Media Audiences: Effects, Users, Institutions, and Power / Edition 1

by John L. Sullivan

Overview

Despite the widespread use of the term “audience” in our popular culture, the meaning of “audience” is complex, and it has undergone significant historical shifts over time. Media Audiences explores the concept of media audiences from four broad perspectives, as “victims” of mass media, as market constructions and commodities, as users of media, and as producers and subcultures of mass media.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781412970426
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	10/23/2012
Edition description:	Older Edition
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

John L. Sullivan is Associate Professor of Media & Communication at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. He earned his B.A. in German and Media Studies from Pomona College and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Communication from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Sullivan’s research explores the links between media industries and systems of social and economic power. More specifically, he focuses on audience constructions within media organizations, the implementation of U.S. media policies, and the political economy of cultural production. Recently, Dr. Sullivan has begun a longer-term project to study the political economy of free, open source software (F/OSS) movements.

Table of Contents

1. History and Concept of the Audience
PART I. AUDIENCES AS OBJECTS
2. Effects of Media Messages
PART II. AUDIENCES AS INSTITUTIONAL CONSTRUCTIONS
3. Public Opinion and Audience Citizenship
4. Media Ratings and Target Marketing
PART III. AUDIENCES AS ACTIVE USERS OF MEDIA
5. Uses and Gratifications
6. Interpreting and Decoding Mass Media Texts
7. Reception Contexts & Media Rituals
PART IV. AUDIENCES AS PRODUCERS AND SUBCULTURES
8. Media Fandom and Audience Subcultures
9. Online, Interactive Audiences in a Digital Media World
10. Conclusion: Audience Agency in New Contexts

Editorial Reviews

"The best book in the field right now. "

"Good primer for students, you can’t go wrong with this. "

"Yes, it links theory with examples and research. The only thing close is Abercrombie and that book is hugely dated. I see it as a successor to Abercrombie. "

Robbie Smyth

"Sullivan has written a lucid and challenging introduction to the study of media audiences from both scholarly and industry perspectives. The complex conceptual material will stimulate and engage the most curious students while providing practical directions for emerging scholars and professionals. "

Robert Huesca

"Great introduction for Level 4. "

Paula Hearsum