Understanding the Media

Professor Eoin Devereux is Professor of Sociology at the University of Limerick, Ireland and an Adjunct Professor in Contemporary Culture at the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland.     Primarily interested in Cultural and Economic Sociology,  Professor Devereux has published extensively on media representations of poverty, inequality and the stigmatization of poorer neighbourhoods.  He has also published widely on the media and on popular music including co-edited books on David Bowie, Morrissey, Joy Division and Protest Music.  He is the author of the international best-selling book Understanding The Media, now in its 3rd edition and the editor of Media Studies: Key Issues and Debates, both published by Sage (London).   Professor Devereux is co-founder/director of two research clusters at the University of Limerick, Ireland, namely, The Popular Music and Popular Culture Research Cluster and The Power, Discourse and Society Research Cluster. In addition to his academic work, Devereux is also a creative writer and experimental musician. His essay ′Waltzing Back: The Cranberries 1989-1993′ is featured in the Box Set Version of The Cranberries debut album ′Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can′t We?′ released by Universal Music (London) in October 2018. He has also curated sleeve notes for The Cranberries albums ′Something Else′,  ′In The End′ and the 2020 re-issue of ′No Need To Argue.′

• Introduction: Asking Awkward QuestionsChapter 1: Understanding the MediaIntroductionDefining the MediaThe Media in a Social ContextAsking Questions about U2Asking Questions? Which Questions?The Importance of Theory and MethodConclusionChapter 2: Media Histories, Media PowerIntroductionMedia HistoriesChanging Media Histories: an Irish ExampleA Contested FieldMedia and PowerPower and Media ContentPower and the Media IndustriesPower and Media AudiencesTowards a (More) Critical Media StudiesModel of Media Analysis: Production, Content and ReceptionConclusionChapter 3: Media GlobalizationIntroductionWhat is Globalisation?The Latest Brand of Colonialism?Theories of GlobalisationMedia GlobalisationConclusionChapter 4: Media Ownership: Concentration, Conglomeration and RegulationIntroductionWhy Should We be Bothered about Media Ownership?Media OwnershipConglomeration, Concentration and ContentVertical and Horizontal IntegrationThe Political Economy Perspective′Follow the money...′Jurgen Habermas and the Public SphereMedia and RegulationModels of Media RegulationSo, Do We Need Media Regulation?ConclusionChapter 5: Media Professionals and Media ProductionIntroductionProduction ResearchTwo TraditionsTheoretical Underpinnings of Production ResearchMethodological BasisHall′s Encoding/ Decoding ModelEthnographic Research on Media Production and Media ProfessionalsInside Prime Time by Todd GitlinConclusionChapter 6: Media, Ideology and DiscourseIntroductionWhat Precisely is Meant by the Term Ideology?Defining IdeologyIdeology as Dominant IdeologyDiscourse and IdeologyIt′s All in the Discourse?ConclusionChapter 7: Media ′Re-presentations′ in an Unequal WorldIntroductionRepresentation/ Re-representation and ′Reality′What is Content Analysis?Media Re-representations in a Divided World: Four Approaches OutlinedMedia Re-presentations of Social ClassMedia Coverage of the Underclass: Stories about WelfareThe Happy Poor: Representations in Fictional Media ContentMedia Representations of Ethnicity: a Discourse Analysis ApproachMedia Representations of Gender and SexualityConclusionChapter 8: Media Audiences and ReceptionIntroductionThemes and Tensions: Competing Theoretical and Methodological Approaches in Audience ResearchPower to the People? Three Phases in Reception ResearchReception Analysis and the ′Ethnographic Turn′Qualitative Audience Research: Three ExamplesAudiences, Fans and Participatory CulturesConclusionChapter 9: New Media, Social MediaIntroduction: New Media and Social Media - Empowering Audiences, But Who is Holding the Tiger′s Tail?Will the Revolution be Digitalized?The Promise and the Reality of the InternetWe are All ′Produsers′ Now, are We? Audiences and New MediaConclusionChapter 10: Conclusion: The ′How′ and ′Why′ of Media AnalysisIntroduction: This is Not a Methods Chapter...A Step-by-Step Approach to Doing Media ResearchHow to Usefully Engage with Existing ResearchDoing Production, Content and Reception ResearchKeep on Asking Awkward Questions...Conclusion: The ′How′ and ′Why′ of Media Analysis

Devereux’s third edition of Understanding the Media has expanded the possibilities of what a textbook can be. Incisive questions framed through accessible and detailed examples provide a platform for a wealth of different activities that engage readers in the critical study of media.