Critical Readings Media And Audiences

· What next for audience research in the 21st century?

How is gender constructed in the media? To what extent do portrayals of gender influence everyday perceptions of ourselves and our actions? In what ways do the media reinforce and sometimes challenge gender inequalities? Critical Readings: Media and Gender provides a lively and engaging introduction to the field of media and gender research, drawing from a wide range of important international scholarship. A variety of conceptual and methodological approaches is used to explore subjects such as: entertainment; news; grassroots communication; new media texts; institutions; audiences. Topics include: Gender identity and television talk shows Historical portrayals of women in advertising The sexualization of the popular press The representation of lesbians on television The cult of femininity in women's magazines Images of African American women and Latinas in Hollywood cinema Sexual violence in the media Women in popular music Pornography and masculine power Women's relationship to the Internet. This book is ideal for undergraduate courses in cultural and media studies, gender studies, the sociology of the media, mass communication, journalism, communication studies and politics.

Whether we are watching TV, surfing the Internet, listening to our iPods, or reading a novel, we all engage with media as an audience. . Despite the widespread use of this term in our popular culture, the meaning of "audience" is complex, and it has undergone significant historical shifts as new forms of mediated communication have developed from print, telegraphy, and radio to film, television, and the Internet. Media Audiences: Effects, Users, Institutions, and Power 2nd Edition explores the concept of media audiences from four broad perspectives: as "victims" of mass media, as market constructions and commodities, as users of media, and as producers and subcultures of mass media. The goal of the text is for students to be able to think critically about the role and status of media audiences in contemporary society, reflecting on their relative power in relation to institutional media producers.

'Clearly written, with careful signposting of relevant debates, this reader in the critical tradition is a model of an introductory cultural and media studies text... the writing is accessible, the concepts and arguments are sophisticated, and the tone is one of committed engagement' - Media International Australia

“a simple yet excellent overview of the multilayered path of audience research, tracing its evolution over the last century…” European Journal of Communication *How has the concept of 'the audience' changed over the past 50 years? *How do audiences become producers and not just consumers of media texts? *How are new media affecting the ways in which audiences are researched? The audience has been a central concept in both in media and cultural studies for some considerable time, not least because there seems little point exploring forms of increasingly global communication in terms of their content if the targets of media messages are not also the focus of study. This book ranges across a wide literature, taking both a chronological as well as thematic approach, in order to explore the ways in which the audience, as an analytical concept has changed, as well as examining the relationships which audiences have with texts and the ways in which they exert their power as consumers. We also look at the political economy of audiences and the ways in which they are 'delivered' to advertisers as well as attending to the ratings war being waged by broadcasters and the development of narrowcasting and niche audiences. Finally, the book looks ahead to the future of audience research, suggesting that new genres such as 'reality TV' and new ICTs such as the internet, are already revolutionising the way in which research with audiences is taking place in the 21st century, not least because of the level of interactivity enabled by new media.

This handbook offers a comprehensive overview of the complexity and diversity of audience studies in the advent of digital media. Details the study of audiences and how it is changing in relation to digital media Recognizes and appreciates valuable traditional approaches and identifies how they can be applied to, and evolve with, the changing media world Offers diverse perspectives from which being an audience, theorizing audiences, researching audiences, and doing audience research are approached today Argues that the field works best by identifying particular 'audience problems' and applying the best theories and research methods available to solving them Includes contributions from some of the most outstanding international scholars in the field

An engaging and accessible introduction to a broad range of critical approaches to contemporary mass media theory and research A decade after its first publication, Critical Media Studies continues toshape and define the field of media studies, offering innovative approaches that enable readers to explore the modern media landscape from a wide variety of perspectives. Integrating foundational theory and contemporary research, this groundbreaking text offers the most comprehensive set of analytical approaches currently available. Twelve critical perspectives—pragmatic, rhetorical, sociological, erotic, ecological, and others—enable readers to assess and evaluate the social and cultural consequences of contemporary media in their daily lives. The new third edition includes up-to-date content that reflects the current developments and cutting-edge research in the field. New or expanded material includes changing perceptions of race and gender, the impact of fandom on the media, the legacy of the television age, the importance of media literacy in the face of “fake news”, and developments in industry regulations and U.S. copyright law. This textbook: Presents clear, reader-friendly chapters organized by critical perspective Features up-to-date media references that resonate with modern readers Incorporates enhanced and updated pedagogical features throughout the text Offers extensively revised content for greater clarity, currency, and relevance Includes fully updated illustrations, examples, statistics, and further readings Critical Media Studies, 3rd Edition is the ideal resource for undergraduate students in media studies, cultural studies, popular culture, communication, rhetoric, and sociology, graduate students new to critical perspectives on the media, and scholars in the field.

Living Room Wars brings together Ien Ang's recent writings on television audiences, and , in response to recent criticisms of cultural studies, argues that it is possible to study audience pleasures and popular television in a way that is not naively populist. Ang examines how the makers and marketers of television attempt to mould their audience and looks at the often unexpected ways in which the viewers actively engage with the programmes they watch. Living Room Wars highlights the inherent contradictions of a `politics of pleasure' of television consumption: Ang moves beyond the trditional forcus on textual meanings to explore the structural and historical representations fo television audiences as an integral part of modern culture. Her wide-ranging and illuminating discussion takes in the battle between television and its audiences; the politics of empirical audience research; new technologies and the tactics of television consumption; ethnography and radical contextualism in audience studies; television fiction and women's fantasy; feminist desire and female pleasure in media consumption, and the transnational media system.

The relationship between the media and its audiences has always been a topic of research and debate. Media Audiences provides a comprehensive and succinct overview of the field of audience studies from the time of the printing press to an era characterized by online digital connectivity. Written in an engaging and accessible style, this book offers a wealth of personal insight into the experience of undertaking audience research in order to illustrate the key methodological issues and challenges in the field. Addressing such topics as technologies, content and the people who are the subjects of audience research, the author challenges readers to think about the value of such research for themselves and for society at large. Comprehensive yet concise, this is essential reading for students of Media with an interest in audience studies.