ABSTRACT

The essays in this collection have all been written by people who, at one time or another, have contributed to the work of the Glasgow University Media Group. The diversity of topic and substantive areas of interest is evident from the list of contents. However, in their various ways and with differing emphasis, the essays explore the relations between theory and method in media research. Specifically, they contribute to our understanding of the processes of encoding and decoding media messages. Much of our work has focused on the analysis of message content, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. However, it was never exclusively that. The concern to place such work in the overall process of message production and message reception was early stated and then amplified in practice in later studies. We saw the analysis of content not as an exclusive or superior form of communications research but as a bridge that could facilitate our understanding of the communications process. Without it we cannot comment effectively on what producers produce (as distinct from their beliefs or intentions) nor what it is that audiences are responding to. Parts 2, 3 and 4 of this book reflect in sequence this interrelated concern with message production, content and output.