ABSTRACT
Unlike in other countries, the new media diversification in West Germany began relatively late. New technologies had already started to spread in many Western societies, for example in the United States, Britain, Belgium, and the Netherlands, in the early 1970s. Their actual introduction in West Germany, however, did not commence before the early 1980s. Cable television, in particular, was accompanied by heavy public discussions about its advantages and dangers (see chap. 9 in this volume). On the other hand, the spread of VCRs has been an almost noiseless process, rarely accompanied by political comments.
