First edition: 2011.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Paul Hodkinson's bestseller is back, once again exploring the concepts and complexities of the media in an accessible, balanced, and engaging style. Additions to the second edition include: A new chapter on advertising and sponsorship. Extensive revision and updating throughout all chapters. New material on technologies, censorship, online news, fan cultures and representations of poverty. Greater emphasis on and examples of digital, interactive and mobile media throughout. Fully reworked chapter on media, community and difference. Up-to-date examples covering everything from social media, contemporary advertising, news events and mobile technologies, to representations of class, ethnicity and gender. Combining a critical survey of the field with a finely judged assessment of cutting-edge developments, this second edition cements its reputation as the 'must have' text for any undergraduate student studying media, culture and society.