Book excerpt: Key Readings in Media Today provides both historical and contemporary analyses of each of the major media industries: book, newspaper, magazine, sound recording/radio, motion picture, television, new media, advertising, and public relations. The volume places an emphasis on convergence, looking at the ways boundaries between these media industries are blurring in surprising new ways. Section introductions and headnotes for each article offer valuable critical and historical context, while review questions after each reading test students' understanding of key concepts. Additional resources on the Companion Website (www.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415876087) are designed to spark classroom discussion and connect the readings to the latest contemporary media issues and controversies. By combining classic studies of mass communication with contemporary research on media, technology, and culture, Key Readings in Media Today will help students to make sense of the rapidly changing media environment.