Mediating Industrial Change : Discourses of De-Industrialisation from Northern Britain and Eastern Germany

This book sheds light on the process of deindustrialisation that has affected much of Western Europe for many years. It will interest scholars and upper-level students of media and cultural studies, communication studies, sociology, journalism, and political science.

Mediating Industrial Change sheds light on the process of deindustrialisation that has affected much of Western Europe for many years. The chapters in this volume explore the immense economic and social challenges, and how they are represented through media. Cumulatively the work explores these themes by comparing processes of (de-)industrialisation within the United Kingdom and Germany – two European nations that were at the forefront of industrial development before undergoing a decline in manufacturing, mining and heavy industries which fundamentally transformed their economic and social landscapes. The chapters take a multi-perspectival look at the two nations’ industrial transformations: from the role of mass media in shaping public discourse around industrial change, to the lived experiences of communities navigating these new realities and the dominant public narratives. Bringing the two perspectives together in an interdisciplinary dialogue, the work demonstrates why deindustrialisation is one of the great challenges of our time. This volume will interest scholars and upper-level students of media and cultural studies, communication studies, sociology, journalism, and political science.