Media and Communication

Reviews / Votes

Paddy Scannell is one of the early pioneers of media studies in the UK. He brings his vast knowledge and experience to give an account of the development of thinking about the media from the 1930s onwards. His overview of the history of media theory is lucid, engaging and a highly informative and provocative account of how theories and their proponents have been shaped by the social and cultural context of the period in which they live...
In a field whose boundaries are porous and where there is no consensus as to the core concepts, theories and thinkers, Scannell brings certainty to his effort to identify key moments in the history of the study of the media and communication.... Essential reading for anyone interested in the historical development of the study of the media in the US and the UK. -- THE (Times Higher Education) His account of these major writers and movements is both comprehensive and clearly written, and will be appreciated by students and academics alike... What distinguishes Scannell's history of these theorists and their influence are his discussions of just how these ideas were generated: the labour and work that was undertaken to create the final product. It is the detail of the historical contexts that makes his writing a refreshing look at the history of media and communication in the twentieth century. -- Media International Australia This is an original and lucid account of the emergence of two linked academic fields - media studies or mass communication, and cultural studies. Scannell, a historian of the BBC and a brilliant analyst of both radio and TV, writes knowledgeably and perceptively about intellectual developments on both sides of the Atlantic... It will inform both newcomers to the study of media and communication and experts who inhabit these fields but not their history. It is a good reference and a good read - highly recommended. -- Michael Shudson This is an excellent book that provides students with a broad series of summary outlines of key thinkers on media and communication, without conflating the two terms. -- Michael Pickering This book invites us to be more generous and imaginative than we have been in how we interpret the story of media research and it leads the way by embodying that spirit. The effects tradition and cultural studies will never look the same again. -- John D Peters A great book - exciting, and very clearly written. -- Klaus Schoenbach