Understanding the Media introduces key theoretical issues in media analysis and encourages students to use case studies to examine their own personal media use and exposure. Author Eoin Devereux applies a model of media analysis that gives equal weight to the production, content, and reception of media texts. A particular emphasis is placed on understanding the mass media in a social context, and readers are invited to engage with a variety of questions about the increasingly complex mediascape in which we live our everyday lives. Devereux uses examples from both 'old' and 'new' media, and draws upon illustrative materials from diverse geographical territories. He provides an accessible and valuable resource for undergraduate media students, which will also enable them to develop a critical interest in the study and analysis of the mass media.