From reading newspapers on smartphones to calling friends on the computer, digital media has changed the ways in which we communicate. Placing convergence at the center of the discussion, Converging Media: A New Introduction to Mass Communication, Fourth Edition, uses the technologies we employ every day to explain our current media environment--and to project where we might be headed. Rather than discussing each media industry in isolation, authors John V. Pavlik and Shawn McIntosh show how each branch of media--print, visual, and audio--relates to and influences the others. This enables students to see the inextricable and dynamic relationship between converging media and traditional media formats.

Learn about topics and examples that are relevant to your everyday life:
* A new chapter 6 on "Interactive Media: The Internet, Video Games, and Augmented Reality"
* A new chapter 14 on "Global Media in the Digital Age"
* Increased emphasis on how social media is changing our world in Chapter 7, "The Impact of Social Media"
* New "Media Pioneers" boxes provide portraits of a diverse array of individuals, past and present, who have made an impact on media history in the five major career areas: Public Relations, Advertising, Broadcasting/Electronic Media, Journalism, and Media Studies

Become a well-rounded expert in mass communication:
* Streamlined content presents a clearer, more accessible narrative that integrates technology, culture, and economic factors more closely
* Increased coverage of the effects of ethics and bias on the media
* Updated coverage throughout, including interpersonal and mass communication convergence, gamification, augmented reality, cyber security, and the third screen

Thought-provoking questions and engaging visuals:
* Stunning new infographic-style art presents key concepts visually
* Critical-thinking questions in specific photo captions ask you to analyze specific aspects of the media
* Media Quizzes now contain more open-ended questions to stimulate critical thinking