ABSTRACT
In this chapter the authors briefly describe the historic development of research on media effects by highlighting various theories of media effects and categorizing them according to their underlying epistemologies. They start with the question as to what communication originally meant across academia and point to the most important historical phases in communication research. They conclude with a discussion of whether media effects still exist in today’s media-saturated world, and, if so, what kind of effect media may have in this world of ubiquitous media use.
