Dr. Richard Butsch

Noted for his research on the historical significance of audiences, Dr. Richard Butsch of Princeton Junction, professor of sociology at Rider, presented his latest research on the topic on December 1 at a symposium at the University of Pennsylvania called “Back to the Future: Explorations in Communication and History.”

Invited by faculty from the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication, Butsch spoke on “The Citizen Audience: Crowds, Public and Individuals.” In his talk, he tracked the differing notions of audiences over time and the ways in which they have been enmeshed in political discourses. He focused on three representations of audiences – movie audiences in the 1910s and 1920s, radio audiences in the 1930s and 1940s, and television audiences in the 1950s and 1960s.

“Many media scholars and social scientists are currently very interested in the relationship between mass media and democracy, and audiences conceived as citizens versus consumers,” said Butsch. “This was a great honor to speak at the University of Pennsylvania. The Annenberg School has long been the leading center for advances in communication research and theory. It was clearly an important symposium for shaping the future of the field of media history.”

Butsch's scholarly pursuits for three decades have largely focused on media, culture and consumption. In 1990, he published "For Fun and Profit: The Transformation of Leisure into Consumption" (Temple University Press), which examined the commercialization of leisure and how leisure developed into a lucrative business. In 2000, he published "The Making of American Audiences from Stage to Television, 1750-1990" (Cambridge University Press), for which he received the International Communication Association Best Book Award and the American Culture Association Cawelti Book Award.

Last year, Butsch, upon invitation, presented a paper on “Theater as Public Sphere: Audience as Publics” at Northwestern University during an international symposium on French and contemporary theater.

“My research keeps me intellectually alive and well informed about the latest developments in my field,” said Butsch. “I love having achieved success but the process is quite arduous. By contrast, the process of teaching itself is an absolute delight. I enjoy enticing my students to expand their intellectual lives.”

Butsch’s new book, “The Citizen Audience: Crowds, Public and Individuals” will be published by Routledge in late 2007. “Since the response to the topic matter at the symposium was very positive, it has made me even more eager to complete it,” said Butsch.

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