General introductions to Media

Contents
Major websites Definitions Theory and theorists	Books Journals Reference works

Major websites

Voice of the Shuttle: Media studies: This is as good a place as any to start exploring Media resources on the Web. There are pages dealing with general media topics plus specialised pages covering Media theory, TV, Film/Video, New media, etc. etc. Each page includes a simple search engine which produces lists of links to your chosen topic.
Is the above link not working? For some strange reason, occasionally Voice of the Shuttle links fail. If this happens to you, you can usually get to the page by doing a Google search for 'voice shuttle media'.
Center for Media Literacy: 'The Center for Media Literacy is dedicated to a new vision of literacy for the 21st Century: the ability to communicate competently in all media forms, print and electronic, as well as to access, understand, analyze and evaluate the powerful images, words and sounds that make up our contemporary mass media culture.'
Communications and Media: A page in the WWW Virtual Library series with links to topics such as Broadcasters (lists of TV and radio broadcasters), Digital Rights Management, and Telecommunications (free index of telecoms companies indexed by subject).
Wikipedia - Category:Media_studies: A selection of useful articles about Media studies from the Wikipedia resource. These are good sources of definitions of and information on a number of topics such as Audience theory, Mass media and even Semiotic democracy. Each article has hyperlinks leading to further information on the terms and concepts that are used.
Bearing in mind the known limitations of Wikipedia entries, this is nevertheless a good starting point for further, in depth, research on your topic.
MediaKnowall: Describing itself as 'A webguide and starting point for media students', this is intended for an American syllabus. You will find a mixture of basic notes and links to other, relevant sites
k.i.s.s. of the panopticon: Created by Dougie Bicket of the University of Washington's School of Communications this site is designed to provide a guide to "cultural/critical theory and its relationship with communications and new media, including the Internet". It contains some pretty eclectic stuff and seems not to have been revised since 2001. But it's worth a visit...
Intute Arts & Humanities Directory: Communications, Media and Culture: A huge site of links. You can Search the site or go to one of these categories: Advertising; Animation and cartooning; Broadcasting; Cultural studies; Film; Journalism; New media.
MCS : the Media & Communication Studies site: MCS (pronounced 'mix') is a British-based gateway, or meta-index, to Web resources useful in the academic study of media & communication. use the Directory of topic listings or the Search facility on the top page to find specific information.
MediaGuardian.co.uk: The British paper The Guardian offers information on media topics such as Press & publishing, Media law, Advertising, Television, Radio, Marketing & PR, and so on. You'll need to register (free!) to get the goodies.
Center for Social Media: Showcases and analyses strategies to use media as creative tools for public knowledge and action. It focuses on social documentaries for civil society and democracy, and on the public media environment that supports them.
Their Resources for analysis of social media page has many useful links to research materials.
Media history project: Hosted by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota, the Project lets you search the site using a nifty search tool or you can explore individual pages under headings: Early meadia: oral & scribal culture | Print media: printing & publishing, journalism, photography, advertising, comics | Electrical media: telegraphy, telephony, recorded music, video games | Mass media: radio, film, television | Digital media: computing.
The Media Report from Radio National: Presented by Gerald Tooth on Thursdays at 8.30am (repeated at 8 pm), the Media Report is essential listening for those who work in the media industry and for anyone interested in the future of the media. The weekly half-hour program takes a critical look at the latest developments in the communications industry, including media ownership, industry regulation and new technology. The program explores the issues and provides critical analysis, offering an insight into how the changing media environment affects our lives and the world in which we live, and regularly puts the spotlight on media people and their activities.
This excellent site gives details of how to tune in, as well as summaries and transcripts of previous programs right back to 1995.
www.theory.org.uk: Covers the relationship between the mass media and people's identities, gender and everyday life. Includes information, essays, reviews and web links.
MediaChannel: 'The global network for democratic media. MediaChannel is a media issues supersite, featuring criticism, breaking news, and investigative reporting from hundreds of organizations worldwide. As the media watch the world, we watch the media.'
Cultsock: An eclectic site: 'Communication, Cultural and Media Studies Infobase offers an overview of the subject areas from Aristotle to chaos theory, taking in incomprehensible French intellectuals along the way'.

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Definitions

Media studies: A concise history and definition of what comprises the study of media from the resources of Wikipedia. Includes a bibliography and links to other sites.
Mass communication: Another useful definition from Wikipedia.

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Theory and theorists

Media theory and theorists: Lots of links courtesy of the Voice of the Shuttle web pages.

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Books

To find books in the Library on media topics you'll need to search the Library Catalogue by the Subject Heading Mass media. You'll also find relevant books under the more general Subject Heading Communication and culture.

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Journals

To find journals in the Library on media you'll need to search the Library Catalogue with the Subject Heading Mass media-Periodicals. You'll also find other relevant journals under the more general Subject Heading Communication and culture-Periodicals.

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Reference works

There are books dealing with media topics in the Barr Smith Library Reference collection that you may need to consult. Here I've listed some of the more useful titles.

Margaret Gee's Australian media guide: Covers newspapers, magazines, newsletters, radio, television and the internet.
Dictionary of media and communication studies: Latest edition is the 5th, published in 2000.
Webster's New World dictionary of media and communications
Communication, cultural and media studies: the key concepts: An alphabetic arrangement of the main concepts, often with a guide to further reading in the excellent bibliography. The third edition of this useful guide.
You can also consult it online through NetLibrary.
The global media atlas: A fairly comprehensive guide to the global communications revolution. The book is presented in the form of over 50 colour maps with expert commentary and graphically shows the global diffusion of old and new media.
From talking drums to the Internet : an encyclopedia of communications technology: A little dated (1997) but still a useful guide to the basics.
International encyclopedia of communications: Four volumes, published in 1989, but for the most part still relevant.
History of the mass media in the United States: an encyclopedia

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This page was created and is maintained by Alan Keig