• Focuses on all aspects of current and classic theories and practices relating to media and mass communication
• Includes essays from a variety of global contexts, from Asia and the Middle East to the Americas
• Gives niche theories new life in several essays that use them to illuminate their application in specific contexts
• Features coverage of a wide variety of theoretical perspectives
• Pays close attention to the use of theory in understanding new communication contexts, such as social media

Robert S. Fortner is Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication at the American University in Bulgaria. He is the author or editor of seven books and almost 100 essays.

P. Mark Fackler is Professor of Communication at Calvin College. He has written extensively on topics relating to communication and journalism ethics.

Volume I

Introduction

Section 1: Classical Theories of Media and the Press

1. Classical Liberal Theory in a Digital World
Stephen J. A. Ward

2. A Brief History of Early Media Theory
Robert S. Fortner

3. Political Economic Theory and Research: Conceptual Foundations and Current Trends
Vincent Mosco

4. Semiotics and the Media
Bronwen Martin

5. Symbolic Interactionism and the Media
Norman K. Denzin

6. The Use of Theory in Media Effects Research
W. James Potter

7. Cultivation Theory: Its History, Current Status and Future Directions
Daniel Romer, Patrick Jamieson, Amy Bleakley & Kathleen Hall Jamieson

8. Media Ecology: Contexts, Concepts, and Currents
Casey Man Kong Lum

9. Dramatistic Theory: A Burkeian Approach to the 2004 Madrid Terrorist Attacks
Cristina Zurutuza Muñoz

10. Ritual Theory and the Media
John J. Pauly

11. Jacques Ellul and the Nature of Propaganda in the Media
Randal Marlin

12. Technics and Communication: Cities, Technology, Culture and Ecology in the Digital Age
Robert S. Fortner

13. The Impact of Ethics on Media and Press Theory
Clifford G. Christians

Section 2: Audiences, Social Construction & Social Control

14. Media Setting the Agenda for the Public Sphere
Maxwell E. McCombs and Lei Guo

15. Uses and Gratifications (U&G) Approach as a Lens for Studying Social Media Practice
Anabel Quan-Haase and Alyson L. Young

16. The Media’s Impact on Perceptions of Political Polarization
Jeffrey Crouch and Mark J. Rozell

17. The Cultural Construction of News: From Doing Work to Making Meanings
Daniel A. Berkowitz  and Zhengjia Liu

18. Media, Civil Society and the Public Sphere: History and Current Thinking
Robert S. Fortner, Ann Snesareva and Ksenia Tsitovich

19. The Genesis of Social Responsibility Theory: William Hocking and Positive Freedom
Clifford G. Christians and Mark Fackler

Section 3: New Approaches and Reconsiderations

20. Feminist Media Theory
Linda Steiner

21. Media, Communication and Post-colonial Theory
Shanti Kumar

22. Reconceptualizing ‘Cultural Imperialism’ in the Current Era of Globalization
Mel van Elteren

23. Al-Jazeera Remaps Global News Flow
Catherine Cassara

24. Non-violence as a Communication Strategy: An Introduction to the Rhetoric of Peacebuilding
Ellen W. Gorsevski

25. Globalization and Cultural Identities: A Contradiction in Terms?
Ana Christina Correia Gil

26. Cultivation Theory in the Twenty-first Century
Nancy Signorielli, Michael Morgan, and James Shanahan

27. Media Theory and Media Policy: Worlds Apart
Cees Hamelink

Volume II

Section 4: Media Theory and New Technologies

28. The Philosophy of Technology and Communication Systems
Clifford G. Christians

29. Theoretical Perspectives on the Social Construction of Technologies
Robert S. Fortner and Darya V. Yanitskaya

30. Dangerous Liaisons: Media Gaming and Violence
Ran Wei and Brett A. Borton

31. Personal and Political Empowerment through Social Networking
Jarice Hanson

32. Global Communication Divides and Equal Rights to Communicate
Carolyn A. Lin

33. Citizenship and Consumption: Media  Theory in the Age of Twitter
Kevin Cummings and Cynthia Gottshall

34. Round Pegs in Square Holes: Is Mass Communication Theory a Useful Tool in Conducting Internet Research?
Christine Ogan

35. How Global is the Internet? Reflections on Economic, Cultural and Political Dimensions of the Networked “Global Village”
Kai Hafez

Section 5:  Theory Case Studies

36. Nationalism and Imperialism
Mingsheng Li

37. Media Control in China
Zheng Li

38. The Construction of National Image in Media and the Management  of Intercultural Conflicts
Xiaodong Dai and Guo-Ming Chen

39. Play Theory and Public Media: A Case Study in Kenya Editorial Cartoons
Mark Fackler and Levi Obonyo

40. Contemporary Chinese Communication Scholarship: An Emerging Alternative Paradigm
Wenshan Jia, Hailong Liu, Runzi Wang & Xinchuan Liu

41. Al-Jazeera and Dr. Laura: Is a Global Islamic Reformist Media Ethics Theory Possible?
Haydar Badawi Sadig

42. Media Ethics Theories in Africa
Herman Wasserman

43. Censorship of the Media and Terrorism
Kasun Ubayasiri

44. Blending East-West Philosophies to Metatheorize Mediatization and Revise the News Paradigm
Shelton A. Gunaratne

45. Buddhist Understandings of Media
Wimal Dissanayake

46. Jewish Communication Theory: Biblical Law and Contemporary Media Practice
Yoel Cohen

47. A Theological Theory of Communication: God Still Speaks
P. Mark Fackler

48. Theorizing about the Press in Post-Soviet Societies
Igor E. Klyukanov and Galina V. Sinekopova

49. Internet and  Political Activism in Post-revolutionary Iran
Babak Rahimi

Conclusion

50. Future Directions in Media Theory
P. Mark Fackler and Robert S. Fortner