Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction * PART ONE: REPRESENTING POLITICS * Political Bias * Telling Tales: The Reporting of Politics * It's Just for Fun? Politics and Entertainment * Media Effects * PART TWO: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF MASS MEDIA * State Control and State Propaganda * Conglomerate Control: Media Moguls and Media Power * Watchdogs or Lapdogs? The Politics of Journalism * Dreamworlds: Globalization and the Webs of Power * PART THREE: MASS MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY * Packaging Politics * Remote Control * Power and Mass Media * A Free Press: Democracy and Mass Media * Conclusion * Bibliography.

"This widely used and popular text provides a broad-ranging analysis of the relationship between the media and politics, covering the representation of politics in the media, the political impact of the media, the regulation of the media and the current and potential place of mass media in democratic societies. Systematically revised and updated throughout, the new second edition is even more international in scope and includes substantial coverage of the mediatization of politics; of E-politics and governance; of current debates on media effects and framing; of the impact of reality TV and of issues raised by the reporting of war in Iraq"