'Understanding media': theories of the press in Britain, 1850-1914

This article examines the theories of the press that circulated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, relating them to their economic, political and intellectual contexts. It argues that elite discussions of the press of ten stood in for discussions of the changing relationship between the elite and popular classes. In the mid-19th century, an ideal of the press as an 'educational' agency predominated; the press should involve readers in a pu blic discussion that contributed to self-government. As the electorate and reading public expanded, this ideal began to decline and give way to an ide al of the press as 'representing' the people. In this formulation, the ordi nary reader was not credited with rational thinking, and instead of involvi ng readers in a public discussion, this theory proposed that newspapers sho uld speak for the readers.