Toward a Troubleshooting Manual for Journalism History

Abstract

It is argued that journalism historians would do well to avoid several kinds of troubles that have plagued the field in the past. Among these are (1) the assumption that the media always are central to a historical event or process; (2) the assumption that commercial forces always have a corrupting influence on journalism practice; (3) the tendency to reduce complex events to technological or economic explanations; (4) the acceptance of the view that journalism is in a constant state of decline; and, (5) the assumption that the news media came into existence because they served a popular need. Historians of journalism are urged to avoid these common mistakes by becoming less insulated from other domains of historical research.

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