The first comprehensive encyclopedia for the growing fields of media and communication studies, theEncyclopedia of Media and Communicationis an essential resource for beginners and seasoned academics alike. Contributions from over fifty experts and practitioners provide an accessible introduction to these disciplines' most important concepts, figures, and schools of thought – from Jean Baudrillard to Tim Berners Lee, and podcasting to Peircean semiotics.Detailed and up-to-date, theEncyclopedia of Media and Communicationsynthesizes a wide array of works and perspectives on the making of meaning. The appendix includes timelines covering the whole historical record for each medium, from either antiquity or their inception to the present day. Each entry also features a bibliography linking readers to relevant resources for further reading. The most coherent treatment yet of these fields, theEncyclopedia of Media and Communicationpromises to be the standard reference text for the next generation of media and communication students and scholars.