Author Description

The twelfth edition of Introduction to Mass Communications accomplishes two goals essential for a mass communications textbook on the threshold of the twenty-first century. It plunges into the stimulating, still uncertain electronic realm of cyberspace. At the same time, it also examines traditional mass media with the depth and perception associated with previous editions. This text is user-friendly and replete with up-to-the-minute insights into contemporary mass communications practice. In a scholarly manner, Agee and Ault describe the historical evolution that has brought today's methods and ethical principles into being. The following features are new to this edition: mass media tie-ins with the Internet discuss opportunities and problems involved in media use of the Internet; far-reaching effects of the Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996 are covered in an extended box and noted in many chapters; the media's role in the O. J. Simpson murder case provides revealing insights into the relationship between the media and the public; and Media Questions to Think About encourage student thinking and critical analysis of concepts.