A historical account of the hypodermic model in mass communication

Abstract

This essay examines a dispute over the history of mass communication research by focusing on different accounts of the hypodermic model in mass communication literature. The essay argues that attention to the processes of historiography can help to explain how different conceptions of the hypodermic model, and different conceptions of the field's history, are embraced and articulated. Different conceptions of the history of mass communication research are related to different ideological, theoretical, and methodological commitments. The essay demonstrates that how one articulates the history of mass communication research has significant implications for how one understands and studies the media.