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The Idea of Communication in the Writings of Select British Mass Communication Scholars

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The Idea of Communication in the Writings of Select British Mass Communication Scholars 78-5825 CHENEY, Michael Robert, 1952- THE IDEA OF COMMUNICATION IN THE WRITINGS OF SELECT BRITISH MASS COMMUNICATION SCHOLARS. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1977 Mass Communications University Microfilms International,Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 @ Copyright by Michael Robert Cheney 1977 THE IDEA OF COMMUNICATION IN THE WRITINGS OF SELECT BRITISH MASS COMMUNICATION SCHOLARS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Req^ Iremer.ts for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School cf The Ohio State University By Michael Robert Cheney B.S., M.S. ***** The Ohio State University 1977 Reading Committee: Approved by Prof. Robert Monaghan Prof. Robert Wagner 1/ Prof. James Golden I r" XAJL // J j. Prof. Paul Peterson 1^1 Department of Communicati/n ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Robert Monaghan, my advisor and friend, for his help, his encouragement, and his belief in not only .this study, but also my entire doctoral studies program. I would also like to thank Professors James Golden and Robert Wagner for their criticism and comments which have'helped, not forced, me to learn and grow intellectually. Further, a very important thanks gees to Professor Paul Peterson, who helped this study to be defended and completed. Finally, I would like to especially thank my best friend and wife, Karen, for her unending support and understanding of my entire graduate career. As I worried and pondered, she shared my frustrations and anxiety. And as I struggled to come to grips with this study, she was always ready to help and understand. Her contributions are immeasurable and in many ways this study is as much the result of her efforts, as it is of mine. VITA January 8, 1952 .... Born - Jacksonville, North Carolina 1973 ............... B.S., University o£ Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 1973-75 ............. Teaching Assistant, Department of Radio and Television, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois * 1976 . •............... M.S., University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 1975-77 ........ Teaching Associate, Department of Communication, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio PUBLICATION Michael R. Cheney and Jane Broderck Anziano, "An Approach to Conflict and Its Management,” Small Group Communication: Selected Readings, Revised Edition, ed. Victor D. Wall, Jr. (Columbus, Ohio: Collegiate Publishing, Inc., 1976). FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Mass Communication Studies in Mass Communication Professor Robert Wagner Studies in Methodology Professor Robert Monaghan Studies in Rhetoric Professor James Golden Studies in Communication Theory Professor Victor Wall, Jr. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.................................. ii VITA ............................................. iii- TABLE OF CONTENTS................................ iv-v INTRODUCTION...................................... 1 PART I Chapter I. THE NATURE OF THE S T U D Y .................... 5 The Need for Synthesis................... 8 The Importance of British Mass Communication Research.............................. 19 The Historical/Critical Approach ......... 23 Conclusion.............................. 27 II. THE HISTORY OF MASS COMMUNICATION RESEARCH IN GREAT BRITAIN........................... 31 The Early Work: 1957-1963 ............ 32 The Television Research Committee:1963-1969 ‘ 47 Recent Work: 1969-1976 ............... 76 Conclusion........................... 101 PART II III. THE IDEA OF COMMUNICATION IN THE WRITINGS OF RAYMOND WILLIAMS....................... 112 Williams' Life Work ........... 112 The Idea of Communication............. 127 Summary.............................. 139 IV. THE IDEA OF COMMUNICATION IN THE WRITINGS OF JAMES HALLORAN....................... 143 The Writings of James Halloran........ 144 The Idea of Communication........... 154 Summary............................ 166 iv V. THE IDEA OF COMMUNICATION IN THE WRITINGS OF DENIS MCQUAIL ........................ 171 The Major Work of Denis McQuail......... 172 The Idea of Communication............... 180 Summary................................ 196 PART III VI. TOWARDS A COLLECTIVE IDEA OF COMMUNICATION IN THE WRITINGS OF SELECT BRITISH MASS COMMUNICATION SCHOLARS ................. 202 Influences and Themes ......... 202 The Idea of Communication............. 208 Conclusion.......................... 220 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................ 