A concise and affordable resource for the mass communication course, Media Essentials provides a flexible, informative, and relevant breakdown of what the media is, how it works, and how it impacts today's most talked-about subjects. From #metoo to content streaming to social media and politics, students learn how a wide variety of recent developments have impacted the mass-media landscape--and how past innovation and change have informed our current media world. Media Essentials is available with LaunchPad, a robust online platform designed to help students fully engage with course content--and with the world of mass media. From our acclaimed LearningCurve adaptive quizzing, which helps students learn and retain concepts, to compelling features like an interactive e-book and a variety of entertaining and thought-provoking video clips, LaunchPad gets students connected with--and interested in--the information they need to succeed in class.