A Dictionary of Communication and Media Studies - Softcover

Watson, James; Hill, Anne

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0340676353 ISBN 13: 9780340676356

Publisher: Hodder Education Publishers, 1996

Synopsis

The new fourth edition of "A Dictionary of Communication and Media Studies", like its highly successful predecessors, brings together a large amount of up-to-the-minute information on current media policy and practice, communication and cultural theory. As the field of communication, media, and cultural studies grows and grows, students and teachers will find this dictionary an invaluable guide through the maze of terms and concepts they encounter in the course of their work.

About this title

About the Author

Anne Hill, Lecturer in Communication, both at West Kent College, UK.

Reviews

The audiences for these three resources on media and communications will range widely. Silverblatt and Eliceiri's dictionary is quite specialized, devoted solely to terms, concepts, organizations, and people associated with the narrow subfield of media literacy, which involves developing analytical skills to evaluate the quality of information disseminated by mass media. International in scope, the work includes a lengthy bibliography and references at the end of many entries. Watson and Hill's dictionary, which first appeared in 1984 and has become a standard work in the United Kingdom, furnishes broad coverage of mass communications terminology. Unfortunately, it has limited value in North America due to its heavy British emphasis, as evidenced by the entries on "Defamation," "Libel," and "Slander," for instance. Weiner's work, originally published in 1990 (LJ 6/15/90) and named an LJ Best Reference Book for that year, has been updated to reflect new vocabulary in the communications media, e.g., "home page" and "Internet." By far the largest and most current work of its kind, the lexicon concisely defines some 35,000 technical and slang terms in language readily comprehensible to nonspecialists. A work of impressive quality, Weiner's revised edition deserves a place in all but the smallest public and academic libraries. Only journalism and communications libraries need consider the other two works.?Ken Kister, author of "Best Encyclopedias," Tampa, Fla.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This is a specialized, no-frills dictionary designed for the academic study of communication and media. As to be expected, since the authors are both senior lecturers at West Kent College in the United Kingdom, it leans toward things British.

Definitions are presented in straight alphabetical arrangement, with boldface type used to set off the terms being defined. Many see references are given, and small block capitals are used to indicate separate entries on a related topic. Some definitions end with minimal citations to books recommended for further reading, and a portion of the entries are accompanied by black-and-white diagrams. Of great help, especially to American readers, is the six-page list of abbreviations (BFMP: British Federation of Master Printers; RTSA: Royal Television Society Awards).

The 2,000 or so entries cover a wide range of topics. Readers may turn to this source for definitions of allegory, gender, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, personal space, public radio (defined here as "term used in Australia to refer to community radio"), and values. There are also entries that will seem foreign to Americans: definitions are given for besotting peculiarities ("In the opinion of the Poor Man's Guardian of 20 August 1831, the three besotting peculiarities of Englishmen were gin-drinking, boxing matches, and a veneration for titles"), the Oz Trial ("The longest ever obscenity trial in the UK"), and "Death on the Rock," a controversial British television program.

For libraries serving communication and media scholars, and particularly for those wanting a British view of these fields, A Dictionary of Communication and Media Studies is a recommended purchase. However, it is definitely aimed at a British audience. A better choice for most U.S. libraries is the recent update of Richard Weiner's Webster's New World Dictionary of Media and Communications (Macmillan, 1997).

Edition details

• Publisher: Hodder Education Publishers
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0340676353
• ISBN 13: 9780340676356
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 264