[Ads-l] Update: The medium is the message (Marshall McLuhan, May 5, 1958)

Pete Morris mr_peter_morris at OUTLOOK.COM
Fri Sep 2 04:38:02 UTC 2022


I posted the same link twice by mistake.

Here's the link I meant to post for the second cite.

https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Proceedings_of_the_National_Conference_o/kl8sAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22the+medium+is+the+message%22&dq=%22the+medium+is+the+message%22&printsec=frontcover

Possibly 1957, usual caveats apply.


------ Original Message ------
>From "Pete Morris" <mr_peter_morris at OUTLOOK.COM>
To ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Date 02/09/2022 03:21:56
Subject Re: Update: The medium is the message (Marshall McLuhan, May 5, 
1958)

>Another cite, a few days later.  Article, or maybe a transcript of a speech by
>Marshall McLuhan  contains two instances.
>Proceedings of the conference on Educational Telecvision May 26-28 1958
>
>https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Circular/KVuM_5SRES8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22the+medium+is+the+message%22&pg=PP26&printsec=frontcover
>
>The 18th Century considered it had made quite a discovery when Buffon proclaimed
>that "the style is the man."  We should long ago have decided that the medium is the message.
>...
>Let us grant for the moment that the medium is the message.
>
>Maybe the Buffon quote should be included as a precursor.
>
>
>And another cite, possibly 1957, usual caveats apply.
>https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Circular/KVuM_5SRES8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22the+medium+is+the+message%22&pg=PP26&printsec=frontcover
>
>
>
>
>
>------ Original Message ------
>From "Shapiro, Fred" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
>To ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>Date 01/09/2022 17:42:10
>Subject Re: Update: The medium is the message (Marshall McLuhan, May 5, 1958)
>
>>Thanks for posting this, Garson, this is a wonderful discovery.
>>
>>Fred Shapiro
>>
>>
>>________________________________
>>From: ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
>>Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2022 8:23 AM
>>To: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at listserv.uga.edu>
>>Cc: Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu>
>>Subject: Update: The medium is the message (Marshall McLuhan, May 5, 1958)
>>
>>Andrew McLuhan, the grandson of Marshall McLuhan, notified me of a new
>>1958 citation for the saying in the subject line.  To verify the
>>citation I contacted the University of British Columbia, Rare Books &
>>Special Collections. Librarians kindly sent me the pertinent scans.
>>
>>Marshall McLuhan’s 1958 speech contained two versions of the saying.
>>The first instance used the plural words “media” and “messages”:
>>
>>[ref] 1958, Radio in the Future of Canada: A National Conference, Held
>>in Vancouver, Canada on May 5 to 9, 1958, Article: Introduction of
>>Professor Marshall McLuhan, Start Page 4, Quote Page 4 and 6,
>>Sponsored by: British Columbia Association of Broadcasters and the
>>University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
>>(Verified with scans from University of British Columbia Library, Rare
>>Books & Special Collections) [/ref]
>>
>>[Begin excerpt from page 4]
>>The media are the messages, they are not conveyor belts of messages.
>>In the long run it is radio that is the message, and not what a radio
>>program content happens to be at any given day, or year. In the long
>>run, it is photography that is the meaning and the message, not the
>>picture of somebody or something.
>>[End excerpt from page 4]
>>
>>The second instance of the saying in McLuhan’s’ speech matched the
>>popular version of the expression:
>>
>>[Begin excerpt from page 6]
>>Print, by permitting people to read at high speed and, above all, to
>>read alone and silently, developed a totally new set of mental
>>operations. What I mentioned earlier becomes very relevant here: the
>>medium is the message. The medium of print is the message, more than
>>any individual writer could say.
>>[End excerpt from page 6]
>>
>>Fred Shapiro’s entry on this topic in “The New Yale Book of
>>Quotations” presented an excellent 1959 citation. Fred also pointed to
>>a precursor expression: “The method is the message”. I found some new
>>early citations for this precursor.
>>
>>The updated version of the Quote Investigator article is available now:
>>https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fquoteinvestigator.com%2F2022%2F08%2F11%2Fmedium-message%2F&data=05%7C01%7Cfred.shapiro%40yale.edu%7C2f28c6e847754c9d38f808da8b4ba5e2%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C637975454266485291%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=rmrFMG8ShauWlB4JTsVT8JAgdRSLGXxPEPYZ9xbdeJc%3D&reserved=0
>>
>>Feedback welcome
>>Garson O’Toole
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>------------------------------------------------------------
>>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
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