Mass Communication Theory: Foundations, Ferment, and Future » (5th Edition)

Stanley J. Baran is the chair of the Communication Department at Bryant University, where he teaches courses in Mass Communication and Broadcast Media. His academic interests include empirical/quantitative research in mass communication, mass media and social construction of reality, and development and improvement of media literacy skills. He is a member of the Speech Communication Association and the editorial boards of Dow Jones Newspaper Fund Editing Intern Program and COMMUNICATION QUARTERLY. He was a Senior Fulbright Scholar, Institute for Journalisms und Kommunikationsforschung, Hannover, Deutschland, in 1997. He has served as a consultant for numerous corporations and organizations, including IBM, ABC, GTE, and Westin Hotels.

Dennis K. Davis teaches in the College of Communications at Penn State University, teaching and researching mass communication theory, new media literacy, international communication, research methods, and political communication. He has served as a tenured full professor at Cleveland State University, Southern Illinois University, and the University of North Dakota. He was director of the School of Communication at the University of North Dakota and has served as editor of the JOURNAL OF BROADCASTING & ELECTRONIC MEDIA, published by the Broadcast Education Association. He has co-authored four books on political communication, mass communication theory, and news audience research, as well as numerous articles, chapters, and reviews. He has headed divisions of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and the National Communication Association. In 1979-1980, he was a Fulbright Senior Lecturer at the University of Amsterdam and the University of Louvain la Neuve. In 1996, he attended a Fulbright-sponsored seminar on German mass media and media research. His research has won the Donald McGannon Award for Social and Ethical Relevance in Communication Policy Research from Fordham University and the Broadcasting Preceptor Award from San Francisco State University.

An introduction to both the social/behavioral and cultural/critical bodies of mass communication theory. Baran (radio/television, San Jose State U.) and Davis (communication, Pennsylvania State U.) discuss such topics as mass society theory, behaviorism, Lippman's theory of public opinion formation, libertarianism, government regulation of media, children and television violence, and C. Wright Mill's conception of the power elite. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

SECTION I: INTRODUCTION TO MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY 1. 1. Understanding and Evaluating Mass Communication Theory 3. 2. Four Eras of Mass Communication Theory. SECTION II: THE ERA OF MASS SOCIETY AND MASS CULTURE. 3. The Rise of Media Industries and Mass Society Theory. 4. The Rise of Media Theory in the Age of Propaganda. 5. Normative Theories Of Mass Communication. SECTION III: FROM LIMITED-EFFECTS TO CRITICAL CULTURAL THEORIES: FERMENT IN THE FIELD. 6. The Rise of Limited-Effects Theory. 7. Moving Beyond Limited Effects: Focus on Functionalism and Children. 8. The Emergence Of Critical And Cultural Theories Of Mass Communication. SECTION IV: CONTEMPORARY MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY: FROM ACTIVE-AUDIENCE TO MEANING-MAKING THEORIES. 9. Audience Theories: Uses, Reception, and Effects. 10. Media and Society: The Role of Media in the Social World. 11. Media and Culture Theories: Meaning-Making in the Social World. 12. Afterword: The Future of Media Theory and Research. References. Index.