Digital library
Textbooks, references and open learning resources.
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Understanding Media and Culture: Mass Media in a Free Society
Geoff Carr · North Idaho College · 2026
Mass Media in a Free Society provides an engaging and interesting course experience for students that will not only show them the powerful social, political, and economic forces that will affect the future of media technology but also challenge them to do their part in shaping that future. This 2026 edition is the definitive version of Understanding Media and Culture, featuring extensive updates reflecting modern thought and practices. For questions about this textbook, please contact oer@nic.edu. Previous edition: Understanding Media and Culture: Mass Media in a Free Society
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A Guide to Composition
Sandra Leonard · The Pennsylvania Alliance for Design of Open Textbooks (PA-ADOPT) · 2025
A Guide to Composition (2025) is an introduction to college writing and research. The text begins by defining basic principles of rhetoric and composition using popular texts such as advertisements, speeches, and news media. This textbook then moves to the specific genres of narrative and argument. Elements of the writing process are emphasized throughout the text in addressing writing center use, idea generation, library use, peer review, and ethical attribution including some discussion of A.I. Each chapter is written by current or former Kutztown University faculty and students, making it particularly well-suited to Kutztown University students; however, chapters two through eight are particularly inviting to wider audiences. Each chapter contains a number of writing process activities that may be useful as classroom activities or homework assignments.
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Decoding the 1920s: A Reader for Advanced Learners of Russian
Nila Friedberg · Portland State University Library · 2021
The materials presented in this book were developed for an advanced-level content-based Russian language course at Portland State University entitled “Russian Literature of the Twentieth Century: The 1920s.” Literature of this period is a major part of the Russian canon, but is notoriously difficult for learners of Russian to read in the original, due both to its stylistic complexity and the relative obscurity of its historical, political, and cultural references. And yet, this decade is crucial for understanding Russia – not only in the Soviet period, but also today. This was the period, when Mikhail Zoshchenko, Isaak Babel, Mikhail Bulgakov, and Andrei Platonov meticulously documented the birth of the “New Soviet Man,” his “newspeak” and Soviet bureaucratese; when Alexandra Kollontai, a Marxist revolutionary and a diplomat, wrote essays and fiction on the “New Soviet Woman”; when numerous satirical works were created; when Babel experimented with a literary representation of dialects (e.g.,Odessa Russian or Jewish Russian). These varieties of language have not disappeared. Bureaucrats still use some form of bureaucratese. Numerous contemporary TV shows imitate the dialects that Babel described. Moreover, Bulgakov’s “Heart of a Dog” gave rise, due largely to its film adaptation, to catch-phrases that still appear throughout contemporary Russian media, satirical contexts, and everyday conversation. Thus, the Russian literature of the 1920s does not belong exclusively to the past, but has relevance and interpretive power for the present, and language learners who wish to pursue a career in humanities, media analysis, analytical translation, journalism, or international relations must understand this period and the linguistic patterns it established. The textbook is intended for adult learners, and contains language assignments that would, on the one hand, help students transition to ACTFL’s Advanced proficiency level (i.e., be able to create "narratives, descriptions
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Communication and Teamwork Skills to Support Neurodiversity
Teagan Menhenett; Nick Milne; Siva Krishnan · Deakin University · 2025
A significant challenge for neurodivergent students is the transition to studying in a new environment. This book focuses on assisting students with this transition by guiding them through different learning activities and information to support the team-based learning they will engage in during their degree. The resources in this book are designed to be accessible for all students and staff, with the aim of developing an understanding of disability and neurodiversity, teamwork and communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively with peers to achieve common goals. The resources shared here can be utilised within individual units to support student skill development in inclusivity, engagement with others and the capacity to contribute towards highly functional teams.
