The Media in Your Life explores the social, historical, economic, and technological implications of the media in our culture and how to use the media effectively in our lives. Written by three highly regarded scholars and teachers, this book explores a system-wide view of the interacting social, historical, economic, and technological forces at work in today's rapidly evolving mass media. Too often, mass communication books rely only on popular publications or on academic research. Folkerts, Lacy, and Larabee believe that all forms of scholarship provide insight into mass communication. In The Media in Your Life, the authors have combined the concrete practice of journalism with empirical research, enabling the reader to comprehend the impact of the dynamic media that are an integral part of our lives today. The Media in Your Life guides the reader through today's whirlwind of mass communication by providing the information and critical thinking skills necessary to consider objectively the media and its roles in their lives.Readers are challenged to look at their own use of the media and to observe patterns they see in media industries, personalities, structures, and market trends in order to become more informed media consumers.