Media Today: An Introduction to Mass Communication

654 Pages·2011·23.72 MB·English

by  Joseph Turow

4th Edition
MEDIA TODAY
An INTRODUCTION to MASS COMMUNICATION
Praise for Media Today, 4th Edition
“Media Today is the best textbook to understand the organization, economics, and
emerging trends within the U.S. media sector. Its institutional focus and the level of
detail and updated knowledge it provides in this regard makes it the best textbook for
an introductory media course.”
Gisela Gil-Egui, Fairfield University
“What makes Media Today especially stand out is the extra attention to the dynamics
of the ever-changing media industries. Joe Turow’s book offers a nuanced, compre-
hensive and accessible treatment of how economic incentives and current trends in
media matter for us and our democracy.”
Matt McAllister, Pennsylvania State University
“Media Today engages students and serves as a helpful guide to our new media-satu-
rated world. The writing is lively and concise, and the colorful illustrations are full
of zest. Turow’s dry wit engages students in a conversational narrative that prompts
them to connect what they read to their own experience of contemporary media
trends.”
Edward M. Clift, Woodbury University
“Media Today skillfully weaves together all the core components needed for an intro-
ductory media course: basics of media literacy and criticism, details about a wide
range of the most current media, and an uncommonly thorough integration of the
functioning of media industries. Accessible and smart in its writing style and full of
useful illustrations and tables, Media Today, is not only up-to-date in its information,
but its perspective prepares the future of media studies.”
Amanda Lotz, University of Michigan

4th Edition
MEDIA TODAY
An INTRODUCTION to MASS COMMUNICATION
JOSEPH TUROW
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Published 2011
by Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Simultaneously published in the UK
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
First edition published in 1999 by Houghton Mifflin Company
Second edition published in 2003 by Houghton Mifflin Company
Third edition published in 2009 by Routledge
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2011.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Turow, Joseph.
Media today : an introduction to mass communication / Joseph Turow. – 4th ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Mass media. I. Title.
P90.T874 2010
302.23_dc22
2010023865
ISBN 0-203-83651-0 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN13: 978-0-415-87607-0 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-415-87608-7 (pbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-203-83651-4 (ebk)
For Judy
About the Author
Joseph Turow is the Robert Lewis
Shayon Professor of Communication
at the University of Pennsylvania’s
Annenberg School for Communica-
tion. He has been described by the
New York Times as “probably the
reigning academic expert on media
fragmentation.” He holds a Ph.D. in
communication from the University
of Pennsylvania, where he has taught
since 1986. He has also served on
the faculty at Purdue University and has lectured at many other universities in the
United States and around the world. For 2010, he was awarded an Astor Visiting Lec-
tureship by Oxford University. He is a Fellow of the International Communication
Association and was named a Distinguished Scholar by the National Communica-
tion Association.
Turow has authored eight books, edited five, and written more than 100 articles
on mass media. Among those books, in addition to Media Today, are Playing Doc-
tor: Television, Storytelling, and Medical Power (University of Michigan Press, 2010),
Niche Envy: Marketing Discrimination in the Digital Age (MIT Press, 2006), Breaking Up
America: Advertisers and the New Media World (University of Chicago Press, 1997), and
The Hyperlinked Society (co-edited with Lokman Tsui, University of Michigan Press,
2008). He has also written about media and advertising for the popular press, includ-
ing The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, and the San Francisco
Chronicle.
Turow has received two departmental Best Teaching Awards, along with numer-
ous conference-paper awards. He served as elected Chair of the Mass Communica-
tion Division of the International Communication Association for four years. Turow
edits “The New Media World” book series for the University of Michigan Press and
currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic
Media, Poetics, and New Media & Society.
vi
Brief Contents
Preface xx
Acknowledgments xxvii
A Visual Tour of Media Today xxviii
To the Student xxxii
Part 1
Understanding the Nature of Mass Media 2
1. Understanding Mass Media and the Importance of Media Literacy 4
2. Making Sense of the Media Business 34
3. Controls on Media Content: Government Regulation, Self-Regulation,
and Ethics 70
4. Making Sense of Research on Media Effects and Media Culture 120
Part Two
Media Giants and Cross-Media Activities 154
5. A World of Blurred Media Boundaries 156
6. Understanding the Strategies of Media Giants 192
Part Three
The Print Media 224
7. The Book Industry 226
8. The Newspaper Industry 258
9. The Magazine Industry 296
Part Four
The Electronic Media 326
10. The Recording Industry 328
11. The Radio Industry 364
12. The Movie Industry 404
13. The Television Industry 444
14. The Internet and Video Game Industries 484
vii
brief contents
Part Five
Advertising and Public Relations 524
15. The Advertising Industry 526
16. The Public Relations Industry 558
Epilogue 596
Notes 598
Photo Credits 604
Index 606
viii
Detailed Contents
Part 1
Understanding the Nature of Mass Media 2
Defining and Constructing a Target
Audience 36
Critical Consumer: How Much Am I Worth? 39
Creating Content to Attract the Target
Audience 41
Culture Today: Betty White 42
Determining a Genre for Mass Media
Content 43
Entertainment 43
1 Understanding Mass Media and the News 46
Importance of Media Literacy 4 Information 50
Introducing Mass Communication 6 Education 51
The Elements of Mass Communication 7 Advertisements 51
Culture Today: Where Does the Term Mixing Genres 53
“Media” Come From? 8 Production of Mass Media Content 54
Critical Consumer: Jon Stewart and Agenda Media Production Firms 55
Setting 13 Culture Today: Silicon Freelancers 56
Mass Communication Defined 14 Distribution of Mass Media Content 58
Mass Media, Culture, and Society 17 Exhibition of Mass Media Content 59
How Do We Use the Mass Media in our Daily Financing Mass Media Content 60
Lives? 17 Funding New Production 61
How Do the Mass Media Influence Culture? 19 Culture Today: Network Demands 62
Culture Today: Mad Men’s Twitter Funding When Production is Already
Campaign 21 Complete 63
Media Literacy 22 Media Literacy and the Business of Mass
Culture Today: Media Convergence and Media 65
Haiti 23
Principles of Media Literacy 24
Media Literacy Tools 26
Media Profile: Lady Gaga 28
The Benefits of a Media-Literate Perspective 30
3 Controls on Media Content: Government
Regulation, Self-Regulation, and Ethics 70
How Do Governments Regulate The
Media? 72
Four Models of Media Regulation by
2 Making Sense of the Media Business 34 Governments 72
Identifying An Audience for Mass Influences on Media Regulation by
Media Content 36 Governments 75
ix