Politics and the Mass Media in Britain

This fully-updated new edition of Politics and the Mass Media in Britain provides a comprehensive introduction to the role of mass communications in politics at all levels, from election campaigns, news reports and lobbying groups to the media activities of pressure groups. The relationship between politics, politicians and the media is a matter of increasingly contentious public debate, as politicans' awareness of the importance of the media becomes more sophisticated amidst rapidly-advancing media technology and control. Providing a review of the nature and content of political communications and of recent theoretical developments, Negrine addresses the issues surrounding today's mass media, including cable and satellite television, investigation of the press, the relationship between the state and broadcasting institutions, and the ever-present question of whether or not Britain needs a media policy. This new edition includes case studies and examples from television and the press; fully-revised text with updated sections on the press, broadcasting and media legislation; and brand new chapters on Europe and globalisation.

Ralph Negrine is Lecturer at the Centre for Mass Communication Research, University of Leicester.