Media Sociology: A Reappraisal

by Silvio Waisbord

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780745684079
Publisher:	Polity Press
Publication date:	06/13/2014
Sold by:	JOHN WILEY & SONS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	420 KB

About the Author

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

Table of 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

Editorial Reviews

''It's high time for media sociology to be addressed once more and good to see it done in such a refreshingly questioning way. In this well-edited and valuable collection by a highly competent group of writers, the continuing relevance of sociological thinking for media in the digital age is signalled and some essential terrain marked out afresh.''
Philip Schlesinger, University of Glasgow

''Although sociology and sociological theory lay at the foundation of the study of media, they have been largely displaced by narrow public opinion and psychological approaches. This anthology reestablishes the importance of media sociology, with its focus grounded in the fundamental concepts of structure, institutions, and power. A significant contribution and a good read.''
Robert Horwitz, University of California San Diego

 

From the Publisher