"The Audience Studies Reader brings together key writings exploring questions of reception and interpretation, reprinting forgotten pieces and combining key essays with new research. Beginning with a general introduction to the Reader, each extract is placed in its historical context with specially written section prefaces and suggestions for further reading." "Organized chronologically and thematically, sections address: the paradigm shift - from effects to uses and gratifications; moral panic and censorship; the active audience and reading as resistance; shifts in screen theory - the spectator and the audience; the fan and the audience; gendering the audience; internet audiences, convergence and increased levels of interactivity; and nation and ethnicity. The conclusion discusses the effects of Internet overflow and the increased level of interactivity it seems to offer."--Jacket.