Abstract

This book is a product of the cultural, economic, political, and social environments during the early and mid-1990s in the United States. Designed for media consumers as well as future practitioners, it illustrates the actual and potential social consequences of the media, and media theory and research. Today, some mass communication programs are offering advanced undergraduate classes in an effort to appeal to the widespread interest in mass communication issues among students in all majors. This text, with its emphasis on research concerning topics such as public opinion and the impact of media violence, is intended to fit in well with those efforts.