A historical account of the hypodermic model in mass communication

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 ofhistoriography 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. S CHOLARS in mass communication have begun recently to argue over what, at first observation, seems to be a somewhat curious concern: the field’s history. In simple terms the argument considers the extent to which the field’s received or assumed history is accurate. Advocates for the received view assert that research and theorizing about mass communication have progressed from the powerful media-direct effects model to a limited effects model that emphasizes intervening variables such as cultural background and personal characteristics. Those who view the media