Florida State University School of Communication professor Arthur Raney served as guest editor for a special issue of the Journal of Communication (Volume 64, Number 3) on “Expanding the Boundaries of Entertainment Research,” which was published in June 2014.

Raney, the James E. Kirk Professor of Communication and director of doctoral studies is an expert in entertainment theory and media effects.  He co-edited the special issue with Mary Beth Oliver, a professor at Penn State University’s College of Communications who specializes in media psychology and effects.

Raney and Oliver’s introduction states, “This Special Issue of the Journal of Communication grew out of an appreciation of the development and expansion of entertainment scholarship that has built upon the insights provided by foundational theories. We believed that the time was ripe to take stock of the diversity of ways that researchers are pushing the boundaries of media theory that illuminate the breadth of entertainment’s reach in almost all facets of our media-saturated lives. It was our hope that by gathering together some of the most recent and insightful scholarship, we could provide a road map for future scholars who are interested in our continued efforts to broaden our understanding of entertainment experiences.”

The Journal of Communication is the flagship journal of the International Communication Association and an essential publication for all communications specialists and policy makers. The Journal of Communication concentrates on communication research, practice, policy, and theory, bringing to its readers the latest, broadest, and most important findings in the field of communication studies.

Read the entire special issue of the Journal of Communication here:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcom.2014.64.issue-3/issuetoc