This report begins by examining the transition from the industrial society to the informatics society which began in the 1960s, when the newspaper's monopoly on information was destroyed by radio and television, followed by the development of an information-based economy. The salient features of the new area are identified as: (1) the ever increasing quantity and diversity of available media; (2) wider personal and selective access to networks, programs, and services; and (3) the abolition of frontiers between many media. The realities and illusions of the information society are then discussed in the context of the paradox presented by the new media, which, at the very moment that they seem to be triumphing over certain forms of servitude, open the way to unexpected hazards. Arguing that the true problem lies in the need for mastery and intelligent use of the media, it is concluded that communication technology invites people to rediscover the importance of intellectual disciplines with the help of general education. As communication technology establishes new relationships between the world of school and the corporate world, it brings the school as a training ground face to face with its responsibilities. Competition and conflict between the media and the school from 1950 to 1980 are reviewed, and reasons for growth in their collaboration beginning in 1979-80 are examined. Ways to develop the most productive and harmonious relationship between education and the media are suggested in the concluding chapter. (MAB)