By Hanno Hardt - Foreword by James W. Carey

Hanno Hardt has thoroughly revised and expanded his 'pre-history' of communication research in the United States. With the notable addition of Karl Marx's journalism-focused writings and a new foreword by James W. Carey, this edition covers intellectual contributions from several German theorists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as first-generation U.S. sociologists who were influenced by this scholarship. A new concluding chapter explores the continuing influence of German social thought and the contemporary shift of paradigms in U.S. communication research, including approaches such as critical (Marxist) and cultural studies.

Chapter 1 Foreword Chapter 2 Mass Communication Research and Society: An Introduction Chapter 3 Communication and Change in Society: Karl Marx on Freedom of the Press Chapter 4 The Nerves of Society: Albert Schäffle on Symbolic Communication Chapter 5 The News of Society: Karl Knies on Communication and Transportation Chapter 6 The Linkages of Society: Karl Bücher on Commerce and the Press Chapter 7 The Mirrors of Society: Ferdinand Tönnies on the Press and Public Opinion Chapter 8 The Conscience of Society: Max Weber on Journalism and Responsibility Chapter 9 The "American Science" of Society: Small, Ross, and Sumner on Communication and the Press Chapter 10 Communication and Social Thought: Decentering the Discourse of Mass Communication Research