MO3319 Media and Politics in Britain, 1850-1939

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Module description

This module will examine the role of the media - primarily the press, news agencies and broadcasting - in the developing political culture in Britain from the mid-nineteenth century to the coming of the Second World War. In this period the British press and later the BBC, is widely believed to have exercised a degree of political influence not seen either before or since. The module will evaluate the formulation and construction of new political, social and cultural concepts during a period of rapid and continuous change. In part this was the result of fundamental changes transforming society and the economy such as the rise of assertive imperialism, the growth of universal franchise and literacy, the impact of the First World War, long term economic decline, and changing attitudes toward the people - the reading, listening, voting and consuming public. These changes acted simultaneously on the media and political worlds and necessitated reciprocal adjustment by both. Other changes, such as innovations in communication technology, impacted primarily upon the media and were responsible for changes in political practice.