ABSTRACT
Traditional mass communication research continues to thrive. Scholars continue to explore questions about children and the mass media, the effects of antisocial media content, and ways to improve the social contributions of the mass media (see Preiss, Gale, Burrell, Allen, & Bryant, 2007, for a compilation of that research). The years since the publication of the first volume of this set, however, have marked a stimulating time for mass communication researchers. The development of Web as a medium for news and entertainment, the refinement of interactive entertainment (e.g., video games), and the adoption of the digital video recorder (DVR) and digital music players has stimulated research about the uses of these technologies and their subsequent effects-on the audience and on the traditional mass media. The past decade has also seen the emergence of growing areas of research into the melding of entertainment and politics, the third-person effect, and selective exposure to the increased range of programming.
