Major and terrible events are happening throughout the world. They are reported daily by the media, and yet most people seem to remain unmoved and uncaring. Are the media themselves responsible for this lack of care? Meanwhile, owing to the emergence and popularity of cultural studies, the media are being studied as never before. But why is that study frequently trivial and lacking in moral seriousness? Is the discipline of cultural studies part of the problem rather than the solution? This study poses these questions and encourages reflection on such topics as advertisements for coffee, which can give rise to more comment than do famines. This book argues that the study of the media can only be culturally valuable and morally worthwhile if it remembers the lessons taught by sociology.