Robert Merton introduced a form of functionalism in his 1949 book Social Theory and Social Structure, and that form has been widely adopted by media researchers. His "functional analysis" detailed how the study of social artifacts (such...

The relationship between society and the mass media in the United States has been at the center of attention for media theorists and researchers ever since the end of the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth. Several forms of new...

Media responsibility is a term for the belief that mass media have a basic responsibility to help strengthen and support democratic processes. Although this is a subjective concept, hard to define, arguments have been made for newspapers, television,...

The media in the United States have been under close scrutiny since at least the Vietnam War. People began to notice that journalists did not merely report events, but shaped them and our attitude toward them. Television was especially praised or blamed for...

After the tragedy in New York City on September 11, 2001, Mayor Rudy Giuliani was no less than aweinspiring in talking with the media at the scene. His initial response to the incident was notable. He exemplified some of the skills sheriffs and other...

The Committee to Protect Journalists criticized on Friday President Hugo Chavez's decision not to renew the broadcast license of a private TV station critical of his government.In a joint statement, the New York-based press freedom group and the Press and Society Institute of Peru said...

Media Bias: A press baron who putatively leans right bids for the Wall Street Journal, and the media tut. A tycoon who has no experience in the industry but has a leftward bias gets involved, and the press sees a savior.The media response to Rupert...