Social Theory and Media Studies

Reconsidering Luhmann’s Mass Media Theory

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to reconsider the perspective of Niklas Luhmann’s

mass media theory through interpreting his works. Luhmann constructed

a mass media theory which described mass communication as a social

system. Some previous studies have paid attention to the significance of his

theory and attempted to apply it in different empirical studies while others

have criticized his theory because he abstracted and confirmed the practical

problems of journalism. However, it has yet to be shown what problem in

media studies Luhmann himself attempted to solve. This paper analyses the

perspective of Luhmann’s theory by focusing on the relationship between his

theory and radical constructivism. Radical constructivism is an epistemological

media theory that has been popular in German media studies since the 1990s,

and Luhmann also frequently referred to it in his works about mass media. As

a result,（ 1） this paper clarifies that the radical constructivism theory criticized

journalism practices in terms of epistemological problems, and thereby hindered

journalism and its social function. Thus, media theorists who sympathized with

radical constructivism attempted to fill this divergence of the radical constructivism

theories and practices of journalism. In addition, （2） this paper argues

that Luhmann also attempted to solve the problem. He avoided the epistemological

and normative discussion of journalism and redefined the function of

mass media in the theory of a functionally differentiated society. In conclusion,

this paper demonstrates the significance of the social theory in media studies

by interpreting the perspective of Luhmann’s media theory.