Denis McQuail (12 April 1935, London – 25 June 2017)"Prof. dr. D. McQuail, 1935 -," at ''Album Academicum'' website, University of Amsterdam. was a British communication theorist, Emeritus Professor at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

, considered one of the most influential scholars in the field of mass communication studies.

Biography

Denis McQuail was born in Wallington, London on 12 April 1935 to Irish immigrant parents Annie (née Mullan) and Christopher McQuail. After schooling at St Anselm's college in Birkenhead, where he showed an aptitude for languages, he spent his national service in the Intelligence Corps learning Russian and studied history at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. McQuail obtained his BA in Modern History from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in 1958, and the next year his MA in Public and Social Administration. He obtained his PhD in social studies from the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

in 1967 with the thesis, entitled ''Factors affecting public interest in television plays''. McQuail started his academic career in the UK. On 1 August 1977, he was appointed Professor at the

, where on 6 November 1978 he spoke the inaugural lecture, entitled "The historicity of a science of mass media: time, place, circumstances and the effects of mass communication." After his early retirement on 1 January 1997, he was appointed Emeritus Professor. He was also visiting professor in the Department of Politics at the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

. The Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR) established the Denis McQuail Award in his honour which is awarded each year to the best article advancing communication theory since 2006.ASCoR McQuail Award
, ascor.uva.nl; accessed 1 July 2017.

Work

Publications

McQuail published extensively in the field of political communication and communication theory. Best known is his contribution to the education of the public, concerning

communication theory Communication theory is a proposed description of communication phenomena, the relationships among them, a storyline describing these relationships, and an argument for these three elements. Communication theory provides a way of talking about a ...

. His work has centred on explaining communication theories and their applications. He is adamant about informing the public on the benefits and dangers of mass communication. In the early 1980s he and Dr.

Sven Windahl Sven Windahl (born May 1, 1942) is a Swedish professor of communication studies as well as a consultant in the field of organizational communication. His most influential work is the book ''Using Communication Theory'' from 1989, co-authored wit ...

published a book ''Communication Models''. The book details basic communication models ( Lasswell model, Shannon and Weaver's model, Gerbner's model), theories of media, audience-centered models, and mass media systems in general. In textbook style, the book outlines each topic: it is a compilation of existing communication theories with the author's own thoughts. McQuail's next book, ''Mass Communication Theory'', discusses in greater detail the

mass communication Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large population segments. It utilizes various forms of media as technology has made the dissemination of information more efficient. Primary examples o ...

concept. Specifically, it talks about the significance of mass media and how it affects the individual and society rather than focusing on the definitions of the models in general. "The three primary objectives: to update and take account of recent theory and research; enlargement, to reflect the continuing expansion of the field; clarification and improved presentation (pg. 13)". In Chapter 10, McQuail discusses the future of mass communication and states that it is either socially fragmenting or unifying. He makes several points on how the media needs to be socially responsible to be effective. The sequel was ''Media Performance'' (1992). In it, previous theories are taken more for granted, and applied. He discusses at length the importance of an informed public. He states that the more aware a public is, the less likely it will be affected by media. In 1993, communication scholars Denis McQuail and

referred to Lasswell's model as "perhaps the most famous single phrase in communication research." McQuail and Windahl also considered the model as a formula that would be transformed into a model once boxes were drawn around each element and arrows connected the elements. In 1995, Stanley Baran and Dennis Davis recognized it a verbal model of the communication process. In 2008, Greenberg and Salwen acknowledged that Lasswell's model of communication has been widely adopted, but expressed: "Although Lasswell's model draws attention to several key elements in the mass communication process, it does no more than describe general areas of study. It does not link elements together with any specificity, and there is no notion of an active process.

Freedom versus control

Denis McQuail believes the relations between media and society both have political and social-cultural aspects. Vital to the political aspect is the question of freedom and control.

The use and reception of media

McQuail makes special mention in ''Mass Communication Theory'' of the difficulty that surrounds identifying specific uses of media, as well as the difficulty of understanding the reception that any specific medium may have. McQuail uses the medium of the television as an example and notes that despite the many changes and extensions that the occurred, the television is still primarily seen as a medium of family entertainment.

Selected publications

* McQuail, Denis; ''Sociology of Mass Communications. Selected Readings'', 1972 * McQuail, Denis: ''Media Performance: Mass Communication and the Public Interest'', Sage: London, 1992 * McQuail, Denis and Karen Siune for the Euromedia Research Group (eds.): ''Media Policy: Convergence, Concentration and Commerce'', Sage: London, 1998 * McQuail, Denis (ed.): ''McQuail's Reader in Mass Communication Theory'', Sage: London, 2002 * McQuail, Denis: ''McQuail's Mass Communication Theory'', 2010 (sixth edition)

References

External links

Wiki.media-culture.org.au

"Perspectives on Mass Communication – A conversation with Denis McQuail"
, ''Ideas Roadshow'', 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:McQuail, Denis 1935 births 2017 deaths British technology writers Communication theorists Academic staff of the University of Amsterdam Alumni of the University of Leeds Academics from London Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford