Media, Journalism, and Communication
A Student's Guide
by
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Pub Date Mar 31 2018 | Archive Date Mar 05 2018
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Description
Helping students think wisely about journalism, media, and communication in a digital age, this volume examines the impact of technological advances on how we process information and connect with others.
A Note From the Publisher
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Advance Praise
“Schuchardt admirably integrates the history and philosophy of technology with a rich understanding of Christianity. With McLuhan and Postman in one hand and the Bible and Christian history in the other, he offers a thoughtful and challenging perspective on journalism and media today.”
—Douglas Groothuis, Professor of Philosophy, Denver Seminary; author, The Soul in Cyberspace
“Read Schuchardt has been doing groundbreaking work in the new academic field of media ecology. Like his mentor, Neil Postman, he is asking us to think critically about the impact that new technology is having on everything from human development to political discourse to spiritual formation. This is an important book that is a must-read for serious Christians. I highly recommend it.”
—Terry L. Johnson, Senior Minister, Independent Presbyterian Church of Savannah; author, The Family Worship Book; Worshipping with Calvin; and Serving with Calvin
“Read Schuchardt’s progenitor is Marshall McLuhan, whose pithy style he so well channels. I once observed Read in the classroom as students both giggled and squirmed in their seats. They giggled because they were overjoyed that someone understood their world. They squirmed because he put his finger on what they had not yet perceived about the digital age. For the student of communication there is gold to be found in this hill of wise counsel.”
—Arthur W. Hunt III, Professor of Communications, The University of Tennessee, Martin
“Read Schuchardt shaped the way I think about technology more than anyone else. With technology changing at an ever-increasing pace, Schuchardt is a sure guide to not only keeping your sanity but also your soul, whichever side of the Tiber you’re on.”
—Brantly Millegan, Founder and Editor in Chief, ChurchPOP
“Schuchardt’s Media, Journalism, and Communication is a publisher’s nightmare and a reader’s dream. It fits no preestablished publishing category, because it is entirely too insightful to do so; its wine will not fit those wineskins. If Marshall McLuhan had been intelligible, Neil Postman a Christian, and Jacques Ellul an American, this is the book they would have coauthored (with Wendell Berry as their editor), though they would have taken ten times as many pages to have done so.”
—T. David Gordon, Professor of Religion and Greek, Grove City College, Grove City, Pennsylvania
“Not only has Schuchardt made the case for why the communication arts are essential to the liberal arts, he convincingly explains how they can make us better humans. This is one of the most superb short books ever written on the role and effect of media, and a must-read for every Christian college student.”
—Joe Carter, Editor, The Gospel Coalition; contributor, NIV Lifehacks Bible
“Read Schuchardt is in the business of telling fish about the water they swim in. We ‘fish’ instinctively breathe, eat, and drink media in all forms, all the time. We hardly notice. Schuchardt helps us notice both the fascinating and alarming. Schuchardt says some crazy things about media that just happen to be true, while pointing to truths in the gospel that may strike us as crazy. It’s why he is such a good person to discuss the media water we swim in.”
—Mark Galli, Editor in Chief, Christianity Today
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781433535147 |
| PRICE | $11.99 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Steve B, Reviewer
Media, Journalism and Communication is the latest addition to Crossway’s Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition.
Schuchardt seems to be channelling Ellul in his critique of media. He provides pertinent and apposite warning of the proliferation and all-encompassing nature of the media. This is a warning that needs to be heard and taken on-board by all students.
It has often been said we can identify someone’s worldview by what they do rather than what they think. As Schuchardt points out:
‘When times are compared, our media consumption habits, in terms of hours spent, are far more holy to us than the Sabbath, by any stretch.’
The aim of the book is ‘ to make you a more conscious user, and a less susceptible usee’. The book certainly does that. He ably demonstrates the ubiquity of media and why it matters, particularly today:
‘In the past, media was something you picked up, used, and then put down to get on with your life. Now media is your life, or at least the way you access everything else necessary to get on with your life.’
So much so that media is shaping us into its image.
‘Emojis are the new hieroglyphics’
And
‘Txtng is the new Hbrw’
This book will help all who read it to better discern the ideologies and assumptions behind most media (clue: it’s usually mammon).
My only gripe with the book is that it focuses on the fallen aspects of technology. And it seems, following Ellul (?), that Schuchardt regards technology as a product of the fall and not creation.
‘There was no technology in this environment [Genesis 1] because in a perfect world, you cannot improve it by inventing any form of labor saving or time-saving devices.’
What we need then is a complementary book that deals with the creative and redemptive aspects of technology and media. Nonetheless, this is an important book that demands to be read by all students, and not just students of media.
Book website: https://www.crossway.org/books/media-journalism-and-communication-tpb/
Heath H, Media/Journalist
Media, Journalism and Communication: A Student Guide
By Read Mercer Schuchardt
This student guide, explores the opportunities and hazards of modern communication, including news media from a Christian position.
It explores why media matters in a 24/7 news world and the role of social media in the age of global information warfare, before presenting a Christian perspective on identity in a digital world.
The facts remain that in the western world, children and adults spend more time being influenced by television and other forms of media, than any other factor. This book educates the reader to consider their use and engagement with media in a digital age.
The author highlights the dangers of media directing our thinking through reality television shows, and social media sites. The author claims that we have become desensitised and passive in the direct that media is taking us.
While the book provides a base for further study, it is a little confusing as to the purpose. It is a text to convince students, or a read to inform?
Thank you to Netgalley for providing a review copy in return for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
#Media,journalism,andCommunication #NetGalley
Reviewed by Heath Henwood
www.books-reviewed.weebly.com
Charity H, Reviewer
Wow this is full of tons of information -- it is very detailed and researched. The information is interesting too. Anyone involved in media, journalism or communications will find this interesting. The elements of religion are insightful too. Many things in this book were eye opening and thought provoking.
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