Surveys a brief history of major mass communication topics and discusses current trends in the interest of predicting the future of mass media and its role in the twenty-first century. The future of mass media may appear unpredictable and too complex to fathom, but Mass Media in 2025 takes a scholarly, theoretical approach to identifying trends and explaining their possibilities. Noted contributors approach a variety of media with a solid grounding in the history of each, and an eye for which may be vulnerable and which may thrive in the new technological age. Trends such as interactivity and niche building will affect everything from the newspaper to public relations, and this collection of essays provides a fascinating guide to where the next decades may take us. Regardless of the visual, aural, or printed form, Mass Media in 2025 illustrates the degree to which older media will have to incorporate the level of interaction and specialization offered by newer media if they are to survive. These effects can already be seen in the proliferation of television channels, in the iroric bent of advertising, in the rise of "infotainment" in news organizations. This book shows not only how all of this has come to be, but also, more importantly, where it will go.