Since the first edition of this text helped shape the introductory mass communication course in scores of colleges and universities more than 25 years ago, the book has chronicled the evolving media scene. Because of the far reaching and sometimes disturbing changes in mass communications during recent years, the description and analysis of the media both for future practitioners and the consumers of their products are reaching a new and telling importance in our society. Public interest in the ethical and social responsibilities of the media has deepened, accented by the report of the Commission on Pornography and the toughening of ratings for movies that depict illegal drug use and excessive violence. Video has emerged as an entirely new medium. An explosion in computerized graphics and photography has strongly affected the print media, television and the movies.