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Editor's Introduction
Communication, particularly mass communication, has a long association with popular culture- some would even define the rise of popular culture in the 19th century and its continuing impact in terms of the mass media. The relationship, however, works both ways: Much of current communication practice and content relies on popular culture. And popular culture has a powerful impact: The film and music business generate billions of dollars of sales every year, for example. More and more communication professionals seem to regard the popular as the key to success. The transformation of the various communication media (print, broadcast, film) into digital forms has extended the reach of popular culture-and probably made it more truly popular, with materials from around the world, created by non-professionals as well as professionals, now easily available online. Many people have shown a preference for the locally produced music, video, news, and so on over the corporately produced fare-or, perhaps better, welcome both.
These phenomena have...