Conf: Täuschend echt. Falschmeldungen und Fakes, 1835-1938 (Cologne, 21-22 Sept 17)

Philosophicum
Universität zu Köln, Raum 3.229
21.-22. September 2017

PD Dr. Volker Barth; Dr. Michael Homberg

Much has been written about the genesis, meaning and spreading news in the 19th and 20th century, especially in the area of ​​media studies. And although numerous studies about different types of media during the turn of the century are available,
studies on the origin, function and effect of false reports and
fake news remain a desideratum. While the establishment of a journalistic codex for reliable news content are always mentioned as a central element of the development
of modern journalism, fake news have for the longest time been dismissed as negligible moments of failure.

The starting point of this conference will be to address the media’s prerequisites, socio-economic conditions and work-related production processes of false reports and fake news. The aim is to investigate the value and importance of such news for the formation of modern communications. The period investigated starts with the first mass pages and the Illustrated Press to the beginnings of the film and the radio – from Edgar Allan Poe’s “Hoaxes” of the 1830s to Orson Welles’ 1938 radio play “War of the Worlds”.

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Source: HSOZKULT