What is the interface between social scientists and the media? How does social science come over in news and current affairs in print and broadcasting media? This book examines issues in reception and production studies to build a holistic approach to the study of media representations.The authors give an accessible and authoritative guide to the mass communication process. They examine media production, the nature of media texts, the role of news sources, the general social and political context of mass communication and the ways in which media outputs are assimilated by audiences. The discussions are developed by an examination of the following areas: the interaction between journalists and social scientists; the publici