Journalists' histories of journalism : Britain since the 1950s
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Media History
Publication Date
9-17-2012
Volume
18
Issue
3-4
First Page
327
Last Page
340
Publisher
Routledge
Keywords
historiography of journalism, Hugh Cudlipp, Phillip Knightley, Francis Williams, Matthew Engel, Andrew Marr
Abstract
Journalism history, like media history, is an impressively interdisciplinary field in which historians, literary critics, sociologists, philosophers, and communication scholars regularly engage each other’s work. Yet journalism is also rare in the extent to which practitioners have written farranging histories of their own profession. Examining five well-known histories written by journalists practicing in Britain*Francis Williams, Phillip Knightley, Hugh Cudlipp, Matthew Engel, and Andrew Marr*it argues that even if their methodologies differ from those of academics, their contributions should be taken seriously both as secondary literature and as primary sources for our understanding of the changing culture of journalism in modern Britain. In particular, they give us insight into journalists’ ongoing attempts to define their own profession and genre against the backdrop of journalism’s ever-changing material context.
DOI
10.1080/13688804.2012.722272
Print ISSN
13688804
E-ISSN
14699729
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2012 Taylor & Francis
Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Hampton, M. A. (2012). Journalists' histories of journalism: Britain since the 1950s. Media History, 18(3-4), 327-340. doi: 10.1080/13688804.2012.722272