The Beginnings and Development of Press Studies

The Emergence of Press Studies

With the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg and its widespread use, religious reformers, politicians, and educators sought to use the press to promote their ideas and counter opposing views. In the 17th century, with the emergence of periodical printing, the press became an object of analysis as a new means of disseminating human thought and influencing society. In 1695, Kaspar von Stiles wrote "Zeitungs Lust und Nutz," marking the beginnings of studies on the social aspect of the press. The 17th and 18th centuries allowed anyone with an opinion on the press and its importance to have a voice.

In Poland, figures like Krasicki, Mickiewicz, and Kraszewski expressed their opinions on the press. In 1884, Karl Bucher presented a series of lectures at the University of Basel covering the history, sociology, and law of the press, marking the birth of journalism as a new academic discipline. In Poland, notable works on this topic include J.W. Dawid`s "O zarazie moralnej" and S. Czarnowski`s "Literatura periodyczna i jej rozwój." In the 20th century, press studies began to be conducted within research institutions (Institut für Zeitungwissenschaft).

The Birth of the Sociology of the Press

In 1901, Gabriel Tarde, in his study "L`Opinion et la foule," distinguished between a crowd and an audience. According to him, crowds existed throughout history, while audiences are a product of modern society, where communication occurs through the printed word. This theory posits a new type of collective, characterized by a sense of unity among people separated by distance but exposed to the same stimuli.


In 1910, Max Weber developed a program for a new branch of sociology—the sociology of periodicals. This period saw the growth of content analysis as a method of subjectively understanding press content. The technique of "compass and scissors" was used, measuring the importance of information and discarding less appealing pieces. Thomas wrote the monograph "The Polish Peasant in Europe and America," analyzing the role of folk press in shaping the collective consciousness of the peasantry.

The 1930s brought studies in psychology, political science, and sociology. After World War I, these studies were primarily conducted in the United States, as Europe was recovering from a social, political, and cultural crisis. France, Belgium, and Switzerland saw only minor reflections on the press; Germany limited its focus to historical studies, while in Poland, the notable work was Szczurkiewicz’s 1934 study, "Wpływ prasy codziennej" (The Influence of the Daily Press).

The interwar period saw a fascination with propaganda, with Harold Laswell writing "Propaganda Technique in World War." Due to the impending threat of World War II, the Social Research Council established the Institute for Propaganda in 1937 to inform the public about propaganda techniques used by authorities. A year earlier, in 1936, the American Institute of Public Opinion was founded to conduct surveys and study public opinion.

The Office of Radio Research conducted studies on radio and its listenership. Additionally, the main research directions were defined by Laswell’s formula: who says (who speaks?), what (what is said?), through which channel (by what means?), to whom (to whom is it addressed?), with what effects (what effects?). This approach involved analyzing the communicator, content, communication medium, audience, and impact. By the late 1950s, research had waned, and old models were repeated. Only in the 1960s and 1970s did new perspectives emerge, with sociocybernetics developing and research expanding into the West.