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 About the Authors
RICHARD CAMPBELL, founder and former chair of the
Department of Media, Journalism and Film at Miami
University, is the author of “60 Minutes” and the News: A
Mythology for Middle America (1991) and coauthor of
Cracked Coverage: Television News, the Anti-Cocaine
Crusade, and the Reagan Legacy (1994). Campbell has
written for numerous publications, including Columbia
Journalism Review, Journal of Communication, and
Media Studies Journal, and he is on the editorial boards
of Critical Studies in Mass Communication and Television
Quarterly. He also serves on the board of directors for
Cincinnati Public Radio. He holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University and has
also taught at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Mount Mary College, the
University of Michigan, and Middle Tennessee State University.

CHRISTOPHER R. MARTIN is a professor of

communication studies and digital journalism at the
University of Northern Iowa and author of the
forthcoming The Invisible Worker: How the News Media
Lost Sight of the American Working Class (Cornell
University Press) and Framed! Labor and the Corporate
Media (Cornell University Press). He has written articles
and reviews on journalism, televised sports, the Internet,
and labor for several publications, including
Communication Research, Journal of Communication,
Journal of Communication Inquiry, Labor Studies Journal, Culture, Sport, and
Society, and Perspectives on Politics. He is also on the editorial board of the Journal
of Communication Inquiry. Martin holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan
and has also taught at Miami University.

BETTINA FABOS is a professor of visual communication

and interactive digital studies at the University of
Northern Iowa. She is the executive producer of the
interactive web photo history Proud and Torn: A Visual
Memoir of Hungarian History (proudandtorn.com); the
cofounder of a public archive of Iowa family snapshots,
Fortepan Iowa (fortepan.us); and a champion of the
Creative Commons. Fabos has also written extensively
about critical media literacy, Internet
commercialization, the role of the Internet in education,
and media representations of popular culture. Her work
has been published in Visual Communication Quarterly, Library Trends, Review of
Educational Research, and Harvard Educational Review. Fabos has also taught at
Miami University and has a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa.
Brief Contents

1 Mass Communication: A Critical Approach

PART 1: DIGITAL MEDIA AND CONVERGENCE

2 The Internet, Digital Media, and Media Convergence
3 Digital Gaming and the Media Playground

PART 2: SOUNDS AND IMAGES

4 Sound Recording and Popular Music
5 Popular Radio and the Origins of Broadcasting
6 Television and Cable: The Power of Visual Culture
7 Movies and the Impact of Images

PART 3: WORDS AND PICTURES

8 Newspapers: The Rise and Decline of Modern Journalism
9 Magazines in the Age of Specialization
10 Books and the Power of Print

PART 4: THE BUSINESS OF MASS MEDIA

11 Advertising and Commercial Culture
12 Public Relations and Framing the Message
13 Media Economics and the Global Marketplace

PART 5: DEMOCRATIC EXPRESSION AND THE MASS MEDIA

14 The Culture of Journalism: Values, Ethics, and Democracy
15 Media Effects and Cultural Approaches to Research
16 Legal Controls and Freedom of Expression
EXTENDED CASE STUDY: Can We Trust Facebook with Our Personal Data?
 Preface
This is an exciting and tumultuous time in the media. Developing an understanding
of mass communication and becoming a critical consumer of the media is vitally
important, especially now as the media are under siege and the lines between fact
and fiction are being continuously blurred. Media & Culture reaches students
where they are and puts the media industries into perspective both historically and
culturally, helping students become more informed citizens who use critical
thinking and media literacy skills in their daily lives, even as they are bombarded
by information, in a variety of ways and via a variety of media.

While today’s students have integrated digital media into their daily lives, they
may not understand how the media evolved to this point; how technology converges
text, audio, and visual media; and what all these developments mean. This is why
we believe the critical and cultural perspectives at the core of Media & Culture’s
approach are more important than ever. Media & Culture pulls back the curtain to
show students how the media really work—from the roots and economics of each
media industry to the implications of today’s consolidated media ownership to how
these industries have changed in our digital world. By looking at the full history of
media through a critical lens, students will leave this course with a better
understanding of the complex relationship between the mass media and our shared
culture.

Throughout the twelfth edition, Media & Culture digs deeper than ever before
into the worldwide reach and ethical implications of today’s media by highlighting
global issues, such as foreign interference in social media and the effect of
international box-office revenue on decisions made by the domestic film industry,
and ethical considerations, such as the fight against sexual harassment across the
media industries and the coverage of recent mass shootings. Media & Culture: Mass
Communication in a Digital Age is at the forefront of the ever-changing world of
mass communication, addressing the most current issues of our time—including the
proliferation of fake news, the #MeToo movement, the use and abuse of social
media platforms, consumer privacy, and the role media plays in our democracy.

Media & Culture shares stories about the history of media, the digital revolution,
and ongoing convergence—and the book itself practices convergence, too. The
twelfth edition is available packaged with LaunchPad, combining print and digital
media in an interactive e-book featuring dozens of video activities, a new video
assessment program, our acclaimed LearningCurve adaptive quizzing, our
interactive timeline, interactive Media Literacy Activities, and a new career unit for
students interested in a future in media—along with quizzes, activities, and
instructor resources.

Along with our exciting digital resources, those using LaunchPad in their courses
will get even more through the twice-annual currency updates, which will appear at
the base of the LaunchPad table of contents with new information and activities.
Content updates for each of the book’s chapters provide fresh new information
about the latest developments that have occurred in the media since the
publication of the latest print edition. The digital updates will also include a new
interactive activity for each chapter, as well as a digital-only interactive Extended
Case Study.

Of course, Media & Culture retains its well-loved and teachable organization,
which supports instructors in their quest to provide students with a clear
understanding of the historical and cultural contexts for each media industry. Our
signature five-step critical process for studying the media has struck a chord with
hundreds of instructors and thousands of students across the United States and
North America. We continue to be enthusiastic about—and humbled by—the chance
to work with the amazing community of teachers that has developed around Media
& Culture. We hope the text enables students to become more knowledgeable
media consumers and engaged, media-literate citizens who are ready to take a
critical role in shaping our dynamic world.

The Twelfth Edition of Media & Culture Navigates Today’s

Hyperfast Media Landscape

Media & Culture has taken the digital turn, and the twelfth edition continues to
keep pace with the technological, economic, and social effects of today’s rapidly
changing media landscape. Since the publication of the eleventh edition, we’ve
seen more changes than ever: the ongoing issues of social media privacy and fraud,
the fight against sexual harassment in the media industries, the change in meaning
of the term fake news, and so on. The twelfth edition of Media & Culture covers all
of this and more. It features the following:

Expanded global coverage throughout the book allows students to see how
media consumers all over the world are interacting with the media. An
increase in international examples throughout and a Global Village box in
each chapter will help students gain an appreciation and understanding of the
global effects of the media.

Expanded ethics coverage helps students develop their critical analysis skills
through the examination of various ethical issues involving the media. Current
events, such as the recent Cambridge Analytica data breach targeting
Facebook users, are addressed both throughout the chapters and in a
dedicated Examining Ethics box in each chapter and will help students as they
hone their skills in questioning the ethical implications of these events.

Highlighting the importance of and challenges to media during this time of

worldwide political upheaval keeps this book current. Topics such as the use
of social media in politics, media coverage of mass shootings, celebrities
fighting back against sexual harassment in the media industries, and many
more will allow students to examine current issues and analyze how they
affect both media and our society.

Current media issues are addressed, explored, and analyzed throughout each
chapter. These issues include social media fraud in the 2016 election; fake
news; sexual harassment in the music, film, and TV industries; and net
neutrality.

For consistency, each chapter now contains one Media Literacy and the
Critical Process box, one Global Village box, and one Examining Ethics box.

Print and media converge with LaunchPad in brand-new ways. LaunchPad

for Media & Culture merges and converges the book with the web. Twice-a-
 year digital-only updates make this book and media platform more current
than ever before. Our new Video Assessment Program—powered by GoReact—
allows instructors and students to record, upload, embed, and critically
analyze of-the-moment videos. A new interactive timeline helps students
explore and understand the development of mass communication through the
years. A variety of video activities, including a new activity for each chapter of
the book, gets students critically thinking about media texts. A brand-new
career unit helps students on the path toward exploring and realizing their
future career goals. In addition, LaunchPad offers a wealth of study tools—
including LearningCurve’s adaptive quizzing, chapter quizzes, and other
assessments, along with the e-book—and, for instructors, a complete set of
supplements. For more ideas on how using LaunchPad can enhance your
course, see the Instructor’s Resource Manual. For a list of available clips and
access information, see the inside back cover of the book or visit
launchpadworks.com.

Media & Culture Provides a Critical, Cultural, Comprehensive,

and Compelling Introduction to the Mass Media
A critical approach to media literacy. Media & Culture introduces students to
five stages of the critical-thinking and writing process—description, analysis,
interpretation, evaluation, and engagement. The text uses these stages as a
lens for examining the historical context and current processes that shape
mass media as part of our culture. This framework informs the writing
throughout, including the Media Literacy and the Critical Process features in
every chapter. New online interactive Media Literacy Activities will give
students even more practice to develop their media literacy and critical-
thinking skills.

