Blumler, Jay G. (1924–)

Jay Blumler was an influential figure in the development of research and theory in political communication. He was born in New York and graduated from Antioch College before military service in Europe at the end of World War II. He began his career teaching political theory at Ruskin College Oxford, gaining a D.Phil. from Oxford University. He came to specialize in political communication only after appointment to the Granada Fellowship (Centre for Television Research) at the University of Leeds in 1963, later holding a personal chair in Broadcasting Policy. For a number of years he held a joint appointment in the College of Journalism, University of Maryland. His work on the influence of television in British elections pioneered the application of the “uses and gratifications” ...