Part III emphasizes the various factors that influence the critical functions of message selection and processing central to a host of mass media application contexts.

The study of media processes and effects is one of the most central to the discipline of communication and encompasses a vast array of theoretical perspectives, methodological tools, and applications to important social contexts. In light of this importance—as well as the rapid changes in the media environment that have occurred during the past 20 years—this Handbook explores where media effects research has been over the past several decades, and, equally important, contemplates where it should go in the years ahead. COVERAGE Part I offers an overview of the field and conceptualizations of media effects, along with a range of quantitative and qualitative methodologies used in the study of media effects. Part II focuses on prominent theoretical approaches to the study of media effects from a more societal perspective, tracing their historical contexts, theoretical developments, criticisms and controversies, and the impact of the new media environment on current and future research. Part III emphasizes the various factors that influence the critical functions of message selection and processing central to a host of mass media application contexts. Part IV reflects a dominant trend in the media effects literature—that of persuasion and learning—and traces related theoretical perspectives through the various contexts in which media may have such effects. Part V explores the contexts and audiences that have been traditional foci of media effects research, such as children, violence, body image, and race, addressing the theories most applicable to those contexts. Part VI highlights a concern central and unique to the communication discipline—message medium—and how it influences effects ranging from what messages are attended to, how we spend our time, and even how we think.

The study of media effects is one of the most central to the discipline of communication and encompasses a vast array of theoretical perspectives, methodological tools, and application to important social contexts. In light of this importance - as well as the rapid changes in the media environment that have occurred during the past 20 years - this Handbook of media effects theorizing and research explores where media effects research has been over the past several decades, and, equally important, where it would be most fruitful to go in the years ahead. In addition to providing a comprehensive framework for those interested in media effects, the Handbook also emphasizes the changing nature of the media landscape. Thus, new technologies not only provide new venues for research, but they also represent challenges to many existing media effects theories (that were formulated prior to the widespread adoption of the Internet). The contemporary diversity of the field and its research is seen in chapters addressing sociological, cultural, and organizational approaches and in chapters on specific approaches, domains, and context-related effects. Throughout the Handbook and within each chapter, authors address the following issues: (1) historical context on theory development/area of study; (2) theory explication and theoretical developments through to the present; (3) typical method of study/research approach/moderators; (4) conceptualization of the audience; (5) the impact of new media environments; (6) criticismsntroversies; and (7) directions for future research. Section I: Begins with an overview of the field, conceptualization of media effects, and the editors' goals for the volume and then focuses on the range of methodologies (both quantitative and qualitative methods) used in the study of media effects. Section II: Focuses on dominant theoretical approaches in the media effects area from a more societal perspective. Included here are some of the most dominant theoretical perspectives in the media effects realm (i.e., cultivation, agenda setting, framing) that relate to broad-reaching effects of both entertainment and news programming. The section then focuses on related theories that, though less developed, have received significant attention in the literature. To expand the horizon of this Handbook, a chapter on Cultural Studies in included to engage more qualitative views of media's societal effects. Section III: Focuses on issues of message selection and processing that are central to the mass media literature. These chapters cut across application contexts. For examples, the emotion chapter touches on entertainment, persuasion, and children's media; the Social Influence/Environmental Aspects chapter includes issues of co-viewing in families, among peers, etc. Section IV: Refelcts a dominant trend in media effects literature - that related to persuasion and learning - and traces its theoretical perspectives (including major theories of persuasion and especially social cognitive theory) through the various contexts in which media have such effects, such as health, advertising, media literacy, and the like. Section V: Explores the contexts and audiences that have been traditional foci of media effects research - violence, children, body image, video games, sports, etc. In each chapter authors address the theories most applicable to those contexts, further expaning the theoretical offerings of this Handbook. The focus on how this sort of research is typically conducted methodologically and how it will need to change in light of new technologies and media advances make these chapters unique. Section VI: Expands on existing work by focusing on a concern central and unique to the communication discipline - message medium - and how it influences effects ranging from what messages are attended to (e.g., formal features), how we spend our time (e.g., displacement effects), and even how we think (e.g., medium theory).

"Media Effects offers students an in-depth examination of the media's constant influence on individuals and society. W. James Potter frames media's effects in two templates: influence on individuals and influence on larger social structures and institutions. By positioning the different types of effects in the forefront, Potter helps students understand the full range of media effects, how they manifest themselves, and the factors that that are likely to bring these effects into being. Throughout the book, Potter encourages students to analyze their own experiences by searching for evidence of these effects in their own lives, making the content meaningful on a personal level." -- Provided by publisher.

Media and communication research is a diverse and stimulating field of inquiry, not only in subject matter but also in purposes and methodologies. Over the past twenty years, and in step with the contemporary shift toward trans-disciplinarity, Media Studies has rapidly developed a very significant body of theory and evidence. Media Studies is here to stay and scholars in the discipline have a vital contribution to make. The SAGE Handbook of Media Studies surveys and evaluates the theories, practices, and future of the field. Editor John Downing and associate editors Denis McQuail, Philip Schlesinger, and Ellen Wartella have brought together a team of international contributors to provide a varied critical analysis of this intensely interesting field of study. The Handbook offers a comprehensive review within five interconnected areas: humanistic and social scientific approaches; global and comparative perspectives; the relation of media to economy and power; media users; and elements in the media mosaic ranging from media ethics to advertising, from popular music to digital technologies, and from Hollywood and Bollywood to alternative media. The contributors to The Handbook are from Australia, Austria, Britain, Canada, France, Guatemala, India, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, and the United States. Each contributor offers a unique perspective on topics broad in scope. The Handbook is an ideal resource for university media researchers, for faculty developing new courses and revising curricula, and for graduate courses in media studies. It is also a necessary addition to any academic library.

"This book analyses issues of the internet and mass media in a rapidly changing environment. It covers a wide range of fundamentals which will be in effect for a longer time, and reflects the benefits of international and interdisciplinary collaboration." - Heinz-Werner Nienstedt, President, European Media Management Education Association "This excellent book will be of great use to researchers, teachers and students interested in the relationship between the Internet and the mass media and it offers an invaluable contribution to the literature. The overall picture that emerges from this book is one that is very balanced, stressing both the radical potential of the internet and the ways in which the various media sectors have experienced the impact differently." - Colin Sparks, University of Westminster What impact has the Internet really had on the media industries? What new regulatory policies and business models are driven by the Internet? And what are the effects of the Internet on how we produce, access and consume music, film, television and other media content? After an initial flurry of analysis and prediction of the future of the dot com boom, this is the first book to review the developments of the first Internet era and investigate its actual outcomes. Bringing together sophisticated analyses from leading scholars in the field, The Internet and the Mass Media explores the far-reaching implications of the Internet from economic, regulatory, strategic and organizational perspectives. This cross-disciplinary, international view is essential for a rich, nuanced understanding of the many technological, economic, and social changes the Internet has brought to the way we live and work.

'Handbook of Children and the Media' brings together the best-known scholars from around the world to summarize the current scope of the research in this field.