In Understanding Mass Communication. Third Edition, we recognize something that instructors in introductory mass media courses have been saying for years; Students don't need to be introduced to mass communication; what they need is a context for understanding it. It is this context that Understanding Mass Communication attempts to provide. Building on an account on the history of the print, film and broadcast media, we provide a detailed description of how these major media and their support industries operate; we then discuss research into the effects of mass media and theories that have developed from that research. It is our goal to present students with the means to better understand the role play in their world.