Critical Studies in Media Commercialism

Robin Andersen and Lance Strate, eds.
Oxford University Press, 2001
(ISBN- 0-19-874277-0) 336 pages.

“The 20 page introductory essay by Robin Andersen is arguably the best overview essay on media commercialism currently available.”

The twenty-three essays in this collection range from advertising and corporate mergers to commercial media in the classroom and the controversial debates on Channel One. There have been individual studies of the impact of the media industries such as those written by Ken Bagdikian and Robert McChesney. What this collection offers is some of the more comprehensive and more recent perspectives on this growing field. The most useful essays for media teachers include Norman Cowie’s “Media Literacy and the Commercialization of Culture”; Margaret Cassidy’s “Commercial Media and the corporate presence in the K-12 classroom”; Lauren Tucker’s “Talking Back to Calvin Klein” and Delicia Harvey’s “Image Culture and the Supermodel.

Barry Duncan

Jung, Bohdan (2001): Book Review: Critical Studies in Media Commercialism, in: The International Journal on Media Management, Volume 3, No. 3, 2001.


“This collection of 22 articles divided into 6 parts brings together a distinguished set of authors, media researchers and professionals, the names of many of whom are "milestones" in media research. Such a collection could best be described as an extremely comprehensive and versatile presentation of the subject” The book includes “contributions on topics ranging from concentration of the media industry to resistance to media globalization and advertising.”