Devereux, Eoin. (2003). Understanding the Media. London: Sage Publications.
This short (app. 150 page) introduction to media focuses on how mass media works and how to analyze it. It takes a distinctly social view, with students encouraged to question media hegemony and think about structure vs. agency in how mass media depict the disadvantaged and the disenfranchised.
Devereux touches on most media/communication theories and provides exercises for stimulating thinking about mass media. The recurring thread throughout is political economy, ownership, the concept of "dominant ideology," and media representations "of a divided world," "of social class," "of ethnicity," and "of gender." This focus is evident in the chapter titles: Understanding the Media, Media Globalization, Media Ownership: Concentration and Conglomeration, Media Production and Media Professionals, Media Ideology, Analyzing Media Content: 'Re-presentations in a Divided World,' and Audiences and Reception.
Devereux includes introductory material on content analysis, and a good comparison of quantitative vs. qualitative approaches.
Though the book was published in 2003, it uses Internet statistics mostly from 1996-97 and 1999, so I disagree with the overly negative take on the Internet's potential influence on promoting agency and revitalizing the public sphere.