In this book Nick Couldry, media and cultural theorist from the London School of Economics, asks what are the priorities for media and cultural research today - at a time of the intensified mediation of all fields of social life, threats to democratic legitimacy, and serious instability on the global political stage "Couldry's background in philosophy and law is brought to bear here to excellent effect. ?Cutting through a wealth of theory and interpretive analysis in cultural studies, political theory, ideology, and anthropology, he holds that the most basic moral obligation of the media is to create spaces for individuals and groups to articulate their needs and interests unmolested by interests of entrenched social and political power. Much of this book is devoted to the complex ways in which this is both difficult and necessary. More importantly, as this book so admirably demonstrates, this project has always been, and should continue to be, at the core of what cultural scholars spend their time doing." -Popular Communication, 2008