How are you affected by the media that surrounds you every day? Do you understand how technology works, develops and changes over time? What can you do to use the media more effectively? How can you make the media responsive to you? MEDIA NOW is the first mass communication text to encourage critical thinking about the media and its effects on culture while providing a thorough understanding of how the media technologies develop, operate, converge, and affect our greater society. Unlike other introductory mass communication books, MEDIA NOW prepares you for a career in the expanded field of telecommunications, interactive media, and traditional media industries. MEDIA NOW provides you with a book that will teach you the foundational theories, concepts, and technical knowledge to help you thrive in your chosen career. It has "news you can use" that will guide you to impact the media as much as they impact you.