More about Marshall McLuhan and how he influenced us

Marshall McLuhan, (1911-80) gained fame in the 1960s with his prophetic proposal that electronic media, especially television, were creating a “global village” in which “the medium is the message,” i.e., the means of communications has a greater influence on people than the information itself. See Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man (1964).

After the publication of this book, McLuhan received an astonishing amount of publicity, making him perhaps the most publicized media guru in the twentieth century and arguably the most controversial.

McLuhan soon became a media celebrity. Newsweek magazine did a cover story on him; articles appeared in Life Magazine, Harper’s, Fortune, Esquire, and others.

During his lifetime and afterward, McLuhan heavily influenced cultural critics, thinkers, and media theorists.

McLuhan (indirectly) influenced the formation of McLuhan & Davies. Eric McLuhan, Marshall’s son, was a founding partner, and the only son to work alongside his father.

Also, Marshall’s pioneering work alerted us to the fact that the media was affecting the way people think.

We realized that the media would also affect how people communicate. This insight let us down a pathway of refining and developing communication workshops to help people adjust to this reality.

Back