Introduction to Communication History: Challenges, Theories, and Media Revolutions

Challenges in Historical Interpretation

  • The Historian's Fallacy

    • This fallacy involves the erroneous assumption that people in the past possessed the same knowledge and understanding that we have today. This often leads to drawing "unwarranted conclusions about cause and effect."
    • A diligent historian actively avoids this fallacy by considering the "fog of war," which refers to the limitations on what could have been known or understood at a specific time in the past.

  • Cultural Restrictions on Historians

    • Historically, women and minorities faced significant barriers, being "rarely taken seriously as historians until the mid- to late twentieth century," despite considerable contributions to the field.
    • Notable Examples of Pioneers:
      • Barbara Tuchman: Broke ground by winning a Pulitzer Prize in 1963 for her work The Guns of August, chronicling the outbreak of World War I.
      • Elizabeth Eisenstein: Her theories concerning the profound influence of printing on early modern Europe significantly altered the understanding of communication history. These ideas are further explored in Chapter 1 of the book.

  • The "End of History" Debate

    • The concept of an "end of history" has been posited by thinkers like Francis Fukuyama (1952-present) and Jean Baudrillard (1929-2007).
    • For them, this "end" signifies the collapse of overarching ideologies or even the cessation of the very idea of historical progress.
    • According to Baudrillard (1994), this phenomenon stems from the abandonment of shared utopian visions that once animated both right-wing and left-wing political ideologies (Fukuyama 1992).
    • Contrasting View: Despite these pronouncements, ideas about utopian futures have re-emerged, particularly with the advancements in communications technologies. These visions are now channeled into social networks and free cultures, advocated by figures such as Vannevar Bush, John Perry Barlow, Howard Rheingold, and Richard Stallman, all key players in the digital revolution. These developments are examined in Chapters 11 and 12.

  • Objectivity in Historical Writing

    • The question of objectivity is a perpetual challenge in historiography, oscillating "across the centuries between ideals of accuracy on the one hand and high purpose on the other."
    • It's an ongoing negotiation where each historian must find their own "points of balance."
    • While definitive "final answers" may not exist, there is an imperative for historians to remain conscious of these issues, to navigate the complexities (metaphorically, avoiding the "Scylla and Charybdis of historiographic calamity"), to strive for truth to the best of their ability, and to "serve the muse of history."

The Evolution of Communication History

  • Early Historical Works on Printing and Journalism

    • The comprehensive historical study of communication as a whole field is a relatively new endeavor.
    • However, histories of the press and biographies of prominent editors have enjoyed popularity for centuries.
    • Notable Historical Texts (available through Project Gutenberg, Google Books, etc.):
      • Joseph Moxon's Mechanick Exercises (1683)
      • S. Palmer's History of Printing (1733)
      • Isaiah Thomas's History of Printing in America (1810)
      • James Parton's Life of Horace Greeley (1855)
      • The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin (1864)
      • Frederic Hudson's Journalism in the United States (1873)
      • James Melvin Lee's History of American Journalism (1917)
    • Purpose and Approach:
      • Moxon and Palmer sought to reinforce the allegiance of professionals to their craft.
      • Thomas, Parton, Hudson, and Lee generally adopted a "heroic approach," celebrating the figures and institutions of their respective fields.
      • Lee, despite his heroic stance, faced criticism during his time, particularly from Grabo (1918), for his "complacent and partisan denial" of existing problems within the news media.

  • Criticisms of Traditional American Journalism History

    • "Dangerously and Unflaggingly Parochial" (Stephens, 2011):
      • Stephens critically observes that American journalism history often exhibits a narrow, localized perspective, accepting "a kind of ignorance" that would be unacceptable in other academic disciplines (literature, theater, art, science).
      • This parochialism stems from an insular focus, often limiting scope to developments in major US cities like Boston, Philadelphia, and New York, while neglecting broader national or international contexts.
    • The Problem of Sub-Disciplinary Separation:
      • The text argues against the isolation of histories of sub-disciplines, such as separating the history of photography from advertising and journalism, or computing from broadcasting.
      • Risks of Separation: This fragmentation risks obscuring the "overlapping effects of the technological revolutions that are having a profound impact on life in the twenty-first century."
      • Missed Insights: It can lead to missing crucial understandings, such as how digital technologies began to undermine the newspaper industry in the 1960s and 1970s, the trajectory of radio and television broadcasting networks, and how artists and reformers strategically utilized evolving new media to bypass established political obstacles.

