Book excerpt: The field of communication and media has never been more exciting, and the vigorous activity in this area over the past three decades bears testimony to this. The excitement is due to a number of developments in the vast and sometimes very different areas that fall under the common rubric of communication and media studies. This book seeks to interrogate a number of concerns and issues in communications and media research. This volume documents some of the current trends and developments, challenges, and future prospects of communication and media research. In doing so it presents a broad basis for understanding the issues, technologies, theories, applications, opportunities, and challenges faced by communication researchers and scholars in the new media environment of the 21st century.