This is an online bibliography of books, articles, dissertations, and other academic resources in the field of Mass Communication History, mostly in the United States.  Although it is by no means complete or exhaustive, it does contain many of the most frequently cited resources in a variety of research areas as well as many important older texts.  It is regularly updated to include recently published material.  Some categories are noticeably more complete than others, which is largely due to my own personal research interests and time constraints.  It is a work in progress and the goal is to provide, over time, a current and comprehensive listing of the most important and useful works across the breadth of this wide-ranging field of study and to suggest resources for scholars engaging in historical research in journalism and mass communication.  Approximately 4800 titles are listed at this time and new entries are added on a regular basis.  Please contact the editor with suggestions or to point out errors.

Citations are categorized somewhat idiosyncratically and users should look in multiple sections of this site to find all of the sources relevant to their research projects.

For more information about me, see my personal site.

Site updated March 24, 2024. The page on film history is undergoing a substantial reorganization and few citations are currently listed. The sections for Radio, Television, and Magazines are also scheduled for reorganization in the near future.

Textbooks and General Histories of JournalismBiography and MemoirsBibliographies and Reference Books
Women in Mass CommunicationJournalism and PoliticsThe Media and the Presidency
Religion and Mass MediaPrint Culture, Reading, Books, and LiteracyTrans-Atlantic Influences in Journalism History
Colonial America and the Revolutionary WarThe Early Republic and Rise of the Party PressThe Penny Press and Antebellum Journalism
Abolitionist PressThe Civil War and ReconstructionLate 19th-Century Journalism
Literary JournalismEthnic/Language Minority Broadcasting and PressPost Office
Regional and Local JournalismProgressive Era America and the MuckrakersPropaganda, Public Diplomacy, and National Security
Labor/Radical/LGBTQ+/Underground JournalismSensationalism, Tabloids, Gossip, and Celebrity JournalismFreedom of Expression and Media Law
News Services and SyndicatesHistories of Individual NewspapersMagazines
The Telegraph and CablesPrinting Technology, Paper, Layout and DesignSports Journalism
Sound Technology, the Music Industry, and Cultural Studies of Music HistoryMass Media and Historical MemoryMass Media in Wartime: 1898 to Present
Press CriticismInternational Reporting/ Coverage of Foreign NewsEarly 20th Century Journalism
Trade Associations, Professionalization, Ethics, Journalism EducationMass Media and Mass CultureCommunication Technology in History
FilmPhotography and PhotojournalismPrints, Illustrations, Editorial Cartoons, and Comics
Advertising, Mass Markets, and Consumer CultureCollected Columns, Editorials, and Essays by JournalistsJournalism in the 1940s and 1950s
Government Investigations, Oversight, and Regulation of BroadcastingRadioTelevision
Communications and the Postwar Freedom StruggleJournalism and the Recent Past: The 1960s and BeyondPublic Relations

Copyright Robert A. Rabe (2024)