A cultural perspective. The text focuses on the vital relationship between the
mass media and our shared culture—how cultural trends influence the mass
media and how specific historical developments, technical innovations, and
key decision makers in the history of the media have affected the ways our
democracy and society have evolved.

Comprehensive coverage. The text supports the instructor in providing

students with the nuts-and-bolts content they need to understand each media
industry’s history, organizational structure, economic models, and market
statistics.

An exploration of media economics and democracy. Media & Culture

spotlights the significance and impact of multinational media systems
throughout the text. It also invites students to explore the implications of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996, net neutrality, and other media regulations.
Additionally, each chapter ends with a discussion of the effects of particular
mass media on the nature of democratic life.

Compelling storytelling. Most mass media make use of storytelling to tap into
our shared beliefs and values, and so does Media & Culture. Each chapter
presents the events and issues surrounding media culture as intriguing and
informative narratives rather than a series of unconnected facts and feats,
mapping the accompanying—and often uneasy—changes in consumer culture
and democratic society.

The most accessible book available. Learning tools in every chapter help
students find and remember the information they need to know. Bulleted lists
at the beginning of every chapter give students a road map to key concepts,
 Media Literacy and the Critical Process boxes model the five-step process, and
the Chapter Reviews help students study and review for quizzes and exams
and set them up for success.

Digital and Print Formats

Whether it’s print, digital, or a value option, choose the best format for you. For
more information on these resources, please visit the online catalog at
macmillanlearning.com/mediaculture12e.

LaunchPad for Media & Culture dramatically enhances teaching and

learning. LaunchPad combines the full e-book with video activities, Video
Assessment Program, test bank, quizzes, interactive timeline, twice-a-year
digital updates, instructor’s resources, and LearningCurve adaptive quizzing.
For access to all multimedia resources, package LaunchPad with the print
version of Media & Culture or order LaunchPad on its own, ISBN: 978-1-319-
10468-9.

The Loose-Leaf Edition of Media & Culture features the print text in a
convenient, budget-priced format, designed to fit into any three-ring binder.
The loose-leaf version can also be packaged with LaunchPad for a small
additional cost, ISBN: 978-1-319-23307-5.

Media & Culture is available as a print text. To get the most out of the book,
package LaunchPad with the text, ISBN: 978-1-319-23239-9.

E-books. Media & Culture is available as an e-book for use on computers,

tablets, and e-readers. See macmillanlearning.com/ebooks to learn more.

You want to give your students affordable rental, packaging, and e-book
options. So do we. Learn more at store.macmillanlearning.com.

Customize Media & Culture using Bedford Select for Communication.

Create the ideal textbook for your course with only the chapters you need. You
can rearrange chapters, delete unnecessary chapters, and add your own
original content to create just the book you’re looking for. With Bedford Select,
students pay only for material that will be assigned in the course, nothing
more. For more information, visit macmillanlearning.com/selectcomm.

Student Resources

For more information on student resources or to learn about package options,

please visit the online catalog at macmillanlearning.com/mediaculture12e.

LaunchPad for Media & Culture

At Bedford/St. Martin’s, we are committed to providing online resources that meet

the needs of instructors and students in powerful yet simple ways. We’ve taken
what we’ve learned from both instructors and students to create a new generation
of technology featuring LaunchPad. With its student-friendly approach, LaunchPad
offers our trusted content—organized for easy assignability in a simple user
interface. Access to LaunchPad can be packaged with Media & Culture at a
significant discount or purchased separately.

Easy to Implement Combining a curated collection of online resources—

including video activities, LearningCurve, iClicker questions, quizzes, and
 assignments—with e-book content, LaunchPad’s interactive units can be
assigned as is or used as building blocks for your own learning units.

Video Assessment Program Powered by GoReact, LaunchPad’s video

assessment tools help instructors bring the most current video into their
courses and provides students with the space to practice their vitally
important critical analysis skills. The program is simple to use, with superior
commenting, recording, and rubric functionalities.
Record, upload, embed, or live-stream videos to share with the class and
build assignments around.
Multiple comment-delivery options are available for providing rich
feedback.
Customizable visual markers allow the user to pinpoint critical aspects of
the video being discussed.
Videos can be recorded or submitted directly from mobile devices using the
Macmillan Mobile Video IOS and Android apps.

Intuitive and Useful Analytics The gradebook quickly and easily allows you to
gauge performance for your whole class, for individual students, and for
individual assignments, making class prep time as well as time spent with
students more productive.

Fully Interactive E-Book The LaunchPad e-book for Media & Culture comes
with powerful study tools, multimedia content, and easy customization tools
for instructors. Students can search, highlight, and bookmark, making
studying easier and more efficient.

To learn more about LaunchPad for Media & Culture or to purchase access, go to
launchpadworks.com. If your book came packaged with an access card to
LaunchPad, follow the card’s login instructions.

Media Career Guide: Preparing for Jobs in the 21st Century, Twelfth Edition

Practical, student-friendly, and revised to address recent trends in the job market,
this guide includes a comprehensive directory of media jobs, practical tips, and
career guidance for students who are considering a major in the media industries.
Media Career Guide can be packaged at a significant discount with the print book.

New! The Essential Guide to Visual Communication

is a concise introduction to the evolution, theory, and principles of visual

communication in contemporary society. This guide helps students develop the
skills they need to become critical consumers of visual media by examining images
through the lens of visual rhetoric. Students see how images influence and
persuade audiences, and how iconic images can be repurposed to communicate
particular messages. The Essential Guide to Visual Communication can be packaged
at a significant discount with the print book.

Instructor Resources

For more information or to order or download the instructor’s resources, please visit
the online catalog at macmillanlearning.com/mediaculture12e. The Instructor’s
Resource Manual, test bank, lecture slides, and iClicker questions are also available
on LaunchPad: launchpadworks.com.
Instructor’s Resource Manual

Prepared by Bettina Fabos, University of Northern Iowa; Christopher R. Martin,

University of Northern Iowa; Marilda Oviedo, University of Iowa; and Lewis
Freeman, Fordham University

This downloadable manual improves on what has always been the best and most
comprehensive instructor teaching tool available for introduction to mass
communication courses. This extensive resource provides a range of teaching
approaches, tips for facilitating in-class discussions, writing assignments, outlines,
lecture topics, lecture spin-offs, critical-process exercises, classroom media
resources, and an annotated list of more than two hundred video resources. The
Instructor’s Resource Manual has been streamlined to make it even easier to use.
And with this edition, your resource manual has gone interactive with an assignable
online media literacy activity. These activities, adapted from activities in the
Instructor’s Resource Manual and built into each LaunchPad unit, provide students
with extra practice as they develop their media literacy skills.

Test Bank

Prepared by Christopher R. Martin, University of Northern Iowa; Bettina Fabos,

University of Northern Iowa; and Marilda Oviedo, University of Iowa

Available formatted for Windows and Macintosh, the test bank includes multiple
choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank, and short and long essay questions for each
chapter in Media & Culture.

Lecture Slides

Downloadable lecture slide presentations help guide your lecture and are available
for each chapter in Media & Culture.

iClicker Questions

Downloadable iClicker question slides help keep your students engaged and help
you make your class even more interactive.
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We are very grateful to everyone at Bedford/St. Martin’s who supported this project
through its many stages. We wish that every textbook author could have the kind of
experience we had with the Macmillan humanities team: Edwin Hill, Vice President
of Humanities; Erika Gutierrez, Senior Program Director for Communication and
College Success; Jane Knetzger, Director of Content Development; and so many
others. Over the years, we have also collaborated with superb and supportive
editors: on the twelfth edition, Development Editor Kate George and Assistant
Editor Kimberly Roberts. We particularly appreciate the tireless work of Harold
Chester, Senior Content Project Manager, who kept the book on schedule while
making sure we got the details right, and Jennifer Wetzel, Senior Content Workflow
Manager. Media is such an important part of this project, and our LaunchPad and
media resources could not have come to fruition without our fantastic media team:
Tom Kane, Senior Media Editor; Sarah O’Connor Kepes, Media Project Manager and
Digital Activities Specialist; and Audrey Webster, Media Editorial Assistant. Thanks
also to Susan McLaughlin, our wonderful Senior Development Manager; Amy
Haines and her fearless marketing team; and Billy Boardman for a fantastic cover
design. We are especially grateful to our research assistant, Susan Coffin, who
functioned as a one-person clipping service throughout the process. We are also
grateful to Jimmie Reeves, our digital gaming expert, who contributed his great
knowledge of this medium to the development of Chapter 3.

