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A history of information revolutions
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A History of Mass
Communication
Six Information Revolutions
A History of Mass
Communication
Six Information Revolutions
Irving Fang
Routledge
Taylor & Francis Group
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published 1997
This edition published 2015 by Focal Press
Published 2016 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
First issued in hardback 2016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © 1997, Taylor & Francis.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Notices
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in
evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described
herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and
the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only
for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fang, Irving E.
A history of information revolutions / Irving Fang.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-240-80254-1 ISBN-10: 0-240-80254-3 (pbk. : acid-free paper)
1. Communication-History. I. Title
P90.F26 1997
302.2'09-dc20
96-36527
CIP
ISBN-13: 978-0-240-80254-1
ISBN-10: 0-240-80254-3
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 13: 978-1-138-17374-3 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978-0-240-80254-1 (pbk)
Contents
Acknowledgments xiv
What Are Information Revolutions? xv
Defining an Information Revolution xv
Six Information Revolutions xvii
Shared Characteristics xviii
The Power of Information xix
Highway and Village xx
Sorting Media from Content xx
Replacing Transportation xxi
Shaping and Being Shaped xxi
Difficult Beginnings xxii
Life Is Different xxii
Political Tools and Weapons xxiii
Arresting Gorbachev xxiv
Tiananmen Square xxiv
The Infection of Mass Communication xxvi
Terrorism and the Media xxvii
Clandestine Radio xxvii
Middle Eastern Examples of Media's Force xxviii
New World Information Order xxviii
Cultural Imperialism xxix
Economic Freedom with Political Controls xxx
Altering American Politics xxxi
The Gulf War xxxi
Notes xxxiii
1 Writing
The First Revolution 1
The Invention of Writing 1
Writing on Clay 1
Advancing Knowledge 2
v
vi CONTENTS
Skin and Bones and Papyrus 3
Papyrus in Egypt 4
Papyrus in Greek Hands 5
Parchment 6
Other Writing Surfaces 7
The Greeks 7
The Alphabet 8
Out of the Dark Ages 8
A Time of Turmoil 10
Supplementing an Oral Culture 11
The Warning of Socrates 12
From Greece to Rome 12
The First Libraries 12
The Lamp of Reason 14
Carrying the Message 14
Notes 16
2 Printing
The Second Revolution 18
Turbulent Europe 18
Sources of News 19
Reformation and Renaissance 20
A Gift from China 20
Origins 21
No Information Revolution 22
Paper Moves West 22
300 Sheep Skins for One Bible 23
Books and Universities 23
The First Universities 24
The New Book Culture 25
Censorship 26
Punishment for Publishing 27
Mail in the Middle Ages 28
Postal Services for Town and Gown 28
Postal Service as a Business 29
Here a New, There a New 30
Forerunners of Newspapers 31
The First Newspapers 31
Unintended Consequences 32
Printing and Literacy 32
Vernacular Printing 32
Why Bother to Read? 33
The Engines of Printing and Literacy 34
Literacy and Equality 34
Did Gutenberg Know About China? 35
European Ferment 36
CONTENTS vii
What Did Gutenberg Know? 36
Movable Type in China and Korea 38
Gutenberg's Achievement 38
Notes 41
3 Mass Media
The Third Revolution 43
The Turmoil of a New Age 43
The Shift to Cities 43
It Also Brought Misery 44
Three Revolutions 44
Child Labor 45
Social Changes 46
Mass Dependencies 46
Printing for Everyone 47
Printing Changes 47
Stereotyping 48
Setting the Type 48
Offset Lithography 49
Paper for Everyone 49
A Continuous Sheet of Paper 49
A Lesson from a Wasp 50
The Information Pump 51
The Business of Newspapers 51
The Penny Press 52
Reporting 52
The Birth of Objectivity 53
Improvements in the Composing Room 54
Photographs in Newspapers 54
Free Presses 55
Controlled Presses 55
The Muckrakers 56
Women Can Type 57
Helping to Bring Women Out 57
The Old Office 57
