In 1971 the Head of The Swedish Film Institute, Harry Schein, was given the task by the Ministries of Education to make an official governmental investigation on new audiovisual technologies. Influenced by mainly contemporary Canadian research (official reports like Instant World, 1971), Schein turned the investigation to focus on new telecommunication technology, cable television, pay television and satellite broadcasting. The investigation resulted in the book Inför en ny mediepolitik (“Heading a New Media Politics”) in 1972, where Schein described advanced technical solutions for the distribution of television that already existed, but also predicted a revolving future. Audiovisual media would challenge printed media, and an upcoming broadband technology would transform interpersonal as well as official communications. Mass media was, according to Schein, a phenomenon of the 20^th century. The global village described by Marshal McLuhan would be succeeded by “the city of thousand ghettos”, a metaphor borrowed from Instant World. Schein suggested in his investigation that a national media politics would have to make common solutions for film, radio, television, telecommunications and printed media.

This paper will focus on the intense public debates over new technologies and national media politics that the book initiated.