Forgotten Histories: Another Road Not Taken-The Charles Merriam-Walter Lippmann Correspondence

Abstract

As part of the recent recovery of forgotten histories of early media research in the United States, this article examines a correspondence between Chicago political scientist and Social Science Research Council (SSRC) founder, Charles E. Merriam, and journalist Walter Lippmann. The correspondence indicates that media and communication research was a significant constituent of Merriam's original vision for the SSRC. The 1921–1927 correspondence describes this vision; it also suggests that the formative idea for the SSRC was profoundly influenced by Lippmann's Public Opinion (1922), especially the final chapter on “Organized Intelligence.”

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