The international study of the history of the newspaper press has received boosts through two recent developments.
In the Federal Republic of Germany, the newly formed Arbeitskreis für die Frühgeschichte der Presse (Working Group for the Early History of the Press) held its first meeting at Meersburg September 10-14, 1984. Under the leadership of Dr. Martin Welke, a member of the Deutsche Presseforschung at the University of Bremen Library, this group has been formed to promote research and the exchange of information about the history of the newspaper press prior to 1820.
Participants in the conference included historians, librarians, archivists, and independent scholars from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Poland, the Netherlands, and the United States. Among the points discussed were problems involving locating printed and archival sources for press history, the preconditions for the development of the press, newspaper production methods and content, the press in various national contexts, and the reception and impact of the press.
The Arbeitskreis has tentatively planned a second meeting to be held in Meersburg in October 1986, with pa pers devoted to the development of the journalistic profession. Would-be participants should contact Dr. Martin Welke, Paschenburgstrasse 23, 2800-Bremen 1, Federal Republic of Germany. Conference proceedings will be in German, but contributions dealing with the press in any country are welcome.
Among the participants at the recent Meersburg conference was Jeremy Popkin, a member of the history department at the University of Kentucky.
In the United Kingdom, the Journal of Newspaper and Periodical History has been founded under the editorship of Michael Harris of the University of London.
A prospectus announces that the publication will serve persons with a professional or academic interest in press history from the seventeenth to the twentieth century and those concerned with the organization and utilization of newspapers and periodical collections. The emphasis will be on publications from English-speaking countries, at least at first.
The first issue was scheduled to appear in September 1984. Inquiries about subscriptions or submission of articles may be addressed to the editor at 62 Queen’s Grove, London NW8 6ER, England.
