ABSTRACT
One of the spurs to undertake this project was the thought that radical mass media criticism is almost as old as the mass media. Whether or not they derived their positions from Marx's insights or elsewhere, in every decade of the twentieth century major social critics and cultural analysts had formulated fundamental critiques of the role played by the mass media. Yet the significance, substance and implications of this were neglected. Doubtless the media themselves were actively involved in the maintenance of the muted reaction. As the Norwegian historian Hans Fredrik Dahl has said:
Academic writing around this subject also remains fragmented. Mattelart observes that the sociology of communications is 'far from having thrown itself into the cross-fertilising approach', stating:
Likewise, Vogel and Engell point out: 'Mediology is still in the process of constituting itself. A history of mediology has thus not yet been written, and will for the time being remain unwritten' (Pias et al. 1999:8-9. Translation JT).
