Media Today: An Introduction to Mass Communication Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I teach a course in Mass Media and this is the text we use. Regarding the other review left here for the book.. it is really not meant to be casual or 'easy' reading -- it is meant to be an in depth exploration of (often) complicated issues.
Things I like about the text:
- important vocabulary is pulled out to the margins for easy identification
- the importance of media literacy and cultural implications are explored
- various types of media are addressed *as well as* important tangental issues like conglomerates, advertising, etc.
- modern examples that are easily recognizable to students are used
Things I'd like to see done differently:
- The questions at the end of each chapter/unit could be better. Many of them are purely reading comprehension.. which is fine.. but I'd also like to see questions that require more synthesis or depth of understanding.
- It would be great if there could be some sort cross-reference done within the text.
Overall, I give this book high marks for solid information well presented.

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Media Today puts mass communication students at the center of the profound changes in the twenty-first century media world - from digital convergence to media ownership - and gives them the skills to think critically about what these changes mean for the role of media in their lives. Comprehensive and engaging, Media Today features:an interactive companion website featuring a full range of instructor and student materials including study podcasts at www.routledge.com/textbooks/mediatodaya three-pronged media systems approach focused on media literacy, convergence, and emerging trends in today's media cultureup-to-date coverage of the latest political, economic, technological, and cultural issues affecting media industriesexciting new resources including an enclosed free DVD with media examples. Completely revised with updated examples, case studies, and media resources, the third edition of this innovative mass communication textbook is built upon a media systems approach that gives students an insider's perspective on how mass media industries operate. By making students more knowledgeable about the influences that guide media organizations, Media Today builds media literacy skills to make students sensitive to ways of seeing media content as a means of learning about culture. Joseph Turow emphasizes throughout the many ways in which media convergence has blurred distinctions between and among various media. Each chapter of Media Today will:guide students through the essential history of media industriesexamines the current forces shaping their creation, distribution and exhibitionexplores the impact of emerging trends in media and society from globalization to social networking to video games. Media Today is designed to be used independently, but can also be used with the supplemental textbook edited by Brooke Erin Duffy and Joseph Turow, Key Readings in Media Today.

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Literature: Craft and Voice (Volume 1, Fiction) Review

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(More customer reviews)Got this for class. It didn't come with a CD (I saw others commented on that). I never needed a CD so it was great to pay less than a third the cost for a school book I'll never use again.

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Better readers make better writers. Today's students do read—we know that they read a significant amount of email, text messages, web pages, and even magazines. What many do not do is read in a sustained way. Many do not come to college prepared to read long texts, nor do they come with the tools necessary to analyze and synthesize what they read. Nick Delbanco and Alan Cheuse have proven in their own teaching that when you improve students' ability and interest in reading, you will help them improve their writing. Bringing writers to students, brings students to writing.Literature: Craft and Voice is an innovative new Introductory Literature program designed to engage students in the reading of Literature, all with a view to developing their reading, analytical, and written skills. Accompanied by, and integrated with, video interviews of dozens of living authors who are featured in the text, conducted by authors Nick Delbanco and Alan Cheuse specifically for use with their textbook, the book provides a living voice for the literature on the page and creates a link between the student and the authors of great works of literature. The first text of its kind, Literature: Craft and Voice offers a more enjoyable and effective reading experience through its fresh, inviting design and accompanying rich video program.

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Literature: Approaches to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama Review

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(More customer reviews)This book not only contains a lot of excellent literature, but it also gives instruction on how to read and analyze literature more effectively. This is a book I come back to again and again.

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Like its larger counterpart, the compact Literature: Approaches to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama by Robert DiYanni features student-centered approaches to literature--from experience to interpretation to evaluation--and an emphasis on making connections between texts and thinking critically about literature.
Known for its clear presentation of the formal elements of literature and literary analysis, this compact anthology effectively balances classic, modern, and contemporary works across the three major genres, blending well-known writers with a diverse gathering of newer, international figures. This literary breadth is supplemented by extensive coverage of writing about literature, making this book an excellent text for introduction to literature courses as well as literature-based composition courses.

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