Media prophet, reloaded
If you want to understand the present and help shape the future, you need to know the past.
If you want to understand the present and help shape the future, you need to know the past, especially in a scientific and industrial sector that is as dynamic and powerful as the media. This is why Marshall McLuhan is a must-read - for budding journalism students as well as mature managers. 40 years have passed since the Canadian communication theorist coined and described the term "global village" in his "Understanding Media". As a reminder, the start of the PC revolution at the beginning of the 1980s marks almost exactly the halfway point between McLuhan's far-sighted hypothesis and today's reality.
However, the re-edition of his magnum opus also provides an opportunity to re-evaluate his cultural pessimism. Or does your company now only have remote-controlled, will-less creatures running through the corridors controlled by "palm-sized electronic devices"? No? Then congratulations on your cell phone ban. (oc)
> Understanding Media. The Extensions of Man by Marshall McLuhan. Routledge Classics, London 2003. 392 pages, 37.90 Fr.
However, the re-edition of his magnum opus also provides an opportunity to re-evaluate his cultural pessimism. Or does your company now only have remote-controlled, will-less creatures running through the corridors controlled by "palm-sized electronic devices"? No? Then congratulations on your cell phone ban. (oc)
> Understanding Media. The Extensions of Man by Marshall McLuhan. Routledge Classics, London 2003. 392 pages, 37.90 Fr.
