Media and Events in History

The media plays a crucial role in mediating large-scale and collective events, such as competitions, celebrations, festivals, environmental disasters, pandemics, and terror attacks. This book explores the rise of event-planning through mediation, revealing the historical driving forces behind 'media events, global 'mega-events, and 'pseudo-events.' It is of interest to students of media studies, history, historical sociology, and cultural history, as well as the general reader.

Format: Hardback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 02 September 2022
Publisher: Polity Press

The most profound hopes and anxieties that shape our collective existence revolve around significant events, encompassing a wide range of occurrences from competitions, celebrations, and festivals to environmental catastrophes, pandemics, and terror attacks. The media play a vital role in facilitating the planning, allocation of resources, and dissemination of essential information required for the successful execution of large-scale events. Moreover, they serve as repositories for preserving the traces of these historical moments. In essence, large-scale and collective events have been, and continue to be, intricately mediated.

Since the nineteenth-century industrialization, Media and Events in History has explored the profound transformation of contemporary life into a realm saturated with events. It delves into the intricate mechanisms that have shaped these events, encompassing extensive infrastructures, sophisticated forms of control and anticipation, captivating attention and engagement, the emergence of contingency and transformation, and the interconnections between past and future. By synthesizing insights from history, media studies, philosophy, and the social sciences, Ytreberg conducts a comprehensive survey of the rise of event-planning through mediation, unveiling the historical forces that have given rise to "media events," "global 'mega-events," and "pseudo-events."

This enlightening book holds immense value for students specializing in media studies, history, historical sociology, and cultural history, as well as for the broader readership. It sheds light on the significance of events throughout history, offering a fresh perspective on our collective past and shaping our understanding of the world.

Weight: 442g
Dimension: 158 x 235 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781509545407