Communication Studies in Europe

There is an abundance of literature published on the history of communication studies in Europe, in a number of countries and taking various approaches. However, more pan-European initiatives to take stock of earlier activities in the field are still seriously lacking, and even when recognized as such, almost without exception focus on the development of the field since the 1960s. In this article, Gazette’s 50th anniversary is embraced as an opportunity to investigate the still incomplete genealogy of the European institutionalization of research in the field of communication. In line with this journal’s raison d’etre, existing literature about the activities in the field during the 1950s is made available to a wider audience.