Acknowledgments

This project was made possible through the support of the MRU Library and their OER Grant program, the Academic Development Centre, and the Faculty of Business, Communication Studies and Aviation  (especially Dean Kelly Williams-Whitt). Their commitment to advancing open education enabled this resource to be developed and made freely accessible.

I owe particular gratitude to Alejandro Velasco, whose contributions extended far beyond technical support. He managed all content entry into Pressbooks, sourced images, and contributed to the “From Radio to Television” chapter. He also formatted and completed the supplementary slides for each chapter, ensuring every component was delivered on schedule. His work was essential in transforming this book from concept to finished resource.

Special recognition goes to Kyle Napier, whose expertise in Indigenous media and communication made the final chapters possible, and to Milena Radzikowska, whose authorship of Chapter 7 provided the specialized knowledge needed. Thanks are also due to the leadership team in the School of Communication Studies, which secured compensation for the Indigenous content.

Thanks are due to Patti Edgar for her editing, and to Erik Christiansen and Sheilah Ayers for reviewing the final draft to ensure usability and copyright compliance.

Appreciation is also extended to Tim Magee and Andrew Goodmanson for their instructional design support, and to Khethwen Woo for her work on the book cover design.

This adaptation builds upon Mass Communication, Media, and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication (https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/understanding-media-and-culture-an-introduction-to-mass-communication).

Additionally, ChatGPT: Language Model (GPT-5) (https://chat.openai.com/) and Claude Pro (https://claude.ai/) supported the development of several chapters by providing Canadian-specific examples, expanding definitions, and cross-checking references. Grammarly Pro (https://www.grammarly.com/pro) assisted with additional editing.