Theorizing Media Memory: Six Elements Defining the Role of the Media in Shaping Collective Memory in the Digital Age

Abstract

This article wishes to untangle the relationships between media and collective memory and present the contribution of communication scholarship in general, and journalism studies in particular, to our understanding of the term “collective memory.” After presenting the roots of the concept, the article deconstructs it by providing six perspectives on the term: (a) its multidirectional disposition (from the present to the past and vice versa), (b) its concretization in media texts and other products, (c) the functional role it plays for the community, (d) its socio‐political aspects, (e) the technological qualities of the process of the mediatization, (f) its narratological characteristics and formation. Each of the abovementioned attributes throws a different light on the mediation of collective memory and provides insights regarding the role of the media in the construction of cultural memory and shared recollections in the digital age.