The famous motto of Lord Northcliffe, founder of the "Daily Mail", says it all. Murder, sex and scandal seem to be the mass media's staple diet in Britain. Yet, in true newspaper fashion, that's only one side of the story. To understand how we got to Page Three, the News Bunny and video nasties, we need to know the full history.

Tracing the histories of the print, broadcasting and film industries, this is a thoroughly readable introduction to mass communication in Britain. It COPY s the main landmarks in the development of the media, the changing nature of their industrial organisation and the resulting impact on audiences. At the same time, it examines the changing forms of censorship and control, and analyses the concerns of powerful elites, news managers and moral entrepreneurs.

From Gutenberg's printing press of the fifteenth century to the communications revolution of the twenty-first century, the growth of new media forms has been accompanied by a change in popular opinion and behaviou

Kevin Williams is Professor of Media and Communication Studies at Swansea University.