Athens 2004, 98 pages.

This essay, already published in a shortened version in the volume: “The digital challenge: Mass media and Democracy” is published in its full version in the present volume.

The text, after a concise description of the theories related to the formation of (media) audiences and the various forms they have acquired ever since the age of modernity, focuses on a brief narrative of the various forms of audience research, along with the problems arising from its interpretation.

Also, the function of advertising as an intermediary link between media content consumption and the consumption of commodities is examined, as well as the field of generalized risk-taking which is always being posed alongside the appearance and application of new mass media technologies.

The conclusion sums up all the above, and also introduces-for further discussion-the notion of the attention economy.