We also want to thank the many fine and thoughtful reviewers who contributed
ideas to the twelfth edition of Media & Culture: Lisa Heller Boragine, Cape Cod
Community College; Vic Costello, Elon University; Richard Craig, San Jose State
University; Donald Diefenbach, University of North Carolina–Asheville; Sarah
Dugas, Houston Community College; Christal Johnson, Syracuse University; Brad
Kaye, Colorado State University; Abigail Koenig, University of Houston–Downtown;
Julie Lellis, Elon University; Hsin-I Liu, University of the Incarnate Word; Rick
Marks, College of Southern Nevada; Andrea McDonnell, Emmanuel College; Siho
Nam, University of North Florida; William Price, Georgia State University Perimeter
College; Stephen Swanson, McLennan Community College; Erin Wilgenbusch, Iowa
State University.

For the eleventh edition: Amelia Arsenault, Georgia State University; John
Chapin, Pennsylvania State University; Juliet Dee, University of Delaware; Joshua
Dickhaus, Bradley University; Chandler W. Harriss, University of Tennessee–
Chattanooga; Ben Lohman, Orange Coast College; Valerie J. Whitney, Bethune-
Cookman University.

For the tenth edition: Mariam Alkazemi, Virginia Commonwealth University;

Ronald Becker, Miami University; Tanya Biami, Cochise College; Dave Bostwick,
University of Arkansas; David Bradford, Barry University; Alexis Carreiro, Queens
University of Charlotte; David Cassady, Pacific University; John Chalfa, Mercer
University; Jon Conlogue, Westfield State University; Don Diefenbach, UNC
Asheville; Larry Hartsfield, Fort Lewis College; Phelps Hawkins, Savannah State
University; Deborah Lev, Centenary University; Thomas Lindlof, University of
Kentucky; Steve Liu, University of the Incarnate Word; Maureen Louis, Cazenovia
College; Mary Lowney, American International College; Arnold Mackowiak, Eastern
Michigan University; Bob Manis, College of Southern Nevada; Michael McCluskey,
Ohio State University; Andrea McDonnell, Emmanuel College; Ryan Medders,
California Lutheran University; Alicia Morris, Virginia State University; Lanie
Steinwart, Valparaiso University; Stephen Swanson, McLennan Community College;
Shauntae White, North Carolina Central University.

For the ninth edition: Glenda Alvarado, University of South Carolina; Lisa Burns,
Quinnipiac University; Matthew Cecil, South Dakota University; John Dougan,
Middle Tennessee State University; Lewis Freeman, Fordham University; K. Megan
Hopper, Illinois State University; John Kerezy, Cuyahoga Community College;
Marcia Ladendorff, University of North Florida; Julie Lellis, Elon University; Joy
McDonald, Hampton University; Heather McIntosh, Boston College; Kenneth
Nagelberg, Delaware State University; Eric Pierson, University of San Diego;
Jennifer Tiernan, South Dakota State University; Erin Wilgenbusch, Iowa State
University; Cindy Hing-Yuk Wong, College of Staten Island.

For the eighth edition: Frank A. Aycock, Appalachian State University; Carrie
Buchanan, John Carroll University; Lisa M. Burns, Quinnipiac University; Rich
Cameron, Cerritos College; Katherine Foss, Middle Tennessee State University;
Myleea D. Hill, Arkansas State University; Sarah Alford Hock, Santa Barbara City
College; Sharon R. Hollenback, Syracuse University; Drew Jacobs, Camden County
College; Susan Katz, University of Bridgeport; John Kerezy, Cuyahoga Community
College; Les Kozaczek, Franklin Pierce University; Deborah L. Larson, Missouri
State University; Susan Charles Lewis, Minnesota State University–Mankato; Rick B.
Marks, College of Southern Nevada; Donna R. Munde, Mercer County Community
College; Wendy Nelson, Palomar College; Charles B. Scholz, New Mexico State
University; Don W. Stacks, University of Miami; Carl Sessions Stepp, University of
Maryland; David Strukel, Hiram College; Lisa Turowski, Towson University; Lisa M.
Weidman, Linfield College.

For the seventh edition: Robert Blade, Florida Community College; Lisa
Boragine, Cape Cod Community College; Joseph Clark, University of Toledo;
Richard Craig, San Jose State University; Samuel Ebersole, Colorado State
University–Pueblo; Brenda Edgerton-Webster, Dubai Women’s/Higher Colleges of
Technology UAE; Tim Edwards, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; Mara Einstein,
Queens College; Lillie M. Fears, Arkansas State University; Connie Fletcher, Loyola
University; Monica Flippin-Wynn, University of Oklahoma; Gil Fowler, Arkansas
State University; Donald G. Godfrey, Arizona State University; Patricia Homes,
University of Southwestern Louisiana; Daniel McDonald, Ohio State University;
Connie McMahon, Barry University; Steve Miller, Rutgers University; Siho Nam,
University of North Florida; David Nelson, University of Colorado–Colorado
Springs; Zengjun Peng, St. Cloud State University; Deidre Pike, Humboldt State
University; Neil Ralston, Western Kentucky University; Mike Reed, Saddleback
College; David Roberts, Missouri Valley College; Donna Simmons, California State
University–Bakersfield; Marc Skinner, University of Idaho; Michael Stamm,
University of Minnesota; Bob Trumpbour, Penn State University; Kristin Watson,
Metro State University; Jim Weaver, Virginia Polytechnic and State University;
David Whitt, Nebraska Wesleyan University.

For the sixth edition: Boyd Dallos, Lake Superior College; Roger George,
Bellevue Community College; Osvaldo Hirschmann, Houston Community College;
Ed Kanis, Butler University; Dean A. Kruckeberg, University of Northern Iowa;
Larry Leslie, University of South Florida; Lori Liggett, Bowling Green State
University; Steve Miller, Rutgers University; Robert Pondillo, Middle Tennessee
State University; David Silver, University of San Francisco; Chris White, Sam
Houston State University; Marvin Williams, Kingsborough Community College.

For the fifth edition: Russell Barclay, Quinnipiac University; Kathy Battles,
Oakland University; Kenton Bird, University of Idaho; Ed Bonza, Kennesaw State
University; Larry L. Burris, Middle Tennessee State University; Ceilidh Charleson-
Jennings, Collin County Community College; Raymond Eugene Costain, University
of Central Florida; Richard Craig, San Jose State University; Dave Deeley, Truman
State University; Janine Gerzanics, West Valley College; Beth Haller, Towson
University; Donna Hemmila, Diablo Valley College; Sharon Hollenback, Syracuse
University; Marshall D. Katzman, Bergen Community College; Kimberly Lauffer,
Ball State University; Steve Miller, Rutgers University; Stu Minnis, Virginia
Wesleyan College; Frank G. Perez, University of Texas at El Paso; Dave Perlmutter,
Louisiana State University–Baton Rouge; Karen Pitcher, University of Iowa; Ronald
C. Roat, University of Southern Indiana; Marshel Rossow, Minnesota State
University; Roger Saathoff, Texas Tech University; Matthew Smith, Wittenberg
University; Marlane C. Steinwart, Valparaiso University.

For the fourth edition: Fay Y. Akindes, University of Wisconsin–Parkside; Robert

Arnett, Mississippi State University; Charles Aust, Kennesaw State University;
Russell Barclay, Quinnipiac University; Bryan Brown, Southwest Missouri State
University; Peter W. Croisant, Geneva College; Mark Goodman, Mississippi State
University; Donna Halper, Emerson College; Rebecca Self Hill, University of
Colorado; John G. Hodgson, Oklahoma State University; Cynthia P. King, American
University; Deborah L. Larson, Southwest Missouri State University; Charles Lewis,
Minnesota State University–Mankato; Lila Lieberman, Rutgers University; Abbus
Malek, Howard University; Anthony A. Olorunnisola, Pennsylvania State University;
Norma Pecora, Ohio University–Athens; Elizabeth M. Perse, University of Delaware;
Hoyt Purvis, University of Arkansas; Alison Rostankowski, University of Wisconsin–
Milwaukee; Roger A. Soenksen, James Madison University; Hazel Warlaumont,
California State University–Fullerton.

For the third edition: Gerald J. Baldasty, University of Washington; Steve M.

Barkin, University of Maryland; Ernest L. Bereman, Truman State University;
Daniel Bernadi, University of Arizona; Kimberly L. Bissell, Southern Illinois
University; Audrey Boxmann, Merrimack College; Todd Chatman, University of
Illinois; Ray Chavez, University of Colorado; Vic Costello, Elon University; Paul
D’Angelo, The College of New Jersey; James Shanahan, Indiana University; Scott A.
Webber, University of Colorado.

