Introduction to Media and Politics
- Sarah Oates - University of Maryland, USA
Political Communication
The highly accessible Introduction to Media and Politics compares media institutions and political experiences in countries around the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia, to enable students to think critically about the central questions in the study of media and politics, including:
- Are the media a force for democracy or a tool of repression?
- What specific influences shape news production in different societies?
- What happens to media freedom in war and why?
- How can we explain the relationship between the media, terrorists, and citizens in the post-9/11 world?
- Can the internet bring about political change?
Intended Audience: Introduction to Media and Politics is an essential primer for undergraduate and graduate students of political science as well as media and communication studies.
'...a lively introduction to media and politics, with timely chapters on the media, war and terrorism and the internet. If you want to know why media matters in politics this is a great place to start.'
Dr Margaret Scammell, London School of Economics and Political Science
'This book has the truly international perspective that helps to put politics and media in the context of current world events...a unique and valuable text.'
Professor Lynda Lee Kaid, University of Florida
'...a new and promising perspective to the study of media and politics in a comparative dimension.'
Professor Paolo Mancini, Università di Perugia
The book is a quite complete introduction to the study of media and politics; it is well-conceived, well organized, and well written.
Perhaps it is a little bit too demanding for undergraduate students, despite author's efforts to keep things simple and clear. But this cannot be considered in itself as a flaw, since it is due to the quality of the analysis conducted. Moreover, the author uses keypoints at the beginning and the end of each chapter, in order to make easier the reading and favours the understanding.
The book comparatively focuses on British, American, and Russian cases, limiting somehow the internationality of the approach to the usual well known cases. But these countries' role of superpower makes the choice perfectly understandable.
Finally, the part on new media can be considered a little bit outdated, because ten years have elapsed from the time of the book publication (2007). But, again, this has nothing to do with the quality of the chapters 8 and 9.
In conclusion, the book represents a valuable contribution to the study of media and politics, in particular for its chapter 10 (Research Methods for Media and Politics), which will result extremely useful for graduate students and researchers.
Sage College Publishing
