Hesmondhalgh has done all students of media and communication a great service by updating this book, which offers a necessary and comprehensive map of the world of cultural industries. It is an indispensable resource for researchers and students across the world.
Hesmondhalgh has done the impossible - a phenomenal new edition that grapples with some of the biggest issues, major transformations and important continuities in the cultural industries to date. From political economics of neoliberalism to organisational business strategies; from sociocultural change through to technological impact this book digs deep into the relationship between power, culture and production and shows us yet again why culture and the cultural industries really do matter.
The Cultural Industries is one of those rare books that is accessible to students and essential for scholars. Hesmondhalgh integrates an analysis of both the changes and continuities within cultural industries in a way that is far too rare in scholarship in this field.
A masterful text that lays out the intellectual foundation for the contemporary study and understanding of cultural industries. Thoroughly updated, this edition maintains its original framework and reflects the expanding boundaries of its subject matter to consider both new digital industries and the extension of existing media industries into internet distribution.
The publication of the 4th edition of The Cultural Industries reminds us just how important this book has been over the last decade and a half. In a period of great turbulence and far reaching transformations, we have had an almost 'real-time' charting of these industries across a vast literature, from frothily optimistic to dour doom-mongering. This edition brings us up to date, with important additions on 'digital' disruption and on the rise of China.
The book is essential for understanding the media and creative industries better. Any course and study program in the area can benefit from a reflective appreciation of the subject for which the book offers a sublime comprehensive overview.
I found the book difficult to use. I would not recommend it for this reason. For my purposes it was too difficult to find the relevant sections.
The fourth edition of this classic book certainly provides various essential readings for students of media and communication. I'm particularly interested in the way the book tackles questions around participation, surveillance, power and labour. While, the whole book provides a fascinating and rather comprehensive perspective on the cultural industries, I will only be using sections from this text, as first-year students will only focus on certain aspects of cultural production and consumption.
The Cultural Industries offers a prime basis for a course such as Cultural Studies, with up-to-date chapters on the consequences of the digital networks. It can be both read extensively or used instrumentally thanks to the very complete index.