Misunderstanding Media (Routledge Library Editions: Cultural Studies)

The 1980s saw constant reports of an information revolution. This book, first published in 1986, challenges this view. It argues that the information revolution is an illusion, a rhetorical gambit, an expression of profound historical ignorance, and a movement dedicated to purveying misunderstanding and disseminating disinformation. In this historically based attack on the information revolution, Professor Winston takes a had look at the four central information technologies ? telephones, television, computers and satellites. He describes how these technologies were created and diffused, showing that instead of revolution we just have ?business as usual?. He formulates a ?law? of the suppression of radical potential ? a law which states that new telecommunication technologies are introduced into society only insofar as their disruptive potential is contained. Despite the so-called information revolution, the major institutions of society remain unchanged, and most of us remain in total ignorance of the history of technology.

• | Author: Brian Winston
• | Publisher: Routledge
• | Publication Date: Mar 27, 2018
• | Number of Pages: 424 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 1138699993
• | ISBN-13: 9781138699991