Today, traditional mass-media, being by nature a ‘one-way traffic’ of information, gain an opportunity to create interactive grounds: it opens prospects for further development, and is a challenge, since most of mass-media have lost the skill to carry on a dialogue with an audience or have never been able to establish it. Besides, Internet is a new democratic space where each one has a freedom of speech. However, any mass-medium that knows and understands its audience information needs, is able to see a concrete person, family or group behind the audience. Thus, understanding their social responsibility, the mass-media aim to provide their audience with high-quality information. However, they cannot do so without the multimedia instrument. In view of the acute shortage of adequately trained personnel in mass media, the question of building up human resources must be a priority of media houses. The present book has been conceptualized and designed as a text which looks into the theories and practices of mass media communication. It undertakes a thorough look into the principles and practices which have defined mass media communication over the years, and how, under the inslaught of emerging technologies and media, the process is undergoing changes.
