Media History

Historical scholarship - the neglected child of media studies - is in the midst of a renaissance, as shown in this collection of papers from a seminar held in May 1999 at the Department of Information and Media Science, University of Aarhus. Since the 1970s, media research has focused on media policy and media politics. Change came with the publication of a three-volume Danish Media History (1996-97), which signaled a need for further and more detailed research within the neglected historical field, especially in light of the importance of the computer in the media landscape. The Aarhus seminar provided the environment for reflection on the theoretical and methodological problems inherent in the writing of media histories and looked at published histories that provide models of empirical research within various media: radio, television and print. Drs. Anderson and Curtin discuss the phenomenon of the AenetworkAe era in the United States and conclude that it is not the natural, inevitable or permanent form of radio and television that will survive there or elsewhere. Dr. Brger provides an outline of a general theory of the media; and Dr. Kolstrup looks at the structure of newspapers from 1800 to 1999, which has survived with minor changes - up to now. Other topics include television fiction, radio history and the influence of computers. Contributions from Nordic, Dutch & American researchers.