224 v INTRODUCTION This is a study of three British mass communication scholars and their idea of communication. As such, this work will present an his­ torical and critical analysis of British mass communication research to articulate the basic theory or idea of communication in this research. However, one cannot easily introduce British mass communication ♦ research with a series of simple statements. Each scholar's work has a richness and a texture that can be readily distorted and misun­ derstood without careful and somewhat more specific study. In many way it is necessary to study the work of a scholar as one would study the work of a fine painter, attempting to understand the subtleties and intricacies of the work. Consequently, this study is divided into three major parts. Part One will provide the broad perspective for the study in two chap­ ters. Chapter I will offer a rationale for this study by specifying why theoretical synthesis is important to the study of communication, why British mass communication scholars and their research are worthy of such a study, and how one methodologically approaches a body of research to articulate an idea of communication. Chapter II will present a history of research in mass communication in Great Britain to give the reader an understanding of the development of such research Part Two will take a close look at three representative mass communication scholars in Great Britain. Chapter III will discuss Raymond Williams, who represents the major proponent of a cultural approach to communication; Chapter IV will analyze James Halloran, who was the major figure in the Television Research Committee's inves­ tigation of mass communication in Great Britain; and Chapter V will study Denis McQuail, who is a major figure in the "uses and gratif­ ication" approach to mass communication. In each chapter in Part Two, the individual scholar's intellectual development, as well as his idea of communication, will be articulated. Part Three will summarize the various scholars' work, as well as incorporate some of the work of individuals who were not discussed in Part Two. The purpose of this synthesis in Chapter VI is to develop and clarify the basic idea of communication which informs British mass communication research. Like much of the work in the sociology of knowledge, this study is a mental map of an intellectual terrain, a terrain that this author has travelled for several years without the benefit of other maps or directions. This study is also the record of this author's journey through this terrain, a record which undoubtedly has its omissions and imperfections, but a record nonetheless which is given to make other journeys more fruitful. No scholar's preference is exactly like another's; consequently, the tone of this study is one of sharing. As such, all that is asked of the reader is that he allow the ideas presented here to have a chance at being understood. The reader who is intrigued, may wish to pursue the point back to its source to further enrich his understanding. Where the reader is somewhat reluctant to accept a particular point, he is once again encouraged to seek out the specific work to further understand the reasoning behind the position. Whatever the case, this study is a communication, a response to a particular state of affairs, a response to which the reader, the recipient of this commun­ ication, is encouraged to respond. PART I CHAPTER I THE NATURE OF THE STUDY Mass communication scholarship in Great Britain is one of the most quantitatively and qualitatively viable research traditions in the world. Quantitatively, the viability is in the number of studies, scholars and institutions involved with mass communication. In a little over twenty years the number of studies conducted in mass communication has increased ten-fold. In a little over twenty years the number of scholars in mass communication has risen from around a dozen to well over one hundred. In a little over twenty years the research which was previously carried out by a couple of colleges and universities is now carried out by over two dozen colleges and univer­ sities. Thus, in a little over twenty years, research in Great Britain has shown a strong quantitative viability. Qualitatively, the viability of research in mass communication is based on developments and improvements made on the past work of other research traditions. Specifically, despite the increasing num­ ber of studies, research during this twenty year period continued to take an interdisciplinary approach with psychology, political science, education, sociology and literary criticism all using and interrelating each other's work. Consequently, mass communication research in Great Britain has taken a broad, cultural approach to communication, quite in contrast to the general reductionist view of communication that characterizes the study of mass communication in the Uinted States.* Further, unlike most research which is confined to scholarly journals and discussion, research in Great Britain has played a part in the pub» lie policy-making process. Along this line, one of the major factors in the rapid increase in mass communication studies
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