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"Review & Criticism: Marjorie Ferguson
(Ed.). Public Communication: The New Imperatives" by Steven Daniel Anderson, Ph.D. What this book lacks in focus is more than made up for by its tremendous breadth. The common thread or central focus of the book concerns a shared set of understandings as to the importance of public communication in a transforming media environment and the subsequent imperatives for future research. The book is the result of a workshop devoted to classic issues of mass communication research attended by a distinguished group of British scholars. On the surface at least, this book seems to take on a British perspective. Many of the chapters are concerned with issues of media control, ownership, journalistic autonomy, and sources as news definers. These perspectives are not taken lightly in a society of government media operation where the concept of "privatization" takes on significant meaning. On the other hand, while many of the structures of control may appear quite different in the United States, closer reading reveals many similarities in the way our system actually functions and provides insights into problems which are internationally common. The change from national to international markets has profound implications for public communication at all levels. The book is divided into three main parts. In Part One, contributors look into the changing landscape of media ownership, policy and regulation. Graham Murdock (Chapter 1) explores the role of technological innovation and privatization in shaping the symbolic world in which we live. William Melody (Chapter 2) looks into the issue of serving the public interest in an era of privatization. Technological advancements and private monopolization may require a public policy which addresses the problems of class disparities caused by differential access to information sources. In chapter 3, James Michael outlines possible scenarios for future regulation of broadcasting from an international perspective. Part Two is concerned with the relationship between political communication and media news organizations. In chapter 4, Philip Schlesinger attempts to take the body of media sociology research beyond the domain of media-centrism as it relates to sources as primary definers. The model's blindness to the question of source competition is addressed. Peter Golding (Chapter 5) uses the concept of citizenship to enquire as to how people are denied access to information and imagery which allow full and equal participation in a democratic society. Golding asserts that an emphasis on cultural and technological barriers to access fails to account for social and economic structures of inequality in a participatory democracy. Chapter 6 is concerned with the politics of newsmaking. Jay Blumler provides a fascinating look into the role of campaign consultants and publicity advisors in fashioning political images for media consumption through what's called the "modern publicity process." James Curran (Chapter 7) advocates a combined perspective which synthesizes both cultural insights and internal media hierarchical factors. Exception is taken to the idea that control of the media lies mainly outside the media. Although cultural patterns of society exert influence, the impact is mediated by the influence of media owners and internalized organizational norms. Part Three explores historical lines of enquiry and presents a case for some new imperatives in the field of communication research. In chapter 8, Denis McQuail lays out the past and present state of communication research in Europe and compares the focus of such research across individual countries. A thematic research agenda is sketched out based on issues of social and economic change, cultural diversity, and class equality. Ferguson (Chapter 9) explores the impact of electronic media on our awareness and response to temporal and spatial concerns. A techno-orthodoxy which proclaims that new media technologies have rendered space and time differences insignificant has resulted in a research agenda devoted largely to economic decisions. Ferguson argues that new media technologies actually serve to magnify time-space priorities due to the electronic media's emphasis on immediacy and a political value aimed at managing issues and events. Roger Silverstone (Chapter 10) completes the book with an essay on the importance of better understanding the media audience. Silverstone argues that traditional media research concerns with effects, effectiveness and power must take into account the audience as both a social and cultural phenomenon. He argues for an anthropological approach which recognizes that the relationship between the medium and the audience is powerfully mediated by the everyday lives of families and households. Overall, this book shares some of the problems of synthesis and focus exhibited in a number of edited volumes. However, it is also clear that the very character of the issues facing our field is accordingly wide ranging, elusive and difficult to extract. The book makes an important contribution to the future direction of research in our discipline. The chapters included in this collection demonstrate that media transformation is being played out in a cultural exchange involving economic and political institutions, technology, the public, and media institutions and structures themselves. The collection clearly articulates areas of change and the implications for future research and policy on an international level. The issues are all significant and worthwhile, the probing is thought provoking, and the discussion of imperatives for future research is important to the direction of our field.
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