Buy POWER WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY 8TH EDITION | General Books

ABOUT THE BOOK

This book attacks the conventional history of the press as a story of progress; offers a critical defence and history of public service broadcasting; provides a myth-busting account of the internet; a subtle account of the impact of social media and explores key debates about the role and politics of the media.

It has become a standard book on media and other courses: but it has also gone beyond an academic audience to reach a wider public. Hailed as ‘a classic of media history and analysis’ by the Irish Times and a book that has ‘cracked the canon’ by the Times Higher, it has been translated into five languages.

This edition contains six new chapters. These include the press and the remaking of Britain, the rise of the neo-liberal Establishment, the moral decline of journalism, the impact of social media and a history of attempts to reform the press. It contains new research on the relationship between programmes, institutions and society. It places key UK institutions in the wider context of international affairs and their impact. The book has been updated to take account of new developments like Brexit and the rise of Jeremy Corbyn and the shift in authority and legitimacy prompted by social media. It does this with a clear explanation of how policy can shape media outcomes.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part I

Press history

James Curran

1. Press history as political mythology
2. The struggle for a free press
3. Janus face of reform
4. Industrialization of the press
5. Era of the press barons
6. Press under public regulation
7. Post-war press: fable of progress
8. Press and the remaking of Britain
9. Rise of the neo-liberal Establishment
10. Moral decline of the press

Part II

Broadcasting history

Jean Seaton

11. Reith and the denial of politics
12. Broadcasting and the Blitz
13. Public service commerce: ITV, new audiences and new revenue
14. Foreign affairs: the BBC, the world and the government
15. Class, taste and profit
16. Managers, regulators and broadcasters
17. Public service under attack
18. Broadcasting roller-coaster

Part III

Rise of new media

19. New media in Britain – James Curran
20. History of the internet – James Curran
21. Sociology of the internet – James Curran
22. Social media: making new societies or polarization – Jean Seaton

Part IV

Theories of the media

Jean Seaton

23. Metabolising Britishness
24. Global understanding
25. Broadcasting and the theory of public service

Part V

Politics of the media

26. Industrial folklore and press reform – James Curran
27. Contradictions in media policy – James Curran and Jean Seaton
28. Media reform: democratic choices – James Curran

Bibliography

Index