This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book addresses some of theoretical issues that are raised for media studies by the re-invention of the media. It describes the decline of the mass media paradigm, and outlines what is distinctive about the newsgathering practices that have developed in relation to the establishment and expansion of celebrity news. The book also discusses some of the implications for a liberal-democratic regulatory regime that emerge from Katrin Voltmer's recent work on media regulation within transitional democracies. It further focuses on the structural and social consequences of the pervasiveness of what has been called 'celebrity culture'. The two arenas of debate examined in the book concern the performance of the 'ordinary celebrity' on reality TV, and the construction of a persona for the micro-celebrity online. Finally, the chapter explores the ongoing restructuring of the relations between the media and the state.