2018 年 92 巻 p. 87-104
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.