New technologies for the transmission of information promote the exchange of information. That is a very natural statement for the 20th and 21st centuries. It goes without saying that it also applies to the 16th century and the early modern period as a whole. A well-known example of this is the improvement in printing techniques through the use of movable type. This led to the fact that new media emerged and established themselves permanently, such as the pamphlet and the "Neue Zeitung". Other already known genera such as songs and sermons acquired a new meaning in the controversies of the time due to the changed communication situation. This resulted in a variety of opportunities and challenges, because the use of this new media, such as the transformation of existing media formats and their widespread use, set in motion or promoted political, social, legal and religious change processes. The articles in the anthology want these new ones Shed light on communication forms and methods as well as the change processes for the 16th century. This is done by analyzing change and transformation processes through the use of known and the creation of new media formats, the handling of diversity of opinion and the associated plurality of interpretations of current events as well as the emergence of a new culture of debate and new attempts at order.
