Mass Media and Historical Change: Germany in International Perspective, 1400 to the Present
ISBN: 9781782386261
Platform/Publisher: JSTOR / Berghahn Books
Digital rights: Users: unlimited; Printing: chapter; Download: chapter
Subjects: Mass media -- History; Journalism;

Media influenced politics, culture, and everyday life long before the invention of the Internet. This book shows how the advent of new media has changed societies in modern history, focusing not on the specifics of technology but rather on their distribution, use, and impact. Using Germany as an example for international trends, it compares the advent of printing in Europe and East Asia, and the impact of the press on revolutions, nation building, and wars in North America and Europe. The rise of tabloids and film is discussed as an international phenomenon, as the importance of media during National Socialism is looked at in comparison with Fascist Italy and Spain. Finally, this book offers a precise analysis of media during the Cold War, with divided Germany providing the central case study.


Frank Bösch is a Professor at the University of Potsdam and Director of the Center for Contemporary History. He is the author and editor of more than a dozen books on political, social, and media history, including Journalists as Political Actors: Transfers and Interactions Between Britain and Germany since the Late 19th Century (co-edited with Dominik Geppert, 2008) and Public History (co-edited with Constantin Goschler, 2009). He is also co-editor of the journal Zeithistorische Forschungen/Studies in Contemporary History.

Frank Bösch is a Professor at the University of Potsdam and Director of the Center for Contemporary History. He is the author and editor of more than a dozen books on political, social, and media history, including Journalists as Political Actors: Transfers and Interactions Between Britain and Germany since the Late 19th Century (co-edited with Dominik Geppert, 2008) and Public History (co-edited with Constantin Goschler, 2009). He is also co-editor of the journal Zeithistorische Forschungen/Studies in Contemporary History.

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