{"product_id":"the-reality-of-the-mass-media-9780804740760","title":"The Reality of the Mass Media","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Reality of the Mass Media\u003c\/i\u003e, Luhmann extends his theory of social systems--applied in his earlier works to the economy, the political system, art, religion, the sciences, and law--to an examination of the role of mass media in the construction of social reality.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLuhmann argues that the system of mass media is a set of recursive, self-referential programs of communication, whose functions are not determined by the external values of truthfulness, objectivity, or knowledge, nor by specific social interests or political directives. Rather, he contends that the system of mass media is regulated by the internal code information\/noninformation, which enables the system to select its information (news) from its own environment and to communicate this information in accordance with its own reflexive criteria.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDespite its self-referential quality, Luhmann describes the mass media as one of the key cognitive systems of modern society, by means of which society constructs the illusion of its own reality. The reality of mass media, he argues, allows societies to process information without destabilizing social roles or overburdening social actors. It forms a broad reservoir (memory) of options for the future coordination of action, and it provides parameters for the stabilization of political reproduction of society, as it produces a continuous self-description of the world around which modern society can orient itself.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn his discussion of mass media, Luhmann elaborates a theory of communication in which communication is seen not as the act of a particular consciousness, nor the medium of integrative social norms, but merely the technical codes through which systemic operations arrange and perpetuate themselves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Niklas Luhmann\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Stanford University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/01\/2000\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 160\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.87lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.50d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780804740760\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eReference and Research Bk News\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2000 pg. 92\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNiklas Luhmann was Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Bielefeld.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Stanford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":40141664911475,"sku":"9.78E+12","price":75.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/products\/img_d519bb2e-0c93-4c42-bb06-5a25b3486cd7.jpg?v=1654521072","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/products\/the-reality-of-the-mass-media-9780804740760","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}