Media Studies: The Basics

Citation

Pollard, C., & McDougall, J. (2026). Media Studies: The Basics (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Chapter Summary

The third edition is a compact book of about 214 pages in the publisher's "The Basics" series. According to the publisher, it asks four core questions: who or what the media are, which key terms and concepts are used to analyse them, where new technologies, platforms and AI have had the biggest impact, and how media theory and media practice relate. It adds coverage of "Big Tech" and AI and carries an updated glossary and suggestions for further reading. The publisher's table of contents lists an introduction and six chapters; only their titles are public, so the summaries below stay close to those titles and to the publisher's description.

Introduction to the Third Edition

Opens the new edition. The publisher presents the revision as a response to technological change that has produced new kinds of producers, consumers and modes of delivery, and to the new theories, concepts and practices that have followed in media studies.

Chapter 1: Studying Media

The first chapter sets out what studying media involves. In light of the publisher's opening question, "Who, or what, are the media?", it is the natural place for definitions of the object of study and the basic vocabulary of the subject.

Chapter 2: Doing Theory with Media

A chapter on using theory as a working tool in analysing media, matching the publisher's stated interest in how theory and practice relate.

Chapter 3: Powerful Media

Takes up the question of media power. The title signals the long-running debate about how far media shape what audiences think and do.

Chapter 4: Evolving Media

Concerned with change in media forms and technologies, the area where the publisher says the new edition has been most heavily updated, including platforms and AI.

Chapter 5: Troubling Media

A chapter on problems and controversies surrounding media; its title suggests a critical look at what is contested or harmful in media systems and use.

Chapter 6: Making Media

The final chapter turns from analysis to production, in line with the publisher's emphasis on the relation between media theory and practice.

Key Concepts

The public information names its concepts only at the level of chapter titles and the publisher's questions.

Introduction and Chapters 1–2

• Media Studies as a field: the subject the whole book introduces, with its own key terms and concepts.
• Theory used with media: the title of Chapter 2 frames theory as something done with examples of media rather than only learned.

Chapters 3–6

• Media power: the subject of Chapter 3.
• Evolving media: change in technologies, platforms and AI, the focus of Chapter 4.
• Media making: the practical side of the subject, treated in Chapter 6.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• Brief by design. At about 214 pages and six chapters, it is built as a short orientation to the subject, which suits a reader who needs a first map before choosing deeper reading.
• Updated for current media. The publisher stresses that the third edition covers new developments in media, "Big Tech" and AI, which matters for a subject whose objects of study change quickly.
• Theory and practice together. The publisher lists the relation between theory and practice as one of four core questions, and the last chapter on making media follows through on it.
• Author experience in teaching. Claire Pollard is a media education consultant at The English and Media Centre who edits MediaMagazine; Julian McDougall is Professor in Media and Education at Bournemouth University. Both come from the education side of the field, which is consistent with the book's aim of serving A Level and undergraduate students.

Limitations

• Short and introductory. The publisher positions it for A Level and undergraduate study. A reader needing sustained argument on a single theory, audience research or media industries will need a longer text.
• Limited visible detail. Only chapter titles are public. Whether a chapter has case studies, activities or exercises cannot be established from the publisher's page.

Where It Fits in the Course

Within the media and culture course, this is the shortest and most general entry point. David Croteau and William Hoynes's Media/Society is a full introductory textbook on the sociology of media, organised around the interaction of technology, industries, content and users; it is the next step for a reader who wants depth and research evidence after this overview. Denis McQuail and Mark Deuze's McQuail's Media and Mass Communication Theory is a comprehensive reference on theories of media and mass communication, suited to looking up and comparing traditions once the basic vocabulary is familiar.

Christian Fuchs's Social Media: A Critical Introduction studies social media as a social, economic and political system, covering digital labour, surveillance and power, and so extends the platform themes in Chapters 4 and 5. Nick Couldry and Andreas Hepp's The Mediated Construction of Reality is a theoretical study of how social reality is built through media, a demanding follow-up to the discussion of theory in Chapter 2. Erving Goffman's The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life is a classic study of face-to-face interaction and impression management, relevant to anyone looking at how people present themselves in media settings.

How to Use This Book

The book assumes no prior study of media or sociology. It suits first-year undergraduates, A Level students and general readers who want to understand the main questions of media studies before taking a course.

A practical plan, based on the structure of the contents:

• Read in order. The six chapters appear to move from basic questions (Chapter 1) through theory (Chapter 2) and power (Chapter 3) to change, problems and production (Chapters 4–6), so the sequence is cumulative.
• Use the glossary. The publisher notes an updated glossary; use it to build the vocabulary before moving to longer texts.
• Pair chapters with your own media. Choose a current platform, programme or game and apply one chapter at a time, in particular Chapter 3 on power and Chapter 4 on change.
• Follow the further reading. The suggestions for further reading are the route into the more advanced books in the course.
• Check the edition. This guide refers to the third edition (2026); earlier editions will differ in coverage of AI and platforms.