Towarzystwo Wiedzy Prasowej na drodze rozwoju polskich badań medioznawczych

Abstract

The Press Knowledge Society (Towarzystwo Wiedzy Prasowej) as a Step on the Road to the Development of Polish Media Studies Man needs solid knowledge and competence so that he can find himself in the modern media sphere. The sciences of social communication and media meet these needs, while developing the new discipline in Poland and around the world. In the context of these processes, it is worth taking a look at the history and Polish pioneering activities in the field of press research. The purpose of this article is to present an important initiative in the development of Polish press studies, namely the Press Knowledge Society (1938–1939). The aim is to show the origins of it’s history with similar initiatives in Europe to reveal the most important goals of the Society – especially those related to the concern for the ethics of mass communication expressed in the late interwar period. Our analyzes are an attempt to look for answers to the following questions: does the experience of history contain indications for solving problems of the modern media sphere and can they be an inspiration in media studies? Our analyzes are based on historical source materials and subject literature and are supported by empirical knowledge of contemporary media processes. With the help of the method of source analysis, among others, and the synthesizing comparative method, we attempted to draw conclusions important for modern media on the basis of historical knowledge about the media.