his text encourages students to take more active roles as media consumers and gives them a deeper understanding of the role that the media play in both shaping and reflecting culture. Through this cultural perspective, students learn that audience members are as much a part of the mass communication process as are the media producers, technologies, and industries. This was the first university-level text to make media literacy central to its approach. Building on this tested emphasis, the updated fifth edition features a complete updating of industry statistics throughout, numerous new examples from the ongoing Iraq war, Virginia Tech shooting, the Don Imus controversy, and much more!