AR - Media

2009/2010

AR - Media

Fischer-Lexikon Publizistik, Massenkommunikation [Fischer Lexicon of Journalism and Mass Communication]. Ed. Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, Winfried Schulz, and Jürgen Wilke. Updated, completely rev. and expanded ed. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, 2009. 861 p. ill. 19 cm. (Fischer- Taschenbücher, 18192). ISBN 978-3-596-18192-6: EUR 16.95

This is the fourth major revision of this well-known reference work since its original publication in 1971, the last having occurred in 2002 (see RREA 8:60). Its theoretical direction remains true to earlier editions‘ focus on an empirical, social-scientific approach to the field; there are no media studies or media theory here. This revision, unlike earlier ones, made no changes to the number of entries. Most of the 22 encyclopedic articles are now longer, with the most additional material found in the entries on „Forms of Journalistic Representation“ and „Multimedia/Online Media.“ Facts in the more quantitative articles have been brought up to date, and the empirical, analytical, or theoretical entries have been updated with new, international studies. Still, much of the 93 „added“ pages in this edition can be accounted for by typographical changes and a longer bibliography. Twelve percent of the titles listed in the bibliography were published after the 2002 edition. This title is recommended for all libraries. [wub/rb]

Das Medien-Lexikon: die wichtigsten Fachbegriffe aus Print, Radio, TV und Internet [The Media Dictionary: Key Professional Terms from Print, Radio, TV, and the Internet]. Ed. Anja Kühner and Michael Schmuck. 3d updated ed. Remagen: Verlag Rommerskirchen, 2008. 324 p. ill. 19 cm. (Edition Journalist, 3). ISBN 978-3-937099-14-9: EUR 24.90

This dictionary first appeared, under a slightly different title, in 2000, was reprinted in 2001, and was reviewed in this RREA 7:58. The journalism trade press Rommerskirchen has taken over publication from the Verlag Moderne Industrie and has revised this book.

Despite this transition and the change of one of the authors, the work does not feel very different. Up to 10 percent of the approximately 2,000 entries, mainly words related to technological changes, are new in this edition. About three percent of the entries have been changed. No entries were removed. Illustrations are still scarce but slightly less so than before. The bibliography has actually been reduced to 17 items, and the address list of media organizations was eliminated entirely, based on the editors‘ contention that such information is now easily accessed on the Internet.

In contrast to the prior revision, which attempted to reach out more to advertisers, this edition is focused mainly on an audience of journalists, journalism students, and media people who have entered the field from another branch, who need quick, practical information. The dictionary is surely useful for this purpose, but unfortunately it lacks „links“ to more extensive information. [wub/rb]

Das Jahrhundert der Bilder [The Century of Pictures]. Ed. Gerhard Paul. 2 vols. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008-2009. 822, 798 p. ill. 27 cm. ISBN 978-3-525-30011-4 (vol. 1): EUR 39.90; ISBN 978-3-525-30012-1 (vol. 2): EUR 39.90

This work is primarily an overview of key pictures pertaining to the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, arranged chronologically. The work is divided into two volumes, 1900-1949 and 1949 to the present. The pictures include photographs by professionals and amateurs, posters, screenshots from films and television programs, and pictures from Internet sites, covering a wide variety of topics. Each picture is accompanied by a substantial entry, written by a respected scholar, which provides background information about the picture and explains its significance in 20th- or 21st-century history. There are some cross references among the explanatory texts. These volumes will appeal to a wide variety of readers. [wub/ldl]

Deutsches Fernsehen Ost: eine Programmgeschichte des DDR-Fernsehens [German Television East: A Programming History of GDR Television]. Ed. Rüdiger Steinmetz and Reinholf Viehoff for the DFG-Forschergruppe „Programmgeschichte des DDR-Fernsehens.“ Berlin: Verlag für Berlin- Brandenburg, 2008. 607 p. ill. 24 cm. + DVD. ISBN 978-3-86650-488-2: EUR 39.95

This publication is an overview of the findings of 10 research projects on East German television broadcasting funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and conducted at four universities in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 2001-2007. The topic is of particular interest, because East German television programming was inextricably tied to the political and social history of the GDR. The projects divided the study into 10 subtopics and genres, including the historic, cultural, political, and technical aspects of program development; the reception of GDR television; television drama; documentaries; sports shows; family series; and children‘s television. Much of the research was based on materials held at the Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv [German Broadcasting Archive] in Babelsberg, including recordings of broadcasts, interviews, archival materials, and secondary literature. The research was conducted by approximately 40 researchers (who are listed by project in the back of the book) and an unknown number of student workers. The text is attributed to 33 contributors who are listed in alphabetical order at the front of the book, making it difficult to decipher who is responsible for which part of it.

The 10 subtopics are covered within a chronological framework of GDR television broadcasting history, starting in 1952 with an early experimental phase, moving to the established era in the 1960s, differentiation and diversification in the 1970s, assimilation and internationalization in the early 1980s, stagnation and ambivalence in the later 1980s, and, with democratization, re-evaluation and a new beginning from 1989-1991. The text is accompanied by a DVD with 54 chronologically arranged clips from television shows (totaling 163 minutes), which successfully serve to illustrate the text. The index also serves as an inventory of 1,000+ titles of television programs. This is followed by an extensive bibliography that includes over 40 theses resulting from the research projects, albeit not separately. Despite an apparent desire to reach a broad readership (evident in the inclusion of illustrations and the subheadings), the scholarly background of this publication remains obvious. The most significant contributions of the book are the detailed discussions of the genres and the placing of DDR television programming in historical perspective. For a complimentary publication covering West Germany, see Geschichte des Fernsehens in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (München, 1993) and Geschichte des deutschen Fernsehens (Stuttgart, 1998—see IFB 99-1/4-128). [wub/rg]

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