Cognella Who's Responsible Here?: Media, Audience, Ethics

Who's Responsible Here? Media, Audience, Ethics presents essays that challenge readers to examine and take responsibility for their role as media consumers. While there are undeniable ethical responsibilities placed upon a medium or media outlet and the content it creates, the media cycle that the audience participates in also requires a level of awareness and active participation of the consumer. The articles in Who's Responsible Here? first acclimate the reader to the language of media and audience studies with essays on communication, media, and audience theory. They then guide readers through contemporary ethical issues and concerns within the media before finally turning attention to the audience and their role. Ultimately, the articles create a discussion on defining the relationship and responsibilities between media and society. This is especially important at a time when the democratization of media has allowed audiences to become content producers themselves. Bio Robert A. Emmons Jr. is a digital documentary filmmaker. His films include: Enthusiast: The 9th Art, Wolf at the Door, Yardsale!, Goodwill: The Flight of Emilio Carranz, and De Luxe: The Tale of the Blue Comet. In 2009 he received Mexico's Lindbergh-Carranza International Goodwill Award as a "Messenger of Peace" for his work on Goodwill. His published work focuses on electronic media, documentary film, and comic books and includes The Encyclopedia of Documentary Film (Routledge, 2005) and Small Tech: The Culture of Digital Tools (Univ. of Minn. 2007). Emmons teaches film, media, and comics history at Rutgers University-Camden where he is also the Associate Director of the Honors College.