Shifts in Classic Theories of Mass Communication. The Sensitivity towards Propaganda

Abstract

Mass communication theories, developed in the 20th century in the US, are often represented in university programs as a linear progression towards increasingly rigorous and objective knowledge, whilst significant theoretical ruptures and historiographical complexities are elided. The present article focuses on the paradigm shift, emphasizing that they constitute not merely the evolution of scientific knowledge, but realignments of political interests, relations of power, and social knowledge. The article addresses a gap in Bulgarian media studies by examining revisionist scholars who challenge the field’s received history and critique the classical “limited effects” paradigm, as well as the existing “communication models”. The social impact of theoretical shifts is examined through tracing the significance of the concept of “propaganda” over time. Research into mass communication began with this very concept, yet by mid-century the latter had vanished from scholarly view, only to be rediscovered today in a transformed social context. These shifts are far from coincidental.