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

Share

COinS