralistic, democratic societies? What are the similarities and differences between alterna