Examines the ways in which the media both affects, and is affected by, U.S. society. The book contains more than 475 alphabetically arranged entries covering subjects ranging from key areas of newspaper history to broader topics such as media coverage of wars, major conflicts over press freedom, court cases and legislation, and the concerns and representation of ethnic and special interest groups.

From 1690, when the first American newspaper was founded, to 1995, the encyclopedia covers more than 300 years of mass media history. The editor and the 200 scholarly contributors to this work have taken particular care to examine the technological, legal, legislative, economic, and political developments that have affected the American media.