For the second edition: Susan B. Barnes, Fordham University; Margaret Bates,
City College of New York; Steven Alan Carr, Indiana University/Purdue University–
Fort Wayne; William G. Covington Jr., Bridgewater State College; Roger Desmond,
University of Hartford; Jules d’Hemecourt, Louisiana State University; Cheryl
Evans, Northwestern Oklahoma State University; Douglas Gomery, University of
Maryland; Colin Gromatzky, New Mexico State University; John L. Hochheimer,
Ithaca College; Sheena Malhotra, California State University, Northridge; Sharon R.
Mazzarella, Ithaca College; David Marc McCoy, Ashland University; Beverly
Merrick, New Mexico State University; John Pantalone, University of Rhode Island;
John Durham Peters, University of Iowa; Lisa Pieraccini, Oswego State College;
Susana Powell, Borough of Manhattan Community College; Felecia Jones Ross, Ohio
State University; Enid Sefcovic, Florida Atlantic University; Keith Semmel,
University of the Cumberlands; Augusta Simon, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University; Clifford E. Wexler, Columbia-Greene Community College.

For the first edition: Paul Ashdown, University of Tennessee; Terry Bales,
Rancho Santiago College; Russell Barclay, Quinnipiac University; Thomas Bedell,
Iowa State University; Fred Blevens, Southwest Texas State University; Stuart
Bullion, University of Maine; William G. Covington Jr., Bridgewater State College;
Robert Daves, Minneapolis Star Tribune; Charles Davis, Georgia Southern
University; Thomas Donahue, Virginia Commonwealth University; Ralph R. Donald,
University of Tennessee–Martin; John P. Ferre, University of Louisville; Donald
Fishman, Boston College; Elizabeth Atwood Gailey, University of Tennessee; Bob
Gassaway, University of New Mexico; Anthony Giffard, University of Washington;
Zhou He, San Jose State University; Barry Hollander, University of Georgia; Sharon
Hollenbeck, Syracuse University; Anita Howard, Austin Community College; James
Hoyt, University of Wisconsin–Madison; Joli Jensen, University of Tulsa; Frank
Kaplan, University of Colorado; William Knowles, University of Montana; Michael
Leslie, University of Florida; Janice Long, University of Cincinnati; Kathleen
Maticheck, Normandale Community College; Maclyn McClary, Humboldt State
University; Robert McGaughey, Murray State University; Joseph McKerns, Ohio
State University; Debra Merskin, University of Oregon; David Morrissey, Colorado
State University; Michael Murray, University of Missouri at St. Louis; Susan Dawson
O’Brien, Rose State College; Patricia Bowie Orman, University of Southern
Colorado; Jim Patton, University of Arizona; John Pauly, St. Louis University; Ted
Pease, Utah State University; Janice Peck, University of Colorado; Tina Pieraccini,
University of New Mexico; Peter Pringle, University of Tennessee; Sondra
Rubenstein, Hofstra University; Jim St. Clair, Indiana University Southeast; Jim
Seguin, Robert Morris College; Donald Shaw, University of North Carolina; Martin
D. Sommernes, Northern Arizona State University; Linda Steiner, Rutgers
University; Jill Diane Swensen, Ithaca College; Sharon Taylor, Delaware State
University; Hazel Warlaumont, California State University–Fullerton; Richard
Whitaker, Buffalo State College; Lynn Zoch, Radford University.

Special thanks from Richard Campbell: I would also like to acknowledge the
number of fine teachers at both the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and
Northwestern University who helped shape the way I think about many of the
issues raised in this book, and I am especially grateful to my former students at the
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Mount Mary College, the University of
Michigan, and Middle Tennessee State University, and my current students at
Miami University. Some of my students have contributed directly to this text, and
thousands have endured my courses over the years—and made them better. My all-
time favorite former students, Chris Martin and Bettina Fabos, are now coauthors,
as well as the creators of our book’s Instructor’s Resource Manual and test bank. I
am grateful for Chris’s and Bettina’s fine writing, research savvy, good stories, and
tireless work amid their own teaching schedules and writing careers, all while
raising two spirited daughters. I remain most grateful, though, to the people I most
love: my grandson, Reese; my son, Chris; my daughter, Caitlin; and, most of all, my
wife, Dianna, whose line editing, content ideas, daily conversations, shared
interests, and ongoing support are the resources that make this project go better
with each edition.
 Special thanks from Christopher Martin and Bettina Fabos: We would also like to
thank Richard Campbell, with whom it is always a delight working on this project.
We also appreciate the great energy, creativity, and talent that everyone at
Bedford/St. Martin’s brings to the book. From edition to edition, we receive plenty
of suggestions from Media & Culture users and reviewers and from our own
journalism and media students. We would like to thank them for their input and for
creating a community of sorts around the theme of critical perspectives on the
media. Most of all, we’d like to thank our daughters, Olivia and Sabine, who bring
us joy, laughter, and excellent media insights, as well as a sense of mission to better
understand the world of media and culture in which they live.

Media & Culture, Twelfth Edition, connects to the learning

outcomes of the National Communication Association (NCA)

The National Communication Association (NCA) has published learning outcomes

for courses within the discipline. The following table shows how these learning
outcomes are reflected in Media & Culture, Twelfth Edition.

Learning Campbell, Media & Culture, 12th Edition

Outcome

Employ Chapter 1: Mass Communication: A Critical Approach gives students a solid

communication overview of mass communication.
theories, The “Culture and the Evolution of Mass Communication” section
perspectives, provides a knowledge base of all the types of mass communication, from
principles, and the oral and written eras to the print revolution, through the electronic era,
concepts and into the digital era.
“The Development of Media and Their Role in Our Society” section
invites students to begin thinking about the relevance of mass
communication in their own lives and plants the seeds of convergence and
its effects on business and culture, and the importance of media stories as
a part of their everyday lives.

Chapter 15: Media Effects and Cultural Approaches to Research is directly

focused on these learning outcomes and examines specific mass
communication theories and both social scientific and cultural studies
research perspectives.

Industry-specific chapters throughout the book provide in-depth study and

exploration of the types of mass communication:
Chapter 2: The Internet, Digital Media, and Media Convergence
Chapter 3: Digital Gaming and the Media Playground
Chapter 4: Sound Recording and Popular Music
Chapter 5: Popular Radio and the Origins of Broadcasting
Chapter 6: Television and Cable: The Power of Visual Culture
Chapter 7: Movies and the Impact of Images
Chapter 8: Newspapers: The Rise and Decline of Modern Journalism
Chapter 9: Magazines in the Age of Specialization
Chapter 10: Books and the Power of Print

The history of mass media is threaded throughout the book. Book sections
that specifically explore history include the following:
“Culture and the Evolution of Mass Communication” and “The
Development of Media and Their Role in Our Society” in Chapter 1
“The Development of the Internet and the Web” in Chapter 2
“The Development of Digital Gaming” in Chapter 3
“The Development of Sound Recording” in Chapter 4
“Early Technology and the Development of Radio,” “The Evolution of
Radio,” and “Radio Reinvents Itself” in Chapter 5
“The Origins and Development of Television” and “The Development of
Cable” in Chapter 6
“Early Technology and the Evolution of Movies,” “The Rise of the
Hollywood Studio System,” “The Studio System’s Golden Age,” and “The
Transformation of the Studio System” in Chapter 7
 “The Evolution of American Newspapers” in Chapter 8
“The Early History of Magazines” and “The Development of Modern
American Magazines” in Chapter 9
“The History of Books, from Papyrus to Paperbacks” in Chapter 10
“Early Developments in American Advertising” in Chapter 11
“Early Developments in Public Relations” in Chapter 12
“Early Media Research Methods” in Chapter 15
“The Origins of Free Expression and a Free Press” in Chapter 16

The Interactive Digital Timeline, available in the LaunchPad, allows

students to explore the histories of mass media industries and examine how
these histories interact with one another and with the history of our society in
general.

LaunchPad video activities in each chapter give students the opportunity to

hear from industry professionals, make connections with film and TV clips,
and explore current issues in media.

Part Opening Infographics help students make connections between mass

communication, their own lives, and the world around them.

Engage in Media Literacy and the Critical Process boxes in each chapter provide real-
communication life examples of how we interact with the media, and a step-by-step
inquiry breakdown of the critical process helps students practice the art of critical
thinking.

The LaunchPad of each chapter provides an additional interactive and

assignable Media Literacy Activity, which allows students to practice their skills
as critical consumers of the media. Even more Media Literacy Activities in the
Instructor’s Resource Manual provide instructors with ideas for additional
practice that they can use as classroom activities or as inspiration for
assignments.

Critically Richard Campbell’s critical and cultural approach to the media, particularly
analyze his five-step Media Literacy and the Critical Process boxes, gets students
messages describing, examining, analyzing, interpreting, evaluating, and engaging in
topics in the media to actively build media literacy.

Media Literacy and the Critical Process boxes in each chapter and the
additional interactive and assignable Media Literacy Activities on the
LaunchPad allow students to practice their skills as critical consumers of the
media. Even more Media Literacy Activities in the Instructor’s Resource
Manual provide instructors with ideas for additional practice that they can
use as classroom activities or as inspiration for assignments.

The Extended Case Study: Can We Trust Facebook with Our Personal
Data? is an extension of the activities that students have done throughout the
semester and allows students to further develop their media literacy and
critical-thinking skills by analyzing a contemporary media problem. Extended
Case Studies from previous editions are also available in the Instructor’s
Resource Manual.

