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

Fri Sep 2 06:30:01 UTC 2022

Thanks for the link. Pete. Below is an investigation into the date of
the document pointed to by the link you have provided. This discussion
might be useful to other researchers who are trying to assess the
accuracy of Google Books metadata.

I face this task almost every day. If the metadata is inaccurate and
the date is too late then I abandon the match. If the metadata seems
to be accurate then I can move forward to the next step and try to
obtain scans.

Here is a link to the same target document in the main U.S. database
books.google.com. I find it easier to learn more about the document
via this link. The identifier kl8sAQAAIAAJis the same. I access Google
Books via the old style interface and not the new style interface.

https://books.google.com/books?id=kl8sAQAAIAAJ&

The cover image of the target document is visible and it says “Current
Issues In Higher Education 1959”. This suggests that the 1957 date is
inaccurate.

A search for “1959” in the target document produces a snippet showing
the title mentioned immediately above and a snippet with the following
text:

[Begin excerpt from snippet]
They were reflected, again, in discussion groups in the 1959
Association for Higher Education conference.
[End excerpt from snippet]

This provides additional evidence that the target document appeared in
1959 (or later).

The next strategy to determine the date involved searching for phrases
visible in the snippet of the target document. I searched for "long
run, the medium is the message". GB produced a match in “Understanding
Me: Lectures and Interviews” by Herbert Marshall McLuhan. This book
has a copyright date of 2003 which is visible on the copyright page.
For simplicity I will refer to this document as the 2003 document
although it is really a reprint circa 2010 of a 2003 book.

https://books.google.com/books?id=3QTFN6ArdKUC&

This 2003 document is in preview mode; hence, several pages are
readable. The snippet text in the target document matches the text in
this document.  Therefore, it appears that the McLuhan article has
been reprinted in this 2003 collection. Scrolling back to the
beginning of the article provides a description and a date for
McLuhan’s article.

[Begin excerpt from 2003 reprint of target article - double-check for typos]
Electronic Revolution:
Revolutionary Effects of New Media
(1959)

On March 3, 1959, Marshall McLuhan addressed a gathering of more than
a thousand educators in Chicago sponsored by the American Association
for Higher Education. The theme of the conference was "The Race
Against Time: New Perspectives and Imperatives in Higher Education,"
and McLuhan’s talk was titled “Electronic Revolution: Revolutionary
Effects of New Media."

The forty-seven-year-old McLuhan had already published The Mechanical
Bride: Folklore of Industrial Man (1951), his shrewd dissection of the
manipulative techniques of the advertising industry. By 1959 he had
become known in academic circles and beyond as a pioneering thinker on
the mass media.
[End excerpt]

Searching for the title “Revolutionary Effects of New Media” in the
target document shows that it is present in the target document.
Searching for “New Perspectives and Imperatives” in the target
document also shows that it is present in the target document.

In conclusion, with high probability the target text appeared in an
article based on a speech delivered by Marshall McLuhan on March 3,
1959.

Garson

On Fri, Sep 2, 2022 at 12:38 AM Pete Morris <mr_peter_morris at outlook.com> wrote:
>
> 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
> >
> >------------------------------------------------------------
> >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org