This book provides a lively and engaging introduction to textual analysis of the media. It introduces students to the problem of how texts 'work', from newspaper articles and photographs to radio programmes, film and television. Students are shown the key approaches including semiotics, genre and narrative analysis, content and discourse analysis. The final chapter deals with the politics of representation.

The authors take students carefully through these and other topics, using readings from key research and providing worked examples from a selection of contemporary and historical media texts. These range from beer ads to the classic 1959 film melodrama by Douglas Sirk, Imitation of Life. An accompanying DVD ROM provides a set of interactive exercises for each chapter with clips. These enable students to engage with each approach to textual analysis in an accessible and stimulating way.

"An enjoyable interactive DVD-ROM offers exercises that allow the reader to make the critical language their own." Professor Annabelle Sreberny, Centre for Media and Film Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies.

"The DVD-ROM offers a series of excellent exercises making this a 'must-have' for all undergraduate media studies courses." Professor Richard Paterson, British Film Institute.

"The DVD-ROM, with its 'cool' design, clips gallery and innovative narrative sequence builder, allows students to put into practice skills acquired throughout the text and offers an important tool for bringing concepts to life ."
Alison Griffiths, Associate Professor, Communication Studies, Baruch College, The City University of New York.  

If you are considering using Analysing Media Texts on your course, you can request a complimentary lecturer copy.

w: Request a copy online
e: enquiries@openup.co.uk giving your name, university address, course name, start date, student numbers and current textbook.
t: +44 (0)1628 502179

Gill Branston is Senior Lecturer in the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, Cardiff University. Author of Cinema and Cultural Modernity (Open University Press, 2000); co-author (with Roy Stafford) of The Media Student's Book (3rd edn, 2003).

Marie Gillespie is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the Open University. She is the author of Television, Ethnicity and Cultural Change (1995) and After September 11: TV News and Transnational Audiences (Part Two: Audience Research) (with T. Cheesman).

Jostein Gripsrud is Professor of Media Studies at the University of Bergen. He is the author of The Dynasty Years (1995) and Understanding Media (2002).

David Hesmondhalgh is Senior Lecturer in Media Studies at The Open University. He is author of The Cultural Industries (2002), co-editor (with Keith Negus), Popular Music Studies (2002) and (with Georgina Born), Western Music and its Others (2000).

Jason Toynbee is Lecturer in Media Studies at The Open University. He is author of Making Popular Music (2000), and co-editor (with Andy Bennett and Barry Shank) of The Popular Music Reader (2005).

Introduction - Marie Gillespie and Jason Toynbee

Signs, Codes and Cultures - Jostein Gripsrud

Genre - Gill Branston

Media Storytelling : Analysing Film and Broadcast Narratives - Marie Gillespie

Discourse Analysis and Content Analysis - David Hesmondhalgh

The Politics of Representation - Jason Toynbee