April 4, 2008

In 2008, Is the Medium Still the Message?

By HENRY JENKINS

Marshall McLuhan represents an icon in media studies — an early but still powerful example of what it means to be a public intellectual in our field. McLuhan spoke regularly to the press, industry, and policy makers; he collaborated with artists; he became a reference point in popular culture (Playboy, Annie Hall, the TV show Laugh In); and he developed his own communications network through newsletters and recordings of his lectures. McLuhan achieved this primarily through deft