While forms of communication designed to reach large audiences have been around for centuries, technological advances in the modern era continue to redefine the boundaries of mass media. A Short History of the Modern Media presents a concise history of the major media of the last 150 yearsfrom print, stage, film, and radio, to television, sound recording, and the Internet. While tracing the origin, trajectory, and current state of various forms of media, each brief chapter includes a sidebar featuring a particular genre in popular culture--such as horror, Westerns, or sitcoms-- and its impact on the media it represents. Another sidebar focuses on an individual work of popular culture and its creators, from War of the Worlds to Wikipedia. Recommendations for further reading are presented for those interested in more in-depth pursuits of individual topics. Informative and highly accessible, A Short History of the Modern Media offers an invaluable synopsis of the milestones and events that have shaped the media landscape over the past century and a half.