Media Sociology A Reappraisal

Where is sociology in contemporary media studies? How do sociological questions and arguments shape media analysis? These are the questions addressed in this timely collection on media sociology.

Sociology was fundamental in defining the analytical boundaries of early media studies, from the study of news and communities to media effects and public opinion, in the first half of the last century. Since then, media sociology has experienced significant changes that have led to new theoretical questions and thematic priorities.

This book aims to reassess the past and present relationship between media studies and sociology. With original contributions from leading scholars, Media Sociology: A Reappraisal examines the significance of sociology for the study of media economics, industries, news, audiences, journalism, and digital technologies, and the links between media and race, gender, and class. As a whole, this much-needed volume takes a retrospective view to trace the evolution of media sociology and assess current research directions.

Silvio Waisbord is Professor of Media and Public Affairs at the George Washington University.

Contents

Introduction: Reappraising Media Sociology             
Silvio Waisbord

Part I Media, Institutions, and Politics
 
1 Strategy Follows Structure: A Media Sociology Manifesto
   Rodney Benson
2 Linking Media Sociology to Political Development in Trans-Legislative Democracies
   Michael Schudson    
3 Back to the Future? The Sociology of News and Journalism from Black and White to the   Digital Age
   Howard Tumber

Part II Media Industries and Audiences

4 Agency, Social Interaction, and Audience Studies
   Richard Butsch
5 Media Industry Sociology: Mainstream, Critical, and Cultural Perspectives
   Timothy Havens
6 The Political Economy of Media Work and Watching
   Toby Miller    

Part III Media representations

7 When Media Representation Met Sociology
   Shani Orgad    
8 Too Little But Not Too Late: Sociological Contributions to Feminist Media Studies
   Laura Grindstaff and Andrea Press
9 Media Sociology and the Study of Race
   Ronald N. Jacobs

Part IV Digital Technologies, Self, and Society

10 Digital Media Technology and the Spirit of the New Capitalism: What Future for “Aesthetic Critique”?
   Graeme Kirkpatrick
11 Mobile Communication and Mediated Interpersonal Communication
   Rich Ling
12 Sociology and the Socially Mediated Self
   Jeff Pooley