内容简介

This book provides a detailed, critical analysis for understanding the political dimensions of 21st century communication//information technologies, mass media and transnational networks. Gerald Sussman contextualizes the expanding use of these technologies and media in the social histories of their development, in order to provide an integrated functional and political economic framework for viewing the many controversies surrounding communications, media and society - from the diminishing of citizenship and work experiences to the growing use of commerical and political surveillance. In addition, he examines the impacts of global communication and information structures on the developing countries and at alternatives to the hegemonic tendencies within the United States and the world economy.

作品目录

Preface

Acknowledgments

Pt. I The Meaning and Politics of the "Communications Revolution" 1

1 Ideology and Discourse on the "Information Society" 3

2 A Political Economy of Communications 37

Pt. II The Social-Historical Prologue 55

3 Historical Perspectives on Communication 57

4 Mass Consumption, Mass Communications, and Politics 94

Pt. III Political Issues in the "Information Society" 123

5 Modern Power Structures and the Means to Communicate 125

6 Privatizing the Ether: Regulation, Deregulation, and Information Apartheid 179

Pt. IV The Global Dimensions of the "Information Society" 213

7 The Third World Meets the "Third Wave" 215

Pt. V Conclusions 261

8 Communication, Technology, and Politics 263

References 288

Index 305

About the Author