ABSTRACT
The use of the first person singular to refer to the author of this work should not be taken to imply that ‘I’ am the originator of the perspectives developed here. I must, of course, take sole responsibility for the particular formulations employed, and for the errors of fact and argument which no doubt remain in the text. However, any credit for this work is due not so much to me as to the wider circle of those who have been involved in planning, organising and discussing this project over the last five years. Members of the Media Group of the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at the University of Birmingham have helped in various ways, but the project would not have been possible without the involvement of Charlotte Brunsdon, Ian Connell and Stuart Hall. I owe them an enormous debt.
