Power of the Media, History of Mass Media Study
Frankfurt School, Hypodermic Needle Theory, M Horkheimer et al
Nov 6, 2009
The 'Hypodermic Needle Theory' was the first major study to attempt an analysis of the emerging power of the media and originated in 1930s Frankfurt. This theory is also known as the Magic Bullet or the Transmission Model.
Max Horkheimer was the principal academic of the Frankfurt School, in the 1930s and also Head of School. Some other notable academics originating from the school have been Theodor Adorno, Erich Fromm.
Hypodermic Needle Theory of Media Power
The theory was based upon behavioural studies carried out by Frankfurt University, which was at the time populated by a number of Jewish academics and students. Fortunately, members of the Frankfurt School managed to transfer out of Germany, firstly to Geneva and from there to the United States prior to the onset of World War II.
The Hypodermic Needle Theory itself was based very much upon theories surrounding Marxist sociology, Freudian psychoanalysis and critical philisophy. Major influences being the works of Weber, Freud and Kant. Lasswell's study of British propaganda in World War I also influenced the study.
Of course for Horkheimer's team the place and period in which they were working was directly linked to the emergence of the mass dissemination of propaganda by the German media. Goebbel's, and also Hitler, relied very much upon Lasswell's publication for much of the propaganda they distributed in Germany throughout the1930s.
Explanation of the Frankfurt School's Theory on Media Power
The basic explanation of the theory is that intended messages sent by the media are directly received and wholly accepted by the receiver. The passive viewer/reader/listener, believed to be almost sheeplike in nature, is immediately influenced by the message.
With the rise of communications by radio and cinema, and the start of TV broadcasting, it is easy to see that this theory was based on the origins of what is now termed the mass media. Certainly, the explanation of the Hypodermic Needle Theory in its crudest state is very reminiscent of the propaganda initiatives by Big Brother in the Orwellian fantasy 1984, which Orwell wrote after World War II. Indeed with the World Wars and the interwar period encompassing the rise of fascism, communism and the Spanish Civil War, it is hardly surprising that academics and novelists shared similar beliefs.
Theories on Media Power
Whilst the Hypodermic Needle Theory was quickly discredited by further research studies of the mass media, which cited lack of empirical research and that the theory had been based on sociological assumptions regarding human nature, this theory does still have value and worth. Indeed, there are many academics today who query the values of some research methodology, particularly questionnaire based research.
Academics from the Frankfurt School have found their theories more widely accepted within the field of modern psychology. However, it has to be stated that modern media researchers could very easily argue and prove that the power of the media today, whilst not perhaps involving the immediate acceptance and beliefs indicative of the hypodermic needle simile, could very well be compared to the intravenous drip. Media power now tends to involve a slow but pervasive dissemination of organisational beliefs, values and propaganda.
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