Inside - Outside: Web History and the Ambivalent Relationship Between Old and New Media.

Oggolder, C. (2012). Inside - Outside: Web History and the Ambivalent Relationship Between Old and New Media.. Historical Social Research , 37(4), 134-149.

Abstract: The paper argues that that the societal perception of the web and its changes throughout the course of time form a relevant part of web history. Moreover, the particular perception of the web is affected to a large extent by the traditional media and the way it is perceived within society has been changing through the course of time. Against this background the study analyses the content of traditional media, i.e. newspapers and journals, dealing with this topic on a historical basis. The results of the study foster the assumption that – at least in Germany – traditional media coverage on the Internet and digital media, today on social media too, is strongly influenced by a competition between the old and the new media. At the same time the results of the Austrian data show a more neutral attitude against the web. In order to assess these differences, further international comparative studies are needed.