This textbook provides students with a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the field of media studies. Written by two highly experienced lecturers, the volume covers media texts, media institutions and audiences and the media. The authors offer a range of textual tools students might use as approaches to understanding the vast range of media texts. They examine the organizations which produce media texts and introduce readers to the dominant critical frameworks for understanding media industries, examining some of the key institutional debates in media studies. The section on audiences investigates the wide range of diverse perspectives on media audiences and the debates about the media and consumption. Each chapter concludes with activities which encourage students to develop and apply critical approaches in contexts which develop their individual learning. The final section offers a set of techniques and case studies on methods of research which is specifically designed for undergraduate students.