Demonstrate The Media Career Guide that accompanies the book helps students define and
the ability to achieve their career goals in the communication fields of their choice.
accomplish
communicative Additionally, the Media Literacy and the Critical Process boxes and
goals (self- activities allow students the space to practice and develop their skills as
efficacy) critical consumers of the media.

Apply ethical Media & Culture strives to help students understand contemporary issues and
communication controversies. The Examining Ethics boxes and Extended Case Study, in
principles and particular, dig deep into exploring such issues and controversies.
practices
Examining Ethics boxes throughout the book discuss ethics issues across the
media industries:
“Examining Ethics: Covering War and Displaying Images” in Chapter 1
“Examining Ethics: Social Media Fraud and Elections” in Chapter 2
“Examining Ethics: The Gender Problem in Digital Games” in Chapter 3
“Examining Ethics: The Music Industry’s Day of Reckoning” in Chapter 4
“Examining Ethics: How Did Talk Radio Become So One-Sided?” in
 Chapter 5
“Examining Ethics: #MeToo and TV Station Policy” in Chapter 6
“Examining Ethics: Breaking through Hollywood’s Race Barrier” in
Chapter 7
“Examining Ethics: Alternative Journalism: The Activism of Dorothy Day
and I. F. Stone” in Chapter 8
“Examining Ethics: The Evolution of Photojournalism” in Chapter 9
“Examining Ethics: Contemporary Politics Revives Interest in Classic
Novels” in Chapter 10
“Examining Ethics: Do Alcohol Ads Encourage Binge Drinking?” in Chapter
11
“Examining Ethics: Public Relations and ‘Alternative Facts’” in Chapter 12
“Examining Ethics: Are the Big Digital Companies Too Big?” in Chapter 13
“Examining Ethics: WikiLeaks, Secret Documents, and Good Journalism” in
Chapter 14
“Examining Ethics: Our Masculinity Problem” in Chapter 15
“Examining Ethics: Is ‘Sexting’ Pornography?” in Chapter 16

Chapter 14: The Culture of Journalism: Values, Ethics, and Democracy

digs into the ethics issues and judgment calls that journalists face every day.
The chapter also explores the values that journalists promise to uphold.

Chapter 15: Media Effects and Cultural Approaches to Research provides

an in-depth study of media effects on society, taking students through early
media research methods, research on media effects, cultural approaches to
media research, and media research and democracy.

Media Literacy and the Critical Process boxes and interactive online
activities help students hone their critical media skills.

Utilize Global Village boxes throughout the book connect students with issues from
communication all over the world:
to embrace “Designed in California, Assembled in China” in Chapter 2
difference “Phones in Hand, the World Finds Pokémon (and Wizards)” in Chapter 3
“Latin Pop Goes Mainstream” in Chapter 4
“Radio Stories from Around the World” in Chapter 5
“Telling and Selling Stories around the World” in Chapter 6
“Beyond Hollywood: Asian Cinema” in Chapter 7
“Newspaper Readership across the Globe” in Chapter 8
“Cosmopolitan Style Travels the World” in Chapter 9
“Buenos Aires, the World’s Bookstore Capital” in Chapter 10
“Smoking Up the Global Market” in Chapter 11
“Public Relations and Bananas” in Chapter 12
“China’s Dominant Media Corporations Rival America’s” in Chapter 13
“News Bias around the Globe” in Chapter 14
“International Media Research” in Chapter 15
“The Challenges of Film Censorship in China” in Chapter 16

Influence public The relationship among politics, democracy, and the media is a recurring
discourse theme in Media & Culture. Examples can be found throughout:
the Chapter 1 opener, which discusses the media’s coverage of mass
shootings
“The Internet and Democracy” in Chapter 2
“Digital Gaming, Free Speech, and Democracy” in Chapter 3
“Sound Recording, Free Expression, and Democracy” in Chapter 4
“Radio and the Democracy of the Airwaves” in Chapter 5
“Television, Cable, and Democracy” in Chapter 6
“Popular Movies and Democracy” in Chapter 7
“Newspapers and Democracy” in Chapter 8
“Magazines in a Democratic Society” in Chapter 9
“Books and the Future of Democracy” in Chapter 10
“Advertising, Politics, and Democracy” in Chapter 11
“Public Relations and Democracy” in Chapter 12
“The Media Marketplace and Democracy” in Chapter 13
“Democracy and Reimagining Journalism’s Role” in Chapter 14
“Media Research and Democracy” in Chapter 15
“The First Amendment and Democracy” in Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Legal Controls and Freedom of Expression takes a close look
at the First Amendment and how it relates to mass media.

Finally, the last step of the critical process discussed throughout the text is
engagement, which urges students to become involved in the public
discourse of media questions of our day.
Contents
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
BRIEF CONTENTS
PREFACE

1 Mass Communication: A Critical Approach

Culture and the Evolution of Mass Communication
Oral and Written Eras in Communication
The Print Revolution
The Electronic Era
The Digital Era
The Linear Model of Mass Communication
A Cultural Model for Understanding Mass Communication

The Development of Media and Their Role in Our Society

The Evolution of Media: From Emergence to Convergence
Media Convergence
Stories: The Foundation of Media
Media Stories in Everyday Life
Agenda Setting and Gatekeeping

Surveying the Cultural Landscape

Culture as a Skyscraper
EXAMINING ETHICS Covering War and Displaying Images

Culture as a Map
Cultural Values of the Modern Period
Shifting Values in Postmodern Culture
Critiquing Media and Culture
Media Literacy and the Critical Process
Benefits of a Critical Perspective
 MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS

CHAPTER REVIEW
LaunchPad

PART 1: DIGITAL MEDIA AND CONVERGENCE

2 The Internet, Digital Media, and Media Convergence

The Development of the Internet and the Web
The Birth of the Internet
The Net Widens
The Commercialization of the Internet
Social Media and Democracy
EXAMINING ETHICS Social Media Fraud and Elections

Convergence and Mobile Media

Media Converges on Our PCs and TVs
Mobile Devices Propel Convergence
The Impact of Media Convergence and Mobile Media
The Next Era: The Semantic Web
The Economics and Issues of the Internet
Ownership: Controlling the Internet
Targeted Advertising and Data Mining
Security: The Challenge to Keep Personal Information Private
GLOBAL VILLAGE Designed in California, Assembled in China

MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS Note to Self

for Healthy Digital Consumption

Appropriateness: What Should Be Online?
Access: The Fight to Prevent a Digital Divide
Net Neutrality: Maintaining an Open Internet
Net Neutrality

Alternative Voices
 The Internet and Democracy
CHAPTER REVIEW
LaunchPad

3 Digital Gaming and the Media Playground

The Development of Digital Gaming
Mechanical Gaming
The First Video Games
Arcades and Classic Games
Consoles and Advancing Graphics
Gaming on PCs
Portable Players
The Internet Transforms Gaming
MMORPGs, MOBAs, Virtual Worlds, and Social Gaming
Gaming Apps
The Media Playground
Video Game Genres
Communities of Play: Inside the Game
Communities of Play: Outside the Game
GLOBAL VILLAGE Phones in Hand, the World Finds Pokémon

(and Wizards)

Trends and Issues in Digital Gaming

Electronic Gaming and Media Culture
Video Games at the Movies

Electronic Gaming and Advertising

Addiction and Other Concerns
EXAMINING ETHICS The Gender Problem in Digital Games

Regulating Gaming
 MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS First-Person

Shooter Games: Misogyny as Entertainment?

The Future of Gaming and Interactive Environments

The Business of Digital Gaming

The Ownership and Organization of Digital Gaming
The Structure of Digital Game Publishing
Selling Digital Games
Alternative Voices

Digital Gaming, Free Speech, and Democracy

CHAPTER REVIEW
LaunchPad

PART 2: SOUNDS AND IMAGES

4 Sound Recording and Popular Music

The Development of Sound Recording
From Cylinders to Disks: Sound Recording Becomes a Mass Medium
From Phonographs to CDs: Analog Goes Digital
Convergence: Sound Recording in the Internet Age
Recording Music Today

The Rocky Relationship between Records and Radio

U.S. Popular Music and the Formation of Rock

The Rise of Pop Music
Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay
Rock Muddies the Waters
Battles in Rock and Roll

A Changing Industry: Reformations in Popular Music

The British Are Coming!
Motor City Music: Detroit Gives America Soul
Folk and Psychedelic Music Reflect the Times
 MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS Music

Preferences across Generations

Punk and Indie Respond to Mainstream Rock
Hip-Hop Redraws Musical Lines
The Reemergence of Pop

The Business of Sound Recording

Music Labels Influence the Industry
Making, Selling, and Profiting from Music
GLOBAL VILLAGE Latin Pop Goes Mainstream

