Media Studies 2.0

Media Studies 2.0 offers an exploration of the digital revolution and its consequences for media and communication studies, arguing that the new era requires an upgraded discipline: a media studies 2.0. -- The book traces the history of mass-media and computing, exploring their merger at the end of the twenty-century and the material, ecological, cultural and personal elements of this digital transformation. It considers the history of media and communication studies, arguing that the academic discipline was a product of the analogue, broadcast-era, emerging in the early twentieth century as a response to the success of newspapers, radio and cinema and reflecting that era back in its organisation, themes and concepts. -- Digitalisation, however, takes us beyond this analogue era (media studies 1.0) into a new, post-broadcast era. Merrin argues that the digital-era demands an upgraded academic discipline: one reflecting the real media life of its students and teaching the key skills needed by the twenty-first century user. Media 2.0 demand a media studies 2.0 -- This original and critical overview of contemporary developments within media studies is ideal for general students of media and communication, as well as those specifically studying new and digital media.