Media and Society in the Twentieth Century: A Historical Introduction

Media and Society in the Twentieth Century captures the breathtaking revolutionary sweep of mass media since the turn of the century. Utilizing historical and comparative perspectives, the authors emphasize the importance of contemporary media and explain why particular media systems exist. The volume analyzes the socio-economic contexts in which mass media originated: the institutional forms taken by evolving media: the relationships between media institutions and the state: and the interrelationships between different media.Focusing mainly on the development of newspapers, film, radio, television, and the Internet in the United States and Western Europe, Media and Society in the Twentieth Century fills a critical need for students and scholars by offering a historical introduction to the mass media in our time.