First published in 1966 as Volume I in Studies in Public Communication the original edition has gone into seven printings. In this new edition, material which has been included takes into consideration the rapidly changing landscape in mass communications. New contributors include a complete section on news controls and press freedom; an up-to-date appraisal of community antenna television; a discussion of violence in mass media; comment on contemporary motion pictures; a statement on the need for a national press council; the press and foreign policy; remarks on the social responsibility of the press; and an up-to-date presentation on "the ABC's of Radio and Television." On the other hand, there are contributions the value and virtue of which do not change with time. Walter
Lippmann's comments on the press, for example, are as valid today as when they were first written, as are other equally significant pieces. These have been retained.
The 20th century is totally the age of mass communication. The media may not be the message – contrary to Marshall McLuhan's conviction – but media penetrate and ramify into every aspect of man's existence, public as well as private. Thus, as in the first edition, the material within has been selected on the conviction that there are few more significant endeavors in our contemporary society than an understanding of the function and effects of the media of mass communication. This volume will aid in that understanding; the various contents describe how the media function, their problems and their potential and the ways by which mass communication can be utilized, not only to keep us better informed, but also to stimulate intelligent value judgments and constructive action.