Mass media#History
Media history in a general sense refers to the historical development of means of communication, especially the mass media (press, radio and television). In a narrower sense, the term refers to the study of the history of media through the Media Studies. Media History is also a branch of communication and history, the communication science and the concept of " communication history " used.
The additions of disciplines differ sometimes considerably, due especially to the respective media concept and methodological assumptions. Depending on the media concept of the media stories, therefore, use partly in the prehistory and early history, partly with the invention of the printing press or only with the advent of electronic media in the 20th century.
The scientific analysis of the history of the mass media can be divided into program, organizational, technical and reception history.
History of the individual media
The history of the individual media is different dimensions well documented and researched. The following list gives an overview of articles on the chronological development of the media of the font to the Internet.
- History of writing, history of writing media
- History of the message being
- History of printing
- History of journalism
- History of the press ( press); History of Newspapers
- History of A / V media ( disk, magnetic tape, compact cassette, video cassette, CD, DVD, MiniDisc, Blu- ray Disc)
- History of Telegraphy
- History of telecommunications first information transmission ( Morse code )
- First radio transmission
- Development of the camera
- Development of film camera
- First transmission of speech
History of Science
The first scientific studies of the history of mass media, one can make in the late 17th century, and the first doctoral thesis was on the newspaper. Since the mid-19th century books increased in Western countries, who examined the historical significance of the printed media. They were often written by journalists who are so historically underpinned the importance of the media. At the same time worked historians about the history of pamphlets and the press. In the 1920s it came to a first academic establishment in the now emerging science of journalism. However, an integral analysis of the various media remained largely out of and studies on individual media prevailed in the following years. Only since the 1980s, took to studies that examined the historical significance of different media beyond the individual media. This was both because the communication studies their subject area extended more about the press and also in the development of media studies from the film, theater and literature out. Only since the 1990s, increased interest in the historical significance of the media in the history of science.
Methods
The media history is operated by the individual disciplines, but also within the subjects with quite different methods and priorities. For a long time dominated in Germany rather organizational historical approaches to the production, dissemination and transformation of individual media studied (about the history of the publishers and editions of newspapers, their censorship, propaganda use, etc.). In addition, the history of media analyzed primarily the development of media content (such as the presentation of events in the press or the content of magazines, etc.). While film and media content analyzes of individual scientists are rather prefer media products (such as individual films ), communication science through quantitative content analysis. Addition, there are increasing studies on the technical development of the media, which also highlight the social significance of new media technologies. An important, but often historically elusive field is the effect and reception of media.
In particular, the media studies examine the cultural significance of media development. Ask after the studies of Marshall McLuhan as media thinking or perception in society changed and also look at the respective interpretation of the media by his contemporaries. With their wide media term, these studies often have the character of cultural histories. Even the wafer or the fire is included in these media stories as a medium. Werner Faulstich holds even priests, messengers or fools as " human medium " in its media history.
Interactions between media and society developments are particularly interested in the history of scientific media history. She asks particularly about the social effects of the media each had, for example in the context of revolutions, wars and dictatorships, but also for social norms, roles, or groups such as women, for urban life or colonized countries. As part of the " Visual History ", it analyzes how typical picture budgets were developed and hugely influential. While in the past the media story was based primarily on individual Western countries, an international comparative trend slowly now becoming apparent, showing the different historical forms and illustrates the respective cross-cultural contacts through media.