1 Americanization, or: the Rhetoric of Modernity. How European Journalism Adapted US Norms, Practices and Conventions Marcel Broersma Abstract: This chapter provides a historical perspective on the influence of US cultural forms, norms, practices and textual conventions on European journalism since the rise of the mass press in the 1880s. It critically discusses and challenges the notion of “Americanization.” Point of departure is not the question if and how the United States has “Americanized” Europe, but how European news media have “Americanized” themselves. How were US examples perceived, incorporated and adapted in various national contexts? This chapter discusses “Americanization” as a discursive label that was used to deal with the up- and downsides of modernity and mass society, and it critically engages with the grand narrative of journalism history that frames the development of journalism in terms of professionalization and modernization. It shows how influential this normative framework has been over time and how it impacted journalism while simultaneously making a plea for understanding European traditions of journalism in their own right. Key words: Americanization, journalism history, professionalization, modernization, mass press, styles of journalism, news values, reporting, objectivity regime To be published as: Broersma, Marcel. 2018. “Americanization, or: the Rhetoric of Modernity. How European journalism adapted US norms, practices and conventions”. In The Handbook of European Communication History, edited by Klaus Arnold, Paschal Preston, and Susanne Kinnebrock. Chichester and Malden: Wiley. [In press] PLEASE NOTE: this version might deviate from the printed version. Please consult this when citing.