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Launch! Advertising and Promotion in Real Time
Michael Solomon; Lisa Cornell; Amit Nizan · Saylor Foundation · 2009
Launch! Advertising and Promotion is written for advertising and promotion courses taught to students in the business school and journalism & mass communication students. This textbook is the first of its kind to teach advertising concepts by reverse engineering a real advertising campaign from beginning to end. In April 2007, SS+K, an innovative New York City communications agency, launched the first ever branding campaign for msnbc.com with the tag "A Fuller Spectrum of News." Launch! follows that campaign from initial agency pitch through roll-out of print and media assets to post-campaign analysis. Throughout, it exposes readers to the theory and concepts of advertising and promotion, and the personalities and decisions that drove this campaign. The book takes a rare look ”behind the curtain“ — even letting you see some of the paths not chosen by the agency and client. Students get a realistic sense of how theory plays out in practice, and get a flavor for the exciting field of advertising and promotion. And, they consistently learn the perspectives of both the advertising agency (where many journalism and communications students will work) and the client (where many marketing majors will work). This is a unique book, with a unique perspective, by a unique author team, and you won't find this kind of insight in any other text on the market. We think you're going to love it! This textbook has been used in classes at: Ball State University, Emerson College, Florida Institute of Technology, Grand Valley State University, Johnson County Community College, Manchester Business School, McLennan Community College, Michigan State University, North Hennepin Community College, Pierce College, Rochester Institute of Technology, Saint Louis University, Salem State College, South Dakota State University, Texas State University, Texas Tech University, University of New Hampshire, University of North Carolina, University of Notre Dame, University of South Florida, Virginia Tech
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Writing for Strategic Communication Industries
Jasmine Roberts · The Ohio State University
In the contents: 02: Media Writing - Conventions Culture and Style · 2.01: The role of media in American society · 2.02: Media Culture and Work Environment
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How to be a Journalist in the 21st century
Andre Gouws and NWU students · North-West University
In the contents: 01: Journalism in the 21st Century · 1.01: The Role of Journalism in the Digital Era · 02: The Mass Media and Mass Communication
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Reporting and Writing with the Audience in Mind
John Kroll · Kent State University
In the contents: 1.04: Anatomy of a News Story · 02: What Is News · 2.01: What Is News
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COMM 130 Journalism OER Textbook for HACC
Laura K. Davis · HACC
In the contents: 01: Defining Journalism and News · 1.01: News · 1.02: Journalism
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Information Strategies for Communicators
Kathleen A. Hansen and Nora Paul · University of Minnesota
In the contents: 2.04: News Messages · 4.03: Who's the Audience for News · 4.14: News
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Mass Communication, Media, and Culture
LibreTexts · LibreTexts
In the contents: 01: Media and Culture · 1.02: Intersection of American Media and Culture · 1.04: How Did We Get Here The Evolution of Media
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Digital Journalism for Communities
Michael Humphrey · Johnson County Community College
In the contents: 01: Defining Community Journalism · 1.01: News · 1.02: Journalism
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Media Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Ferrier and Mays)
Michelle Ferrier and Elizabeth Mays · LibreTexts
In the contents: 4.03: From the Field- Making Student Media Sustainable · 5.03: Exercise- Being a Media Nonprofit · 10.02: From the Field-Process Engineering Helped Build a Replicable Model for Two Startup News Sites
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COMM 110: Mass Communication and Media Literacy
Colleen Mihal · College of Marin
In the contents: 01: Intro to Media Society and Culture · 1.01: Intersection of American Media and Culture · 1.03: How Did We Get Here The Evolution of Media
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Launch! Advertising and Promotion in Real Time
LibreTexts · LibreTexts
In the contents: 2.02: Advertising Is Old - and Brand New · 06: Segment Target and Position Your Audience - SSK Identifies the Most Valuable News Consumer · 09: Choose Your Communication Weapons - SSK Decides Upon a Creative Strategy and Media Tactics
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Journalism in the Digital Age
Dustin Dunaway · Pueblo Community College
In the contents: 01: Introduction to New Media · 1.01: New Media and Communication · 1.1.01: New Media Technologies
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Introduction to Communication and Media Studies
J.J. Sylvia IV · Fitchburg State University
In the contents: 01: Introduction to Communication and Media Studies · 1.03: Media Studies · 1.04: What Does Media Do for Us
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The American Journalism Handbook - Concepts, Issues, and Skills
Rodrigo Zamith · University of Massachusetts Amherst
In the contents: 1.01: News · 1.02: Journalism · 02: Media Effects
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Digital Media Literacy in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Jae Sik Ha · University of Illinois Springfield
In the contents: 2.04: Social Media as an Amplifier of Hate and Lies · 2.13: The Darker Architecture of Social Media Ecosystem · 3.02: The Milk Protest in New York
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Journalism 2.0: How to Survive and Thrive
Mark Briggs · University of South Florida
In the contents: 3.03: What does this mean for journalism · 05: New Reporting Methods · 07: How to Report News for the Web