Why is a Sociological Perspective Important for Media Studies?

This article discusses how a sociological perspective could enrich media studies. It looks into the origins and subsequent growth of media studies as a discipline with its central focus on media or communication, albeit its location on the borders of humanities and social sciences. The entrenched nature of contemporary media and complex media/society realities today draws attention to the links that media has with issues that are central to traditional sociological enquiry – namely power, culture, ideology and social systems. It builds on sociology as a vantage point to draw in from, in order to address the gaps in media studies and illustrate them with a few examples, both from across the globe and India. The article concludes by summarising how a renewed sociological focus would only push the frontiers of the field of media studies.