Alternative Strategies for Music Marketing

EXAMINING ETHICS The Music Industry’s Day of Reckoning

Alternative Voices

Sound Recording, Free Expression, and Democracy

CHAPTER REVIEW
LaunchPad

5 Popular Radio and the Origins of Broadcasting

Early Technology and the Development of Radio
Maxwell and Hertz Discover Radio Waves
Marconi and the Inventors of Wireless Telegraphy
Wireless Telephony: De Forest and Fessenden
Regulating a New Medium

The Evolution of Radio

Building the First Networks
Sarnoff and NBC: Building the “Blue” and “Red” Networks
Government Scrutiny Ends RCA-NBC Monopoly
CBS and Paley: Challenging NBC
Bringing Order to Chaos with the Radio Act of 1927
 The Golden Age of Radio

Radio Reinvents Itself

Transistors Make Radio Portable
The FM Revolution and Edwin Armstrong
The Rise of Format and Top 40 Radio
Resisting the Top 40
The Sounds of Commercial Radio
Format Specialization
EXAMINING ETHICS How Did Talk Radio Become So One-

Sided?
Nonprofit Radio and NPR
New Radio Technologies Offer More Stations
Going Visual: Video, Radio, and the Web

MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS Comparing

Commercial and Noncommercial Radio

Radio and Convergence
GLOBAL VILLAGE Radio Stories from around the World

Radio: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

The Economics of Broadcast Radio

Local and National Advertising
Manipulating Playlists with Payola
Radio Ownership: From Diversity to Consolidation
Alternative Voices
Radio and the Democracy of the Airwaves
CHAPTER REVIEW
LaunchPad

6 Television and Cable: The Power of Visual Culture

The Origins and Development of Television
 Early Innovations in TV Technology
Electronic Technology: Zworykin and Farnsworth
Assigning Frequencies and Freezing TV Licenses
Controlling Content—TV Grows Up

The Development of Cable

CATV—Community Antenna Television
The Wires and Satellites behind Cable Television
Cable Threatens Broadcasting
Cable Services
GLOBAL VILLAGE Telling and Selling Stories around the World

DBS: Cable without Wires

Technology and Convergence Change Viewing Habits
Television Networks Evolve

Home Video
The Third Screen: TV Converges with the Internet
Fourth Screens: Smartphones and Mobile Video
Major Programming Trends
EXAMINING ETHICS #MeToo and TV Station Policy

TV Entertainment: Our Comic Culture

TV Entertainment: Our Dramatic Culture
Television Drama: Then and Now

TV Information: Our Daily News Culture

Reality TV and Other Enduring Genres
Public Television Struggles to Find Its Place
MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS TV and the

State of Storytelling

Regulatory Challenges to Television and Cable

Government Regulations Temporarily Restrict Network Control
What Makes Public Television Public?

Balancing Cable’s Growth against Broadcasters’ Interests

Franchising Frenzy
The Telecommunications Act of 1996
The Economics and Ownership of Television and Cable
Production
Distribution
Syndication Keeps Shows Going and Going . . .
Measuring Television Viewing
The Major Programming Corporations
Alternative Voices
Television, Cable, and Democracy
CHAPTER REVIEW
 LaunchPad

7 Movies and the Impact of Images

Early Technology and the Evolution of Movies
The Development of Film
The Introduction of Narrative
The Arrival of Nickelodeons
The Rise of the Hollywood Studio System
Production
Distribution
Exhibition
The Studio System’s Golden Age
Hollywood Narrative and the Silent Era
The Introduction of Sound
The Development of the Hollywood Style
Outside the Hollywood System
EXAMINING ETHICS Breaking through Hollywood’s Race

Barrier
GLOBAL VILLAGE Beyond Hollywood: Asian Cinema

The Transformation of the Studio System

The Hollywood Ten
The Paramount Decision
Moving to the Suburbs
Television Changes Hollywood
Hollywood Adapts to Home Entertainment
The Economics of the Movie Business
Production, Distribution, and Exhibition Today
The Major Studio Players
 MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS The

Blockbuster Mentality
Convergence: Movies Adjust to the Digital Turn
Alternative Voices
Popular Movies and Democracy
More Than a Movie: Social Issues and Film

CHAPTER REVIEW
LaunchPad

PART 3: WORDS AND PICTURES

8 Newspapers: The Rise and Decline of Modern Journalism

The Evolution of American Newspapers
Colonial Newspapers and the Partisan Press
The Penny Press Era: Newspapers Become Mass Media
The Age of Yellow Journalism: Sensationalism and Investigation
Competing Models of Modern Print Journalism
“Objectivity” in Modern Journalism
Interpretive Journalism
Literary Forms of Journalism
Contemporary Journalism in the TV and Internet Age
Newspapers and the Internet: Convergence

The Business and Ownership of Newspapers

Consensus versus Conflict: Newspapers Play Different Roles
MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS Covering the

News Media Business

Newspapers Target Specific Readers
Newspaper Operations
 EXAMINING ETHICS Alternative Journalism: The Activism of

Dorothy Day and I. F. Stone

Newspaper Ownership: Chains Lose Their Grip
Joint Operating Agreements Combat Declining Competition
Challenges Facing Newspapers Today
Readership Declines in the United States
Going Local: How Small and Campus Papers Retain Readers
Community Voices: Weekly Newspapers

GLOBAL VILLAGE Newspaper Readership across the Globe

Convergence: Newspapers Struggle in the Move to Digital

New Models for Journalism
Alternative Voices
Newspapers and Democracy
CHAPTER REVIEW
LaunchPad

9 Magazines in the Age of Specialization

The Early History of Magazines
The First Magazines
Magazines in Colonial America
U.S. Magazines in the Nineteenth Century
National, Women’s, and Illustrated Magazines

The Development of Modern American Magazines

Social Reform and the Muckrakers
The Rise of General-Interest Magazines
The Fall of General-Interest Magazines
EXAMINING ETHICS The Evolution of Photojournalism
 Convergence: Magazines Confront the Digital Age

The Domination of Specialization

Magazine Specialization Today

Men’s and Women’s Magazines

GLOBAL VILLAGE Cosmopolitan Style Travels the World

Sports, Entertainment, and Leisure Magazines

Magazines for the Ages
Elite Magazines
MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS Uncovering

American Beauty
Minority-Targeted Magazines
Supermarket Tabloids
The Organization and Economics of Magazines
Magazine Departments and Duties
Narrowcasting in Magazines

Major Magazine Chains

Alternative Voices
Magazines in a Democratic Society
CHAPTER REVIEW
LaunchPad

10 Books and the Power of Print

The History of Books, from Papyrus to Paperbacks
The Development of Manuscript Culture
The Innovations of Block Printing and Movable Type
The Gutenberg Revolution: The Invention of the Printing Press
The Birth of Publishing in the United States

Modern Publishing and the Book Industry

The Formation of Publishing Houses
Types of Books
 EXAMINING ETHICS Contemporary Politics Revives Interest in

Classic Novels

Trends and Issues in Book Publishing

Based On: Making Books into Movies

Influences of Television and Film

Audio Books
Convergence: Books in the Digital Age
Preserving and Digitizing Books
Censorship and Banned Books
GLOBAL VILLAGE Buenos Aires, the World’s Bookstore Capital

MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS Banned Books

and “Family Values”

The Organization and Ownership of the Book Industry

Ownership Patterns
The Structure of Book Publishing
Selling Books: Book Superstores and Independent Booksellers
Selling Books Online
Alternative Voices
Books and the Future of Democracy
CHAPTER REVIEW
LaunchPad

PART 4: THE BUSINESS OF MASS MEDIA

11 Advertising and Commercial Culture

Early Developments in American Advertising
The First Advertising Agencies
Advertising in the 1800s
Promoting Social Change and Dictating Values
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Less than kin
 This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away
or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License
included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the
laws of the country where you are located before using this
eBook.

