Between Art and Information: Communicating World Health, 1948-1970

TY - JOUR

T1 - Between Art and Information

T2 - Communicating World Health, 1948-1970

AU - Medcalf, Alexander James

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © Cambridge University Press 2018. Copyright: Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2018/3

Y1 - 2018/3

N2 - With the advent of new media technologies and approaches in the twentieth century, public health officials became convinced that health needed mass media support. The World Health Organization believed that educating people, as well as informing them about the health situation around the world, could assist the enduring fight against disease. Yet in an increasingly competitive media landscape, the agency recognised the need to persuade people and hold their attention through attractive presentation. Public information, the name given to the multiple strategies used to communicate with the public, was rarely straightforward and required the agency not only to monitor the impact of its own efforts but also to identify opportunities to further enhance its reputation, especially when this was in danger of damage or misappropriation. The WHO’s understanding of public information provides insights into the development of international information, communication and education networks and practices after 1945, as well as the increasingly central position of these processes in generating support for and evincing the value of international organisations.

AB - With the advent of new media technologies and approaches in the twentieth century, public health officials became convinced that health needed mass media support. The World Health Organization believed that educating people, as well as informing them about the health situation around the world, could assist the enduring fight against disease. Yet in an increasingly competitive media landscape, the agency recognised the need to persuade people and hold their attention through attractive presentation. Public information, the name given to the multiple strategies used to communicate with the public, was rarely straightforward and required the agency not only to monitor the impact of its own efforts but also to identify opportunities to further enhance its reputation, especially when this was in danger of damage or misappropriation. The WHO’s understanding of public information provides insights into the development of international information, communication and education networks and practices after 1945, as well as the increasingly central position of these processes in generating support for and evincing the value of international organisations.

KW - Communications

KW - Mass media

KW - Photography

KW - Public information

KW - World health

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85044406205&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1017/S1740022817000304

DO - 10.1017/S1740022817000304

M3 - Article

SN - 1740-0228

VL - 13

SP - 94

EP - 120

JO - Journal of Global History

JF - Journal of Global History

IS - 1

ER -