"This book gives a comprehensive and critical account of the theoretical changes in communication studies from the early theories of development communication through to the contemporary critiques of globalization. It looks at the ways in which the media can be used to effect change and development,
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and traces the evolution of thinking from attempts to spread 'modernity' by way of using the media through to alternative perspectives based on encouraging participation in development communication. It explores the theory of media imperialism, the criticisms that it provoked, and its replacement as the dominant theory of international communication by globalization.." (Publisher description)
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"The text focuses on the process of genre analysis, using the selected approaches discussed. The book provides examples and analyses of genres in an effort to support, illustrate, and extend any abstract concepts that have been introduced. More important, it gives students the theoretical tools to c
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onduct their own primary research into genres. In that sense, the methodology is expansive rather than reductive. Presumably, two students could conduct an analysis of the same genre using different approaches and come up with divergent interpretations. In all cases, for an interpretation to be valid: (1) the analysis must be systematically applied, and (2) the analysis must be supported with concrete examples from the text (i.e., film, television episode, newspaper). It must be emphasized, however, that depending on the specific area of study, one approach may be more useful than another." (Preface, page xiii)
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"The first six chapters of this book give you the background information you need to understand how to do an audience survey to a high standard. The explanation is based on the standard face-to-face survey method, where trained interviewers speak directly to audience members. You can use the informa
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tion in Part I in several ways: to organize your own survey, or to commission an expert to do a survey for you, and understand most of the decisions that they and you will face, or to help decide whether you need a survey, or some other type of research. If you are interested doing your own research, but after reading these six chapters you realize that it may be too difficult, slow, or expensive to complete a face-to-face survey, try Part II of the book, which describes some other types of survey, and several methods of qualitative research." (Page 5)
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"Documentary Film is organized to present an overview of central issues and then to discuss different subgenres. I particularly wanted to use categories that could address concerns about objectivity, advocacy, and bias that have always swirled around documentary but with renewed vigor since the brea
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kthrough popularity of Fahrenheit 9/11. One could easily select or add other categories, such as music, sports, labor, diary, and food; I selected the ones used in this book because they are common categories in the documentary marketplace, and because they raise important issues about truth and representing reality." (Introduction)
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"The purpose of this book, explained further in Chapter One, is to place before the media scholar, the historicity and continuity in structures of colonialism, postcolonialism, and media globalization around the world. Obviously these are not clearly demarcated processes and colonized countries have
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been implicated centrally in such processes as much as their colonial masters who have been the focus of a majority of theory and research in international communication. In its linkage of case studies to interdisciplinary theory, the book draws the reader into various strains of critical dialogue in the field – a dialogue that has predominantly, and unfortunately, been the prerogative of graduate studies. The scope of case studies included then, is necessarily broad. Theoretical interpretations that connect case studies could merit individual books themselves, and are provided in this book inasmuch as they advance the narrative and contextualize the examples. Through this strategy, the book presents to the reader crucial theoretical issues in the fi eld and demonstrates how they are grounded (or not) in reality. The book also attempts to recharge international media research with the political energy that informed its origins, particularly in Latin America and South Asia. It identifies the signifi cant moments in political and academic history that have fashioned international media studies, and through extensive examples, lays bare areas that require further research. Such a task is undertaken recognizing the theoretically and empirically rich writing that has gone before, and piecing together such writing to offer a comparative and ethical analysis of the fi eld. The postcolonial framework informs this project for its direct and stunningly clear focus on the historicity of international interactions and its activist component that awards the student some direction for social justice." (Preface, page x-xi)
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"As Alan Rosenthal states in the preface to this new edition of his acclaimed resource for filmmakers, Writing, Directing, and Producing Documentary Films and Videos is “a book about storytelling—how to tell great and moving stories about fascinating people, whether they be villains or heroes.
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In response to technological advances and the growth of the documentary hybrid in the past five years, Rosenthal reconsiders how one approaches documentary filmmaking in the twenty-first century. Simply and clearly, he explains how to tackle day-to-day problems, from initial concept through distribution. He demonstrates his ideas throughout the book with examples from key filmmakers’ work. New aspects of this fourth edition include a vital new chapter titled "Making Your First Film," and a considerable enlargement of the section for producers, "Staying Alive," which includes an extensive discussion of financing, marketing, festivals, and distribution. This new edition offers a revised chapter on nonlinear editing, more examples of precise and exacting proposals, and the addition of a complex budget example with explanation of the budgeting process. Discussion of documentary hybrids, with suggestions for mastering changes and challenges, has also been expanded, while the “Family Films” chapter includes updated information that addresses rapid expansion in this genre." (Publisher description)
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