po polsku
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.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
New articles in section History of the media
History of Le Soir. A Belgian daily once free for ground floor readers
Małgorzata Dwornik
It started with an unusual sales policy and articles written personally by the king. This is where the comic hero Tintin made his name. The "fake edition" from the II World War went down in history. "Le Soir" more than once found itself targeted by authorities, censors, and even... terrorists and hackers.
#mediaHISTORY podcast. Listen on Youtube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts [LINK]
Reporterzy.info
History of media and journalism. The biggest titles, famous journalists, groundbreaking events in the press, radio, television and internet industries in the world. Stories developed and told by Małgorzata and Bartłomiej Dwornik from the online weekly Reporterzy.info.
Népszava. The history of Hungary's oldest newspaper
Małgorzata Dwornik
The first editor used a pseudonym. The paper was printed in both Hungarian and German. The military destroyed the newsroom. Journalists died in the Danube’s currents. Népszava survived monarchy, dictatorships, and revolution. And it still exists.
See articles on a similar topic:
The Press in Historical Perspective
Agnieszka Osińska
Researchers trace the prehistory of modern press back to ancient times when primitive forms of mass communication began to emerge.
Granma. History of the most communist newspaper in Cuba
Małgorzata Dwornik
As stated on the Spanish Wikipedia, the word GRANMA comes from the informal, graphic, and phonetic English term "grandma" (grandmother), which in American slang means "old lady". For Cubans of the 1950s and 1960s, however, it became a symbol of freedom and the Cuban Revolution.
Nexta, or Someone. History of an opposition title from Belarus
Małgorzata Dwornik
The very first rebellious post on the music channel Nexta, run by a seventeen-year-old, did not escape the attention of the Belarusian KGB. The next ones - describing events uncomfortable for the authorities - led to open conflict. Stsiapan Putsila and his Nexta became a target of the Minsk regime. And they have no intention of backing down.
The Fourth Estate in America: The Elder Sister of Television
Urszula Sienkiewicz
The early 1920s brought Americans a new, inspiring source of information - radio. Almost every household, in both big cities and suburbs, welcomed the magical wooden box that provided entertainment like never before.