Title: Less than kin

Author: Alice Duer Miller

Release date: September 18, 2023 [eBook #71674]

Language: English

Original publication: New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1909

Credits: Steve Mattern and the Online Distributed Proofreading

Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was
produced from images made available by the
HathiTrust Digital Library.)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LESS THAN

KIN ***
Less Than Kin
By
Alice Duer Miller

New York
Henry Holt and Company
1909
 Copyright, 1909
BY
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY

Published May, 1909

QUINN & BODEN COMPANY PRESS

RAHWAY, N. J.
LESS THAN KIN
 Chapter I
The curtain rolled down, the horns gave forth a final blare, and the
whole house rustled with returning self-consciousness. Mrs. Raikes
and Miss Lewis had always had orchestra seats for Monday nights.
Their well-brushed heads, their high jeweled collars, their little bare
backs were as familiar to experienced opera-goers as the figure of
the long-suffering doorman. They had the reputation of being
musical. What indeed could prove it better than their preference for
orchestra seats, when they might so easily have gone whenever
they wanted in the boxes of their friends?
As the lights went up, they both turned to the glittering tiers above
them. The opera was a favorite and the house was full, though here
and there an empty box caught one’s eye like a missing tooth. Miss
Lewis was sweeping the semicircle like an astronomer in full cry after
a comet. She had begun conscientiously at the stage box, and with
but few comments she had reached the third or fourth, when her
hand was arrested. There were three people in it—an old man in a
velvet skull-cap, tall, thin, wrinkled, and strangely somber against the
red-and-gold background; a younger man dimly seen in the shadow;
and a slim young woman in gray.
The curve of the house afforded examples of every sort and kind
of brilliantly dressed lady. There were dowagers and young girls,
there were women who forgot the public and lounged with an arm
over the back of a little gilt chair, and there were others who sat
almost too erect, presenting their jewels and their composed
countenances to the gaze of whoever cared to admire.
The lady in gray did neither. She sat leaning a little forward, and
looking down absently into the orchestra, so that it was hard to tell
how attentively she was listening to the man behind her. She had an
extremely long waist, and had the effect of being balanced like a
flower on its stalk.
 Miss Lewis, with her glass still on the box, exclaimed:
“What, again! Wasn’t he with the Lees last week?”
“You mean James Emmons,” answered Mrs. Raikes. “He is not
with Nellie. He belongs somewhere on the other side of the house.
He came into the box just before the entr’acte. Rather she than me.
He has a singularly heavy hand in social interchange.”
“He could give Nellie things she would value. I am sure she feels
she would shine in high politics.” Miss Lewis raised her glass again.
“You know she is not really pretty.”
“I think she is, only she looks as cold as a little stone.”
“If you say that, every one answers, ‘But see how good she is to
her uncle.’”
“My dear, if you were a penniless orphan, wouldn’t you be good to
a rich uncle?”
Miss Lewis hesitated. “I’m not so sure, if he were like Mr. Lee.
Besides, some people say he hasn’t anything left, you know.”
“Look how they live, though.”
“My innocent! Does that prove that they pay their bills? Nellie
strikes me as being very short of cash now and then.”
“Who is not?”
“And the reprobate son will have to come in for something, won’t
he?”
“Oh, I fancy not. I don’t think they have anything to do with him. He
has disappeared, to South America or somewhere.”
“Well,” said Miss Lewis, “I should advise Nellie not to take
chances, but to accept—” And then she stopped. “Look at that,” she
added. “Don’t you think that is a mistake?”
For the girl in gray had risen slowly, and disappeared into the back
of the box, followed by Emmons.
 He was a short man, no longer very young. Nature had intended
him to be fat, but he had not let her have her way.
The two sat down in the little red-lined room behind the box, with
its one electric light and its mirror. Nellie had established herself on
the tiny sofa.
“Well, James,” she said.
“I wanted to tell you that I had been appointed to this commission
to inquire into the sources of our Russian immigration. I start in
September.”
“I congratulate you. You will be an ambassador within a few years,
I feel sure.”
Her praise did not seem to elate him. He went on in exactly the
same tone:
“I shall be gone three months or more.”
“I shall miss you.” Her manner was too polite to be warm, and he
answered, without temper,
“You don’t care whether I go or not.”
She looked at him. “Yes, I do, James,” she said mildly. “You know I
depend on you, but it would be very selfish if I thought of myself
instead of——”
He brushed it aside, as one anxious only for facts.
“You are not really fond of me,” he said.
“Well, I am not romantically in love with you. I never was with any
one, and I don’t suppose I ever shall be, but I like you well enough to
marry you, and that is something, you know.”
“You don’t like me well enough to marry me in August and come to
Russia with me.” If he had been watching her face at this suggestion,
he would not have needed an answer, but fortunately he was looking
another way.
“You know I can not leave my uncle, old and ill——”
 “Will you be any better able to leave him in three months?”
She hesitated, but as if it were her own motives that she was
searching. “When you come back there will be no need for leaving
him.”
“Oh,” said Emmons. He glanced through the curtains at the old
man’s thin back, as if the idea of a common household were not
quite agreeable to him.
There was a short pause, and then he went on,
“It sometimes strikes me that if it weren’t your uncle it would be
something else.”
“James,” said Nellie seriously, “I give you my word that if there
were anybody who could take my place at home, I would marry you
in August.”
Emmons nodded. “Well, I can’t ask more than that,” he answered,
and added, with a smile, “though it is a perfectly safe offer, for I
suppose no one can take your place.”
“No one,” said Nellie, with the conviction of a person who does not
intend to look.
The box door opened, and a man half entered, and paused as he
saw how prearranged was the tête-à-tête on which he was intruding.
But Nellie welcomed him in.
“Don’t be frightened away, Mr. Merriam,” she said, smiling. “Mr.
Emmons and I aren’t talking secrets. We weren’t even quarreling—at
least I wasn’t. But the lights in front hurt my eyes. Don’t you think at
my age I can do as I like?”
Mr. Merriam was eminently of that opinion—especially as a
moment later Emmons rose to go.
“Good-night.” Nellie held out her hand. “Don’t forget that you are
dining with us on the 22d.”
“I shan’t forget,” Emmons answered. “I’ve written it down.”
“I shouldn’t have to write it down,” said Merriam.
 “Ah, you are not such a busy man as he is,” she returned, but she
could not help smiling. It was so like James to tell her he had written
it down.
 Chapter II
There is nothing so radiant, so blue and green (unless it be a
peacock), nothing so freshly washed and shining, as an early
morning in the tropics.
A new President having decided to add cavalry to the army, the
recruits were being drilled on a flat furrowed savannah outside the
city limits. Behind them a line of hills, rugged in outline but softened
by heavy vegetation, were hidden by the mist that was rolling away
over the Atlantic; and all about them, at the edge of the meadow,
were tall flat-topped trees, under which were dotted little pink and
blue houses, like toys.
The soldiers wore blue cotton uniforms, and many of them were
barefooted. Their horses were diminutive, but sure-footed and
nimble, not ill built forward of the saddle, but pitifully weak behind.
The instructor was very differently mounted. He rode a round
strong bay mare, which, in contrast to the pony-like creatures about
her, looked a hand higher than her actual height. Her rider sat still
watching his pupils. Little of his face was visible under the brim of his
broad Panama hat except a brown chin and a pair of long blond
mustaches. Now and then he shouted to the men in excellent
Spanish; and once or twice swore with the tolerant, unmistakable
drawl of the Yankee. On the whole, however, one would have said
after watching him for some minutes that his temper seemed fairly
unruffled in a climate which tries men’s tempers, and in an
occupation which induces irritation.
Once, with some instinctive motion of his body, he put his horse at
a hand gallop, and riding over to one of the soldiers offered some
individual suggestions. The man plainly did not understand, and a
minute later the instructor had changed mounts with the man, and
presently the pony was wheeling hither and thither in response to his
bit, as a boat answers its rudder.
 Exactly at ten o’clock the door of a square building in the town
opened; a little trumpeter came out, and the clear notes of a bugle—
so appropriate to the fierce brilliance of the morning—were flung out
like a banner upon the air. It was the signal that the lesson was over.
The men formed into fours, and jogged away under the command of
a non-commissioned officer, leaving the American alone.
He sat a moment, watching the retreating backs, as he took a
grass cigarette case from his breeches pocket, and lit a little yellow
native cigarette. Then he turned his horse with one hand, and
cantered away across the savannah. As he did so, the motion and
the clear brightness of the morning moved him to song. Pushing
back his hat from his forehead he lifted his head:

“Oh, I’m not in a hurry to fuss or to worry,

For fear I should grow too stout,
And I don’t care a bit if my boots don’t fit,
For I walk just as well without.”

