Hidden from public sight and mind today are invisible crises that threaten our democracy and existence more than the crises we know about?or think we know about. These invisible crises include the promotion of practices that drug, hurt, poison, and kill thousands every day; cults of violence that desensitize, terrorize, and brutalize; the growing siege mentality of our cities; widening resource gaps and the most glaring inequalities in the industrial world; the costly neglect of vital institutions such as public education and the arts; and media-assisted make-believe image politics corrupting the electoral process.Deprived of sustained attention but bombarded by eruptions of surface consequences (often presented as unique events stripped of historical context), people ar bewildered, fearful, angry, and cynical.The contributors to this volume?exploring such unattended crises, analyzing why they are hidden, and focusing on the increasing concentration of culture-power that keeps them from view?maintain that a profound general crisis of social vision, public communication, and representative government underlies all of the invisible crises.

George Gerbner is professor emeritus at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Hamid Mowlana is professor of communication at American University and president of the International Association of Media Research. Herbert I. Schiller is professor emeritus of communication at the University of California at San Diego. George Gerbner is professor emeritus at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Hamid Mowlana is professor of communication at American University and president of the International Association of Media Research. Herbert I. Schiller is professor emeritus of communication at the University of California at San Diego. George Gerbner is professor emeritus at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Hamid Mowlana is professor of communication at American University and president of the International Association of Media Research. Herbert I. Schiller is professor emeritus of communication at the University of California at San Diego.