Cultural, media and gender studies

THE MEDIA IN SCOTLAND

Authors: Neil Blain and David Hutchison

Edition: First

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Pages: 320

Price: £52.50 and £17.99

ISBN 97807486998 and 8001

Bringing together academics, writers and politicians to explore the range and nature of the media in Scotland, this text offers chapters on the separate histories of the press, broadcasting and cinema, on the representation and construction of Scotland and the languages used in the media.

Who is it for? Scotland's media and political class and students who wish to understand it as the devolution settlement leads the UK towards unintended consequences.

Presentation: A well-signposted and accessible collection of essays complete with select bibliography and comprehensive index.

Would you recommend it? For a limited period only. The parameters of this debate are changing as quickly as Scotland's indigenous newspapers are shedding circulation.

MEDIA COMMUNICATION: AN INTRODUCTION TO THEORY AND PROCESS

Author: James Watson

Edition: Third

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Pages: 472

Price: £21.99

ISBN 9780230535497

Aimed at students of media and communications studies, this edition provides an overview of mass media in society today. James Watson, visiting lecturer in media studies at the University of Greenwich, discusses hot topics, including terrorism, the Web 2.0, and public service broadcasting using examples and an international scope.

Who is it for? Undergraduate students of media and communication studies seeking a clear, modern introduction to their subject.

Presentation: Neatly divided into segments for clarity and accessibility, with many helpful diagrams.

Would you recommend it? Cautiously, to students who have first understood the history of journalism.

MEDIA DISCOURSE

Author: Mary Talbot

Edition: First

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Pages: 208

Price: £45.00 and £14.99

ISBN 9780748623471 and 3488

Part of the publisher's Media Topics series, this study combines theoretical reflection with empirical engagement, using insights from a range of disciplines. Mary Talbot, reader in language and culture at the University of Sunderland, outlines key theoretical issues and concepts (including informalisation and genre hybridisation) and interrogates social interaction in and around media.

Who is it for? Students and teachers of media and cultural studies with a particular interest in discourse analysis.

Presentation: Each chapter ends with suggestions for further reading.

Would you recommend it? No.

THE POLITICS OF MEDIA POLICY

Author: Des Freedman

Edition: First

Publisher: Polity

Pages: 264

Price: £55.00 and £16.99

ISBN 9780745628417 and 8424

Based on interviews with dozens of politicians, regulators, special advisers, lobbyists and campaigners, this book exposes the commitment to market principles that saturates the media policy environment and distorts the development and application of democratic media policies.

Who is it for? Everyone who cares to understand how political elites shape media industries and media regulation in the UK and the US.

Presentation: More than 40 anonymous interviews with participants in the policymaking process provide the scaffolding for a stylish interdisciplinary analysis.

Would you recommend it? Very highly. This agenda-setting introduction to media policymaking deserves to become a core text.

NEWS VALUES

Authors: Paul Brighton and Dennis Foy

Edition: First

Publisher: Sage

Pages: 216

Price: £60.00 and £18.99

ISBN 9781412945998 and 6001

Practitioners/academics Paul Brighton and Dennis Foy analyse the shape of the contemporary news industry - a world of rolling news and multimedia platforms, where broadcast news is increasingly considered another element of showbusiness.

Who is it for? Journalism and media students.

Presentation: Concise chapters divided into bite-size portions and enhanced by illustrative examples.

Would you recommend it? Yes, but first read Tony Harcup's Journalism: Principles and Practice.