The Global Panoply of Propaganda-Press Cultures: Expanding International Journalism History

Abstract

More than two decades after journalism historians proposed an international or global turn in how to study the interconnected histories of journalism and information cultures, much has been achieved. This essay is an invitation to scrutinize the relationship between propaganda and journalism history more fully, specifically, by exploring the intellectual, cultural, and global dimensions of press-propaganda activities during wars and democratic crises. Building on ongoing work to internationalize the field of journalism history, future scholarship could analyze the multidirectional flows of global information; how journalists work as propagandists both willingly and unwillingly; how reporters expose lies, half-truths, or circumvent censorship; how communities engage in counterpropaganda via the press; and the role of visual narratives in modern media. This essay draws on findings from international and transnational press-propaganda scholarship and offers methodological considerations for researching and writing that history.