Mass Communication in Canada

Preface; Part I Communication and Society; Chapter 1 Communication and Society; Introduction; A Quickly Expanding Communications Universe; Communication and Social Behaviour; The All-Pervasive Range of Influence of Communication; Communication as Transmission and as Transformation; Oral Society; Literate Society; Electronic Society; Modes of Communication; Other Derivative and Different Viewpoints; Summary; Related Websites; Further Readings; Study Questions; Learning Objectives; Chapter 2 Mass Communication and Modern Society; Introduction: Definitions; The Mass Media; Information, Entertainment, Images, and Symbols; The Mass Audience; An Overview of the New Mass Media and the Interactive Media; Summary; Related Websites; Further Readings; Study Questions; Learning Objectives; Chapter 3 Democracy, Politics, Culture, and the Media; Introduction; European Roots: Information and Democracy; The Beginnings of the Modern Press; From the Press to the Media; The Ownership and Control of the Traditional Mass Media; Canada: Liberal Principles in a Conservative State; The Traditional Mass Media and Canadian Realities; The Mass Media and Canadian Culture; Politics and the Canadian Media; Information Needs, Communications Actualities, and the United Nations; Summary; Related Websites; Further Readings; Study Questions; Learning Objectives; Part II Content and Audiences; Chapter 4 Media Content; Introduction; Signification; The Indeterminacy of Representation and Its Implications; Theoretical Perspectives on the Study of Content; Mechanisms of Media/Culture Binding; Media Creating Meaning: Possibilities and Limitations; Media and Reality: Media Devices and Real Life; Summary; Appendix A: Semiotic Analysis of a Black Label Ad Series; Related Websites; Further Readings; Study Questions; Learning Objectives; Chapter 5 Media and Audiences; Introduction; A Theoretical Synthesis of Meaning-Generating Systems; Six Perspectives on Audiences; The World's Best Readership Database--PMB, A Case Study; Audience Research and the Public Interest; Summary; Related Web Sites; Further Readings; Study Questions; Learning Objectives; Part III Major Influences on Media Functioning; Chapter 6 Communications Law and Policy; Introduction; Governing Communications; The Legal and Regulatory Frameworks of Communications; Policy Development; Telecommunications Policy; Broadcasting Policy; Future for Broadcasting Regulation?; Related Websites; Further Readings; Study Questions; Learning Objectives; Chapter 7 Cultural Industries, Law, and Policy; Introduction; Cultural Industries Policy by Sector; New Media; Summary; Related Websites; Further Readings; Study Questions; Learning Objectives; Chapter 8 The Structure and Role of Ownership; Introduction; Allocating Resources; Individual Freedom, Public Interest, and the Free Market; Historical Background: Function and Ownership; Organizing Structures; Public Ownership; Private Ownership; Tempering the Profit Motive; Implications of Private Media Ownership; Summary; Related Websites; Further Readings; Study Questions; Learning Objectives; Chapter 9 Journalists as Content Producers; Introduction; News as Content Production; Ideals of Journalism; Newsmakers; The Legal and Policy Contexts of News Production; Canadian Law and Journalism; Making News (and Profits?); Ownership and Control; News as Storytelling; Summary; Related Websites; Further Readings; Study Questions; Learning Objectives; 10. Communications, Technology, and Society: Theory and Practice; Introduction; Technology and Society; Technology Defined; Technology and Technological Determinism; The Nature of Communications Technology; Technology and the Communications Industries; Technological Development: Rationales and Realities; Regulating Communications Technology--The Fundamentals; Technology and the Special Case of the Internet; Technology at the Beginning of Millennium III; Achievements in the Information World; Nuisances, Problems, Dangers; The 'So-What' of Technological Developments; Reflections on Our Technological Society; Summary; Related Websites; Further Readings; Study Questions; Learning Objectives; Part IV Our Evolving Communications World; Chapter 11 Globalization; Introduction; Defining Terms; Mass Media as Agents of Globalization; Global Information Trade; New World Information and Communication Order; From NWICO to Now; Changing Notions of Place; Summary; Related Websites; Study Questions; Learning Objectives; Chapter 12 Communication in a Digital Age; Introduction; From Mass Distribution of Symbolic Products to Mass Communication; Communication and Democracy; Four Influences on Media Operations; Globalization; Summary; Study Questions; Learning Objectives; Glossary; References; Index