Key Themes in Media Theory Dan Laughey • What is media theory? • How do media affect our actions, opinions and beliefs? • In what ways do media serve powerful political and economic interests? • Is media consumerism unhealthy or is it empowering? Key Themes in Media Theory provides a thorough and critical introduction to the key theories of media studies. It is unique in bringing together different schools of media theory into a single, comprehensive text, examining in depth the ideas of key media theorists such as Lasswell, McLuhan, Hall, Williams, Barthes, Adorno, Boudrillard and Bordieu. Using up-to-date case studies the book embraces media in their everyday cultural forms - music, internet, film, television, radio, newspapers and magazines - to enable a clearer view of the 'big picture' of media theory. In ten succinct chapters Dan Laughey discusses a broad range of themes, issues and perspectives that inform our contemporary understanding of media production and consumption. These includes: • Behaviourism and media effects • Feminist media theory • Postmodernity and information society • Political economy • Media consumerism With images and diagrams to illustrate chapter themes, examples that apply media theory to media practice, recommended reading at the end of every chapter, and a useful glossary of key terms, this book is the definitive guide to understanding media theory. Dan Laughey is Senior Lecturer in Media Studies at Leeds Metropolitan University, UK.