  • The Need for Comprehensive and International Approaches

    • Historian Jonathan Shaw (2014) points out that "Historians increasingly recognize that trying to understand the past solely within the confines of national boundaries misses much of the story."
    • Modern historical scholarship indicates a heightened "appreciation for global connections in the past" and an effort to explain "the same patterns \dots emerge across cultures worldwide through time."
    • Mitchell Stephens articulates this need: separating American journalism history from international developments is as "foolish as attempting to separate the history of journalism in Ohio or Kansas from what was happening in Boston, Philadelphia and New York."

  • "Revolutions in Communication" - A New Framework

    • This book aims to construct a narrative structure for media history using "international, technological, and professional issues as the framework."
    • Challenge of Scale: Acknowledges the immense challenge of covering such a broad international and professional scope within a single book, noting that there's "far too much to include in a standard encyclopedia, much less a single book."
    • Leveraging New Media as a Solution: The proposed solution is to utilize the very new media that the book describes.
      • The book itself acts as an "initial structural framework" for a much broader international media history, which is already evolving on collaborative platforms like Wikipedia.
      • This approach reflects the revolutionary nature of contemporary communication modes in how history is taught and written.
    • Supplementary Resources: Readers are directed to the book's website (www.revolutionsincommunication.com) for additional resources that expand on the "depth, breadth, scope, and geographic reach of media history topics."

Critical Perspectives on News Media in the 20th Century

  • Progressive Era Critiques

    • The early 20^{th} century saw the emergence of critical perspectives on the news business, coinciding with the Progressive Age.
    • President Theodore Roosevelt's 1906 speech denouncing journalistic muckraking spurred some critiques, while others felt the media remained overly complacent.
    • Key Works:
      • Will Irwin's American Newspaper (1911): Published in Collier's magazine during a period of unprecedented press power, Irwin's work documented both the problems and the contributions of the press as the "light of civilization."
      • Upton Sinclair's Brass Check (1920): This work by the socialist reformer savagely critiqued the biased reporting of labor struggles, going so far as to compare journalism to "outright prostitution." The New York Times responded harshly, labeling Sinclair a "defiling insect" and refusing him editorial space (Goldstein 2007).
    • Other Influential Critiques: Walter Lippmann's Public Opinion (1920) and the Hutchins Commission (1947) are later examples of press criticism, though few historical accounts of communication were printed during these times.

  • Academic Scholarship on US Communication History

    • Dominance of Progressive Narrative: 20^{th}-century American media historians, such as Edwin Emery, generally continued the tradition of Hudson and Lee, focusing on a "progressive, narrative history of American journalism." Emery (1973) updated this history to include the Civil Rights era and the Vietnam War.
    • Focus on American Journalism: The exclusive emphasis on American journalism, rather than international communication, was characteristic of the era.
    • Emergence of Minority Press History: The American minority press received only brief mention until Jean Folkerts's Voices of a Nation (Folkerts and Teeter 1989) provided a much-needed, comprehensive treatment.
    • Intellectual History: Daniel Czitrom's Media and the American Mind offered an "intellectual history of communication in the US," exploring the telegraph, movies, radio, and historical views of media. Czitrom notably identified a "surprising dearth of historical precedents."
    • Broader Sociological Approaches: More comprehensive books with themed sociological approaches include Wilbur Schramm's The Story of Human Communication (1988) and Asa Briggs and Peter Burke's Social History of the Media (2002).

  • Addressing Parochialism in Media History

    • By the early 21^{st} century, many students of media history recognized the narrow scope of their field.
    • Lack of Engagement with Major Issues: Media historians were struggling to adequately address significant historical issues like civil rights and the digital technology revolution.
    • Nationalism and Heroism: There was an evident "attachment to professional and nationalistic heroism." Controversies, especially those involving complex international dimensions, were often overlooked.

