Nordmedia 2013 in Oslo marked and celebrated the 40 years that have passed since that very first Nordic media conference. Much has changed in these 40 years. For the journalistic media, for instance, the digital revolution has had a profound impact on their development: digitalization of all kinds of media, multiple platforms, a growing number of formats and new media practices, which have facilitated new cultural conditions and altered the possibilities for the direct participation of audiences. Furthermore, the changed conditions of the media, transformed by globalization, increased commercialization and owner concentration, are dramatically changing journalistic work. These changes of course influence what we study, and how we carry out media research.
Also within the field of media research as such, essential changes have taken place since 1973, in terms of a much larger theoretical and methodological plurality now than then. There is much greater acceptance of, yes even a requirement for, multidisciplinary perspectives than there was 40 years ago. The ever growing list of topics that media researchers focus on is reflected in the wide range of thematic divisions at the Nordic conferences.