Introduction to Media Studies

This booklet provides an extensive overview of the history theories and analytical approaches in media studies. It begins with the evolution of mass media tracing its development from ancient communication systems and the invention of the printing press to the emergence of newspapers radio television the Internet and smartphones. This highlights how each innovation revolutionized global communication cultural exchange and social awareness.The second part defines media studies as both a theoretical and practical discipline that analyzes how media texts-films advertisements television programs and digital content-are created distributed and interpreted. It introduces key concepts such as media forms representation institutions and audiences explaining how media producers encode messages that audiences actively decode and interpret. The booklet also examines theories of audience reception from the early passive hypodermic model to modern active audience and uses-and-gratifications approaches emphasizing how media consumption reflects individual and cultural contexts. The final sections focus on research methods and media literacy.