Development of Media Research in Estonia

Abstract

Regular empirical media research began in Estonia in 1965. The mid-1960s was the period of the birth of empirical social sciences in general in Estonia. Although some successful and influential attempts of empirical and social research were made in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the tradition of regular research was not established before World War II. Until the late 1950s, empirical social sciences did not exist in the Soviet Union. Instead of research, society was described by using ideological construction of the Communist Party history. Attitudes toward sociology started to change in the middle of the 1960s. Empirical sociological research expanded into many areas of study and began to spread across the country. Sociology deserved official recognition and was very popular in society; sociologists enjoyed both official and popular prestige. This article examines the development of both sociological and media research in Estonia, starting with the 1960s.