Wiley-Blackwell Understanding Media Users: From Theory to Practice

Understanding Media Users: From Theory to Practice focuses on the blurred concept of the “active audience” at the core of media studies. examines the relationship between media and audiences by one of the world’s leading media scholarsprovides a history of media effects’ and an overview of the current analytical approaches that constitute media reception theorycharts some of the most important interfaces of media reception and interaction - TV, film, the Internet, advertising, journalism, and tourism studiesconcludes with additional insights into the future of media reception in a global age Review “I admire Wilson's synthetic approach to audience study and the attention he gives to the burgeoning field of cell phones, computer screens, and video games since in the past most audience study material has been focused on film and television.” (PsycCRITIQUES, March 2009) "As a pioneering study of phenomenological media analysis … Wilson's book serves as a useful introduction to this emerging field of research, as well as offering a brief and scathing overview of the wider context of audience studies in which his work is situated. As such, the book will be of interest to scholars from a wide variety of fields and disciplines." (M/C Reviews, February 2009) Review "In this lively and original book, Tony Wilson captures the many critical claims and contestations that have shaped the field of audience research, bringing the story up to date with a phenomenological analysis of mass and personalised media users across the globe." –Professor Sonia Livingstone, London School of Economics and Political Science "Tony Wilson is one of the pioneers of phenomenological media analysis. In this book, he develops a distinctive media-user theory, engaging with important issues of philosophy and method." –Professor Shaun Moores, Centre for Research in Media and Cultural Studies, University of Sunderland From the Inside Flap Understanding Media Users: From Theory to Practice focuses on the blurred concept of the "active audience" at the core of media studies. Charting the complex terrain of screen reception theory and applied research, this new volume offers wide-ranging criticism of media effects. It highlights connections and contrasts between European communications and US consumer theory, reading books and using screens, philosophy and new media research, and between the process and politics of viewing. A philosophically informed pointer to the diverse thinking on audiences that has emerged over the past quarter century, Understanding Media Users is also a guide to qualitative investigation through focus groups and student-conducted interviews. Crossing cultures and generations, and enriched by Asian perspectives, the book examines Western hypotheses on media use. From the Back Cover Understanding Media Users: From Theory to Practice focuses on the blurred concept of the "active audience" at the core of media studies. Charting the complex terrain of screen reception theory and applied research, this new volume offers wide-ranging criticism of media effects. It highlights connections and contrasts between European communications and US consumer theory, reading books and using screens, philosophy and new media research, and between the process and politics of viewing. A philosophically informed pointer to the diverse thinking on audiences that has emerged over the past quarter century, Understanding Media Users is also a guide to qualitative investigation through focus groups and student-conducted interviews. Crossing cultures and generations, and enriched by Asian perspectives, the book examines Western hypotheses on media use. About the Author Tony Wilson is Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics and Business, at University Malaysia Sarawak, and Associate Research Fellow, Global Cities Institute, at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.