Key Theorists of Media Technology and Civilization

  • Harold Innis (1894-1952): Time-Biased vs. Space-Biased Media

    • Background: An economic historian who theorized that Western civilization has been profoundly shaped by communication technologies.
    • Core Concept: Media Bias: Innis argued that different types of media possess inherent biases toward either time or space, which in turn influence the organization and characteristics of civilizations.
      • Time-Biased Media: These are durable materials like "parchment, clay and stone." They are heavy and suited for the development of art forms like architecture and sculpture. Civilizations relying on such media tend to be oriented towards time and religious orthodoxy (e.g., Babylon).
      • Space-Biased Media: These are less durable and lighter materials, such as "papyrus and paper." They are conducive to widespread administration and trade across vast areas. Cultures using flexible media (e.g., Rome, Greece, modern societies) are oriented towards the control of space and a more secular outlook on life.
    • Implications: The physical qualities of media (flexibility and durability) have far-reaching implications for how a civilization is structured. For example, the ability to carry "a dozen letters of credit on parchment" (a flexible medium) fosters a banking system with branches spanning large distances, enabling complex economic and administrative networks.

  • Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980): "The Medium is the Message"

    • Background: A Canadian media theorist heavily influenced by Innis, McLuhan placed communication technologies at the very heart of history and social life.
    • Central Thesis: "The medium is the message": This famous statement signifies that the type of communication medium (print, imaging, broadcasting, or computing) is not a neutral conduit but has a powerful influence, not only on the content of the message itself, but also on:
      • The kind of thinking prevalent in a society.
      • The overall development and character of the culture producing and consuming messages.
    • Cultural Transformation: McLuhan asserted that a literate print culture is fundamentally different from a visual, radio, or television culture.
    • Optimistic but Not Utopian Vision:
      • While many feared that television and radio would weaken literate culture (just as printing was once thought to weaken religious oral cultures), McLuhan was relatively optimistic.
      • He observed the convergence of print, imaging, radio, and television through international broadcast media and satellites in the 1950s and 1960s.
      • He predicted that this "convergence of media cultures" would exponentially expand "human perceptions," leading to a 21^{st}-century "global village."
      • McLuhan did not believe this would bring "universal peace and happiness" but rather allow humanity to achieve a "greater degree of cultural maturity."

Perspectives on Technological Development

  • Determinism vs. Social Constructionism

    • When examining the development of technology, historians typically engage with two primary schools of thought:
    • Technological Determinism: This perspective views technologies as "path-dependent," meaning their progression follows an inevitable course. Consequently, they are seen as generating "predictable impacts on society."
    • Social Construction of Technology: This viewpoint emphasizes the significant influence of "economics, politics, and culture" in shaping and controlling technological development.
    • Synthesis: The text notes that neither perspective is exclusively correct; both are frequently applied to the study of media technology.

  • Arguments for Technological Determinism in Media

    • McLuhan's Deterministic Stance: Marshall McLuhan adopted a deterministic view, famously stating in Playboy (1969):
      • "The new extensions of man and the environment they generate are the central manifestations of the evolutionary process, and yet we still cannot free ourselves of the delusion that it is how a medium is used that counts, rather than what it does to us and with us."
      • He argued that while we can anticipate the social changes wrought by communication technologies, their impact is inevitable regardless of our foresight.
      • The accelerated pace of information allows us to "apprehend, predict, and influence" environmental forces, potentially giving us "control of our own destinies."
    • Classic Articulation by Charles Beard: Historian Charles Beard (1927) articulated technological determinism powerfully, stating, "Technology marches in seven-league boots from one ruthless, revolutionary conquest to another, tearing down old factories and industries, flinging up new processes with terrifying rapidity."
    • Chicago World's Fair Motto (1933): This deterministic view was simplified into a grim motto: "Science Finds, Industry Applies, Man Conforms."
    • Media as Unavoidably Impactful: The author suggests that media technologies are often perceived as more deterministic than technologies in other sectors, such as energy or transportation. Many experts believe media technologies have unavoidable impacts.

  • Real-world Impacts of Media Technology: The "Flattening" World

    • Thomas Friedman's Observation: New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, in his 2005 book The World Is Flat, argues that technologies like "fiber optics, satellites, and digital networks have 'flattened' the world."
    • Global Accessibility: This flattening effect means it's now "just as easy to access information or do business in India as it is in Europe or North America."
    • Societal Buffering and Global Integration: While social institutions may offer some buffering against these impacts, the global distribution of semi-skilled information work has undeniably brought the world closer together.