Media and communications play a central role in all of our lives – e‐mail, mobile phones, twitter, Skype, digital radio and satellite television allow us to instantaneously keep in touch with friends and colleagues and to keep abreast of events occurring anywhere in the world. As a result we are increasingly being influenced by the media and these various social networking devices. Academics began to take an interest in the field of media and communications in the late 1950s following publication of Marshall McLuhan's work which showed that culture, social evolution and technology were intrinsically linked. Such is the influence of media and communications that many theories and ideas come from other subject disciplines, for example, psychology, linguistics, semiotics, philosophy, anthropology and sociology. The aim of this dictionary therefore is to present definitions together in one source to “enable students from high school to graduate school to find accessible, authoritative explanations of essential theories and concepts in all relevant subject areas”.
The dictionary provides definitions for some 2,000 entries dealing with basic ideas, concepts, schools of thought, theories and technical trends that regularly appear in the media and communications literature. These definitions are clear and straightforward. Occasionally entries are accompanied by photographs and diagrams. However they vary in length from a couple of lines to sizeable paragraphs, for example Bull's Eye Model of Communication is explained in a short paragraph while Zipf's Law, otherwise known as the principle of least effort, merits almost a whole page. This leads to a somewhat unbalanced feel. Technological advances continue to add myriad new words to our vocabulary and these are well reflected in the dictionary. However there are entries for BlackBerry and iPod but no mention of the Amazon Kindle. Likewise, there are entries for Facebook and MySpace but not Second Life or YouTube.
The dictionary also includes entries for leading figures in media scholarship. These again vary in length. The entry for Sergey Brin gives little information other than that he co‐founded Google with Larry Page, while that for the Lumiére Brothers, who are credited as amongst the first inventors of the cinema, extends to a sizeable paragraph. For some scholars, their key works are mentioned, while for others, such as Galtung or Said, you are left with the impression that they have no publications.
The volume concludes with three appendices. A 12‐page chronology presents a timeline of major events from 2400 BCE with the discovery of papyrus as a writing medium through to recent times with the convergence of media with the internet. A bibliography of recommended textbooks and a listing of useful web resources allow for follow on research.
This dictionary does provide some quick succinct definitions and makes a useful starting point for students new to the area. Serious researchers will require additional resources.
