I take both sociology and media studies, and maths and physics. I'm currently in the process of AS levels. It really depends. Firstly, media studies is an ENJOYABLE subject, at least for me it was. In terms of practical/theory, it's a mixture of both. I'm on the AQA board, and we had to create our own trailer for a horror film, which was good fun. However, it can in many circumstances be very TEDIOUS. For example, making the trailer is a group task, and if one group member doesn't pull their weight, you're gonna pull their weight. What's more, it is seriously time consuming. The only people that call media a 'doss' subject are the ones that don't take it. It requires a lot more time and effort than physics. Overall, if you consider yourself to be an academic person(i.e. not afraid to put the effort in, you don't have to be intelligent) then you have great control over how well you do. I worked my ass off for the coursework and because of it I secured a high A, so I can go into the exam hall on a high.