The Straubhaar CourseMate immediately connects your students to the media using the following integrated components: an interactive Mind-Tap eBook of the entire text, ABC Video exercises, "Media in Motion" concept animations, media literacy exercises, and instant access to chapter-by-chapter resources. * Thinking Critically About the Media questions at the end of every chapter ask students to consider, discuss, and write about larger issues surrounding the media, such as what their lives will be like in a future Information Society and ways to use the spectrum broadcasters are giving up in the digital transition. * The new edition explores recent technological and marketplace developments, including how mobile devices like the iPhone and social media sites like Facebook are altering the media landscape and impacting our culture, the birth of Internet television, and how technology is shaking up the music industry. * Media Literacy sections within each media chapter focus on key issues related to the impact of media on culture and society, encouraging students to think critically, analyze issues related to their consumption of media, and become more effective media activists and critics. These sections have been updated to include a "news you can use" focus; practical tips that empower students as media consumers, including how to stay safe online, join copyright commons, get on the do-not-call list, or start a blog; where to file media complaints; and sorting out broadband options. * The text explores the cultural impact of the media from the perspectives of both current research and historical trends, covering topics such as the digital television transition; online television and newspapers; how the Internet helps aspiring musicians, television producers, and moviemakers; and the growth and impact of video games.