1st Edition
Messages Free Expression, Media and the West from Gutenberg to Google
Easy to read, and highly topical, Messages writes a history of mass communication in Europe and its outreaches, as a search for the origins of media forms from print and stage, to photography, film and broadcasting.
Arguing that the development of the mass media has been an essential engine driving the western concept of an individual, Brian Winston examines how the right of free expression is under attack, and how the roots of media expression need to be recalled to make a case for the media’s importance for the protection of individual liberty.
Relating to the US constitution, and key laws in the UK which form the foundation of our society, this is a highly useful book for students of media, communication, history, and journalism.
Biography
Brian Winston, currently a Pro-Vice Chancellor at the University of Lincoln, worked in the 1960s on Granada TV's World in Action; then for the BBC and WNET (New York) where he won an Emmy for documentary script writing in 1985, as a columnist on Ink, The Soho (New York)Weekly News and The Listener, as a co-producer of a Canadian feature film and a governor of the BFI. He has taught at Universities on both sides of the Atlantic and at Britain's National Film School. Messages is his thirteenth book.
'An astonishingly well-detailed but highly readable overview of the development of ideas and practices about freedom of speech ... [this book] makes a point, a rare statement of academic and societal importance' – Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television
'told with such gusto, energy and panache that [this book] should be required reading for any media scholar or student trying to understand where the media come from... Messages provides critical and often debunking insights into the received wisdom of the birth of new media and mass communication... Readers of Winston's previous work will not be surprised by the erudition and the sheer scale of the author's knowledge of the development of media technologies. But Messages also reminds us of the lasting and significant contribution that Brian Winston has made to the field of media and communication studies over the years.' - European Journal of Communication
'an astonishingly well-detailed but highly readable overview of the development of ideas and practices about freedom of speech... an impressive account of media history, media freedom and individual expression... a praiseworthy achievement and a commendable work to keep on the bedside table.' - Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television
'the historical research is thorough and wide-ranging... the tone is lucid, straightforward, and spiced with snarky moments' - International Journal of Communication
'commendably accessible... There is a fine selection of reading, signposting to the interested reader a range of more specialized histories for further exploration... As a general text of considerable wit and erudition it succeeds with aplomb.' - Martin Conboy, Journalism Practice
