During the keynote address of International Conference on Media and Communication 2015 held at Amity University, Rajasthan, Denis McQuail stressed in the future of the field of communication. He pointed out that “Communication science is the study of the uses and languages of media for purposes of control and influence, for self-expression, for social and cultural identity forming. It requires attention to the structures of the flow of ‘messages’ and to the various norms and rules governing public and private communication in a variety of contexts”.

The research on media and communication has always been in a state of constant change. During our last two conferences (ICMCS 2011 and 2015) we sought the paradigm shifts happening in media and communication disciplines. The scholars from various corners of the world and came and uncovered the complexities of understanding media and communication. From this point, we are presenting the International Conference on Media and Communication Studies and focusing on the theme “Contemporary Trends in Media Theories and Practices”.

The ever-changing nature of academic discipline constantly leads to reshape the scope of research areas. Communication, as an academic discipline, is of no exception. Turn of the 21st century, media consumers are increasingly signing for direct satellite, rushing to buy large screen plasma sets and growing dependent on services provided by the internet. Additionally, post -Cold War period gave rise to international capitalism, which forces MNC’s to reach into every corner of the world. These privatization trends have enormous effects on telecommunications generally and mass media systems specifically. Other than this, the influence of the internet and mobile technologies is reinforced, allowing people to have on demand access to any content at any place and at any time.

The mass communication, as an academic discipline, always shows how societal upheaval and new technological inventions leads to the development of different theories and novel research areas about the role of media. As rapid industrialization was linked to the rise of mass society theory, the rise of totalitarian regime occasioned the growth of propaganda theory; contemporary media theories and new avenues for research will definitely evolve and is evolving to accommodate the rapid alternations between people and media. With the development of the internet and mobile technologies, several research areas have opened up concentrating on the nature and trend of new forms of media and its online content. Several research areas are coming up revolving this new form of medium.