As the subtitle suggests, this seventh edition of Media Today uses conver-
gence as a lens that puts the reader at the center of the profound changes in the
21st-century media world. Through the convergence lens, readers learn to think critically
about the role of media today and about what these changes mean for their
lives presently and in the future. The book’s media systems approach helps readers
look carefully at how media are created, distributed, and exhibited in the new world
that the digital revolution has created. In this way, Media Today goes beyond the traditional
mass communication textbook’s focus on consuming media to give students an insider’s perspective on how media businesses operate. How exactly does Google profit from web searches? What will the magazine look like in five years?
Joseph Turow—who has been teaching Intro to media for well over a decade—
demonstrates the many ways that media convergence and the pervasiveness of the
internet have blurred distinctions between and among various media. After looking
at the essential history of each media industry, Turow examines the current forces
shaping that industry and explores the impact of emerging trends. From newspapers,
to video games, to social networking, to mobile platforms, Turow’s Media Today prepares
students to live in the digital world of media, helping them to become critical,
media-literate consumers of mass media and, if they go on to work in mass media industries, more alert, sensitive practitioners.