He stopped in front of one of the toy houses, and shouted “Oh,

Señor Doctor.”
The door, which stood open, was at once filled by the figure of a
man in crash clothes. He was middle-aged and wore spectacles, so
powerful that the eyes appeared to glare upon you with unspeakable
ferocity, until, seeing round them or over, you found the expression
friendly in the extreme.
“Ah, ha, Don Luis,” he said, “I did not know you were a singer.”
“And a poet, my dear Doctor,” returned the other, bowing. “My own
words. Could you hear them across the savannah?”
“I could have heard them over the frontier. Will you come in?”
“No, gracias,” he answered. “I only stopped in to ask you to a party
this evening, Doctor, for the lovely Rosita. It became necessary to do
something to cut out that handsome young dog of a native. Will you
come?”
 The doctor gave a sound indicative of hesitation.
“What kind of a party?” he asked cautiously.
“Oh, a perfectly respectable little party,” returned Vickers, “not a bit
like my last. At least it will begin respectably. It will end as my guests
please. Will you come early or late, Doctor?”
“Early,” said the doctor; “it is always permitted to go home. No,
wait a moment,” he added, as he saw Vickers preparing to go. “I
want to ask you something. Did you ever know a big American who
lived on the Pacific side—a man named Lee? Not a relation of yours,
was he?”
“Certainly he is not,” retorted Vickers. “I have not many causes for
gratitude, but that is one. I met him only once, and then he borrowed
fifteen pesos from me on the strength of a hypothetical likeness
between us.”
“There is a certain resemblance,” observed the doctor.
“Is there? I never saw it. What has he been doing? Getting into
trouble?”
“Getting out of it. He died at my house this morning.”
“What of? Fever?”
“No, drink. I found him two days ago in his hut on the Pacific slope,
and brought him here. One can not drink safely in this climate.
Nature is beneficent, she gives much,” the doctor waved his hand,
“but she also exacts much. One can not drink here, and live.”
“Oh, nonsense, Doctor,” said Vickers, “look at me. I’m as sound as
a dollar.”
“What I want of you,” said the other, “is to write to his family. My
English is not sufficient to make him out a hero, and,” he added, with
a smile, “when we write home they are always heroes. Will you
undertake it?”
“Sure,” said Vickers, swinging a light leg over the mare’s head. As
he stepped to the ground, one could see his great height, an inch or
two over six feet.
 “You know,” the doctor went on persuasively, as they walked up
the steps into the house, “that he might just as well have died, as
you suggested, of fever.”
“Fever, pooh!” exclaimed Vickers. “How tame! We must think of
something better than that. Would fever be any consolation to the
survivors? No, no, my dear Nuñez, something great, something
inspiring. ‘My dear Madame, your son, after a career unusually
useful and self-denying’ (the worthless dog), ‘has just met a death as
noble as any I have ever seen or heard of. A group of children—’ No,
‘a group of little children returning from school were suddenly
attacked by an immense and ferocious tigre——’”
“Oh, come, Don Luis,” murmured the doctor, “who ever heard of a
tigre attacking a group?”
“My dear Señor Doctor,” replied Vickers, “I perceive with regret
that you are a realist. I myself am all for romance, pure ethereal
romance. I scorn fact, and by Heaven, if I can’t describe a tigre so
that Lee’s mother will believe in it, I’ll eat my hat.”
“In that case,” returned the doctor dryly, “I suppose it is
unnecessary to mention that Lee does not seem to have a mother.”
“Oh, well,” said Vickers, in evident discouragement, “if a fellow
hasn’t got a mother, that prohibits pathos at once. A wife? At least a
sister?”
Nuñez shook his head. “Nothing but a father,” he said firmly.
Vickers flung himself into a chair with his legs very far apart and
his hands in his pockets.
“Now, how in thunder,” he said, “can I get up any interest in a
father? A father probably knew all about Lee, and very likely turned
him out of the house. A father will think it all for the best. Or no,
perhaps not. An old white-haired clergyman—Lee was just the fellow
to be a clergyman’s son.”
“I am often glad that I belong to a religion whose priests do not
marry,” said the doctor. “Let me get you Lee’s papers.”
 They made but a small bundle and most of them were bills,
unreceipted. Vickers drew out one with an American stamp. It was
dated Hilltop, Connecticut. Vickers read:
“My Dear Son: I enclose the money you desire for your
journey home, which Nellie and I have managed to save
during the last three months. I can hardly realize that I am to
see you again after almost ten years.”
Vickers looked up. “Why, the poor beggar,” he said, “he was just
going home after ten years. I call that hard luck.” And then his eye lit
on the date of the letter, which was many months old. “By Jove, no.
He took the old man’s money and blew it in, instead. Isn’t that the
limit? But who is Nellie?”
The doctor shrugged his shoulders, and Vickers returned to the
perusal of the papers. “Bills, bills, notes, letters from women. I seem
to recognize that hand, but no matter. Ah, here is another from
home. Ten years old, too.”
The writing was feminine, neat, and childish.
“Dear Bob,” it said, “if you left home on my account, you
need not have gone.
“Your affectionate cousin,
“Nellie.”
There was a moment’s silence. A feeling of envy swept over
Vickers. The mere sight of an American stamp made him homesick;
the mail from the States never brought him anything; and yet
somewhere at home there was a girl who would write like that to a
worthless creature like Lee.
“They were using those stamps when I was at home,” he said
reminiscently, “but they don’t use them any more.”
“Indeed,” said the doctor, without very much interest.
“Ten years ago, just fancy it,” Vickers went on, turning the letter
over. “And he did not go back. I would have, in his place. If I had an
affectionate cousin Nellie—I have always been rather fond of the
name Nellie. Can you understand his not going?”
“We do not understand the Anglo-Saxon, nor pretend to,” returned
the doctor. “You know very well, Don Luis, you all seem strangely
cold to us.”
“Cold!” cried Vickers, with a laugh; “well, I never was accused of
that before. Wait till you see my letter to Nellie: for of course it will be
to Nellie that I shall write. Or no, I can’t, for I’m not sure of the last
name. No. I’ll write the old man after all. ‘Dear Sir: It is my task to
communicate a piece of news which must necessarily give you pain.’
(I wish I knew how much the old boy would really care.) ‘Your son
expired yesterday in the performance of the bravest action that it has
ever been my good fortune to see, or hear tell of. As you probably
know, Mr. Lee held a position of some responsibility in the railroad.’
(It is a responsibility to keep the bar.) ‘Yesterday we were all standing
about after working hours’ (I wonder when Lee’s began), ‘when a
dispute arose between two of the men. In these hot climes tempers
are easily roused, and words too quickly lead to blows, and blows to
weapons. We all saw it, and all stood hesitating, when your son
stepped forward and flung himself between the two. I grieve to say
that he paid for his nobility with his life. It may be some satisfaction
to you to know, my dear sir, that one of the boys whose life he saved,
for both were hardly full grown, was the only son of a widowed
mother.’ We could not make them both only sons of widowed
mothers, could we? When are you going to bury him?”
“To-morrow.”
“Let me chip in for the funeral. We’ll have it handsome while we
are about it. I must not stay now. Give me the letters, and I’ll get it off
by to-morrow’s steamer. I’ll make it a good one, but I need time. And
I have a report to write for the President, on the progress of my
troop. Have you seen them? Don’t they do me credit?”
Doctor Nuñez looked at him gravely, as he stooped his head and
passed out into the sunlight. As he was gathering up the reins, the
older man said suddenly,
 “Don Luis, would you be very much of a Yankee if I offered you a
piece of advice?”
“Very much of a Yankee? I don’t understand. I should be very
uncommonly grateful. Your advice is rare. What is it? To give up
whiskey?”
“No, but to give up Cortez. He is in bad odor with the President.”
“Oh, I know, I know, but if I changed my friends in order to choose
adherents of the administration—! However, I am an administration
man. I am almost in the army.”
“Not always the safest place to be.”
“Oh, Cortez is all right, Doctor. You don’t do Cortez justice.”
“On the contrary,” said the doctor, “I do him full justice. I do him the
justice of thinking him a very brilliant man,—but I do not walk about
arm in arm with him in broad daylight. Is he coming to the party this
evening?”
“I expect him.”
“You could not put him off?”
“Hardly. He brings the phonograph to amuse the señoritas. Now,
come, Doctor, you would not cut me off from the only man in the
country who owns a talking-machine?”
The doctor sighed. “I knew you would be a Yankee,” he said, and
turned and walked into the house, while Vickers rode away,
resuming his song about his indifference as to the fit of his boots.
Vickers’s house was on the slopes of the hills, and a steep little
white adobe stairway led up to it. The house itself was a blue-green
color, and though from the outside it presented an appearance of
size, it was literally a hollow mockery, for the interior was taken up
with a square garden, with tiled walks, and innumerable sweet-
smelling flowers. Round the inner piazza or corridor there were
arches, and in these Vickers had hung orchids, of which he was
something of a fancier. In the central arch was a huge gilded
birdcage in which dangled a large bright-colored macaw.
 “You beauty,” said Vickers, stopping for an instant as he crossed
the hallway.
The macaw hunched his shoulders, shifted his feet on the perch,
and said stridently,
“Dame la pata.”
“You betcher life!” said Vickers, thrusting his finger between the
bars. The two shook hands solemnly, and Vickers went on his way to
the dining-room, shouting at the top of a loud voice,
“Ascencion, almuerzo.”
An instant later he was being served with coffee, eggs, and a
broiled chicken by an old woman, small, bent, wrinkled, but plainly
possessed of the fullest vitality.
“And what are you going to give us for supper to-night?” Vickers
asked, with his mouth full.
With some sniffing, and a good deal of subterranean grunting,
Ascencion replied that she did not know what to give los Americanos
unless it were half an ox.
“Ah, but the lovely señoritas,” said Vickers.
A fresh outburst of grunting was the reply. “Ah, the Señorita
Rosita. I have already had a visit from her this morning. She comes
straight into my kitchen,” said the old woman. “She expects to live
there some day.”
“In the kitchen, Ascencion!” said her employer. “You talk as if she
were a rat.”
“Oh, you will see. The Señor Don Papa,—he goes about saying
that he will marry his daughter to none but foreigners,—that they
make the best husbands.”
“So they do.”
“Oh, very well, very well, if you are satisfied. It makes no
difference to me. It is all the same to me that every one says this is a
betrothal party, and the niña does not deny it.”