Censorship and Freedom of the Press
Wilke, Jürgen
Central Europe
Southern Europe
Eastern Europe
Western Europe
Education, Sciences
Politics
Social Matters, Society
Law, Constitution
Media, Communication
070
323
342
Censorship as a means of controlling communication has existed since classical antiquity. However, it became significantly more important in the early modern period with the invention of printing, which enabled the easy reproduction of texts in large quantities. Initially, it was the church which imposed censorship, though institutions of the state soon became involved as well. In the 17th century, the campaign against censorship and for freedom of the press began in England, where substantial success was achieved as early as 1695. In France and Germany, on the other hand, freedom of the press was not achieved until (considerably) later. Temporary progress was repeatedly followed by backlashes. In the 20th century, the newly emerging media (film, radio, and television) also became subject to censorship and control measures, and modern totalitarian regimes engaged in the massive suppression of freedom of expression in these media. In European history, censorship was not only used as a means of political, intellectual and cultural control within the state, but was also used to prevent the cross-border transfer of information and ideas deemed unwelcome. Freedom of the press, on the other hand, opened the gates for transfer of this kind. However, a paradox existed in this regard: For a long time, state authorities allowed political newspapers to report on events abroad (indeed these reports formed a large part of the content) precisely because they distracted from domestic political circumstances.
IEG(http://www.ieg-mainz.de)
Christina Müller
Jürgen Wilke
Niall Williams
2013-05-08
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EGO(http://www.ieg-ego.eu)
en
1450-1990
Central Europe
Southern Europe
Eastern Europe
Western Europe
© Jürgen Wilke