The Function Of Newspapers In Society: A Global Perspective [Hardcover]

The demise of the newspaper has long been predicted. Yet newspapers continue to survive globally despite competition from radio, television, and now the Internet, because they serve core social functions in successful cultures. Initial chapters of this book provide an overview of the development of modern newspapers. Subsequent chapters examine particular societies and geographic regions to see what common traits exist among the uses and forms of newspapers and those artifacts that carry the name newspaper but do not meet the commonly accepted definition. The conclusion suggests that newspapers are of such core value to a successful society that a timely and easily accessible news product will succeed despite, or perhaps because of, changes in reading habits and technology.

SHANNON E. MARTIN is Professor of Journalism at the University of Maine. She is the Author ofBits, Bytes and Big Brother: Federal Information Control in the Technological Age(Praeger, 1995) andNewspapers of Record in a Digital Age: From Hot Type to Hot Link(Praeger, 1998),

DAVID A. COPELAND is the A. J. Fletcher Professor of Communication at Elon University. A past president of the American Journalism Historians Association, he was named Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Virginia Professor of the Year in 1998.

Foreword by John Merrill
Introduction by Shannon E. Martin
Newspaper History Traditions by Shannon R. Martin
Arab Cultures and Newapapers by William A. Rugh
African Continent Cultures and Newspapers by W. Joseph Campbell
Asian Cultures and Newspapers by Bradley Hamm
Pacific Rim Cultures and Newspapers by Rod Kirkpatrick
Newspapers in Europe Before 1500 by Ralph Frasca
Newspapers in Europe After 1500 by Tamara Baldwin
Newspapers in the Americas by David A. Copeland
Newspapers in the 20th Century by Tracy Gottlieb
American Daily Newspaper Evolution by Donald Shaw and Charles McKenzie
Conclusion by Shannon E. Mals+