The Dictionary of Media and Communication Studies has provided students and the general public alike with a gateway into the study of intercultural communication, public relations and marketing communications since 1984. In this 9th edition, James Watson and Anne Hill provide a detailed compendium of the different facets of personal, group, mass-media and internet communication that continues to be a vital source of information for all those interested in how communication affects our lives. They cover new applications and developments, such as the incorporation of Neuroscience techniques in advertising and marketing. Other updates include Cyber-bullying, Twitter scandals, conduct in media organizations, on-line lobbying, global protesting/petitioning, and gender issues relating to social media in general.

While new entries explore the profound shifts that have taken place in the world of communication in recent years, the purpose of this new edition is not necessarily to keep abreast of every new media event but to reflect the trends that influence and prompt such events, such as the Leveson Inquiry and Report and phone hacking via mobile phones. Politics seems to be playing out more on Twitter than in The Times. This volume seeks to make its twenty-first century readers more media literate, as well as more critical consumers of modern news.