Inventing a Writing Machine 58
The Sholes Machine 58
Women Mean Business 59
QWERTY 59
"If Anyone Desires..." 60
Creating Demand 60
Origins of Advertising 61
The Word Is "Advertising" 61
The Advertising Agency 62
Catalogs and Patent Medicines 63
Brand Names 63
More Advertising Tools 64
viii CONTENTS
Radio Advertising 64
Televising Advertising 64
Setting Standards 65
Solving Postal Problems 65
Postmasters and Publishers 66
Postal Services for Newspapers 67
Transporting the Mail 67
International Agreement 68
Photography 69
Ancient Roots 69
The Chemical Basis of Photography 70
Daguerre and Talbot 70
Wet-Plate Photography 72
Photographing the World 72
The Muckrakers' Photos 74
Photoengraving 74
The Copier 75
Looking Ahead 76
Current News 77
Newspapers Change 77
Ancient Signals 77
The First Telegraphs 78
"What Hath God Wrought?" 79
Western Union Takes the Lead 79
Its Role in Transmitting News 80
News Agencies 81
Changes in Service 82
Voices on a Wire 83
Intruder and Rescuer 83
"Mr. Watson, come here. I want you." 84
Can the Lower Classes Use It? 86
The Telephone As an Early Radio 86
Telephone Operators 87
Into the Twentieth Century 88
Signals in the Air 89
Some of Radio's Societal Effects 89
Origins of Radio 90
Marconi 90
Competition 91
The Titanic 92
Voice 92
Hobbyists Tune In 93
Movies Are Born 95
Movies As a Communication Medium 95
How Movies Began 96
Edison Orders an Invention 97
Motion Picture Projection 97
Projected Movies Come to America 98
CONTENTS ix
The Earliest Films 98
Notes 99
4 Entertainment
The Fourth Revolution 101
Public Recreation 101
Money from the Poor 102
Entertaining Newspapers 103
Adding Color 103
Magazines for the Fragmented Public 104
English and Colonial Beginnings 104
Plagiarism Was Common 105
The Nickel Magazines 106
The Novel 106
Entertainment on a Plate 107
The Start of Recorded Music 107
Nothing Ever Like It 108
Phonograph Parlors 109
The Phonograph as Furniture 109
Dancing and Jazz 110
High Fidelity 111
Portable Recording 112
The Story of Audiotape 112
Germans Move Ahead 113
A Tool for Journalists 113
New Formats 114
Broadcasting 114
Isolating Listeners 115
The Radio Act of 1927 116
Commercials 117
Broadcasting Policy in Other Countries 118
Networks 118
Owning Cameras 119
Technical Improvements 119
The Kodak 120
More Improvements 121
Pictures that Lie 121
Holograms 122
Movies Tell Stories 123
Nickelodeons 123
Fear of Revolutionary Ideas 125
A Market for Simple Stories 126
The Actors 127
Assembly Line Production 128
Motion Pictures in Other Countries 129
The Coming of Sound 130
x CONTENTS
The Coming of Color 131
The Stars and Their Films 132
Censorship 133
Political Issues 133
The Drive-In 134
Enter Television 134
The Distribution Schedule 135
Making Movies Cheaply 136
Notes 137
5 The Toolshed Home
The Fifth Revolution 138
The Communication Toolshed 138
What Makes a House a Home? 138
Contacts Decrease 139
Extending the Toolshed Home 140
Problems with Heavy Media Usage 141
Home Mail Delivery 142
Free Home Delivery 142
Parcels, Catalogs, and Junk Mail 143
Changes 144
New Uses for Phones 145
Telephone Company Reorganizations 145
Cellular Phones 146
Pocket Phones 146
The New Picturephones 147
A Variety of Uses 147
Reach Out Without Touching 148
"Free" Entertainment 148
Political Broadcasts 149
Cultural Influence 149
Improving the Sound 150
Radio Reinvents Itself 150
Citizen's Band 151
Looking in Radio's Crystal Ball 151
The Benefits of Broadcasting 151
Pictures in the Parlor 152
Time Spent Watching 153
The Scientific Roots of Television 154
Electronic Television 154
The Public Is Introduced to Television 156
The Fight Over Standards 157
HDTV 158
The Commercial Basis 158
Programming 158
Settings and Plots 159
Soap Operas 159
CONTENTS xi
The Sitcoms 160
What Is for Children? 160
Talk Shows and "Infotainment" 161
Paying for Programming 161
The Decline of Broadcasting 162
Tragedy in the Parlor 162
Radio News 163
Two Roots of Television News 164
Kennedy Assassination Coverage 165
The Civil Rights Movement 165
Anti-War Demonstrations 166
"The Living Room War" 167
Not Newspaper Journalism 168
Sometimes a Global Village 168
Wiring the Toolshed 169
Two Trojan Horses 170
How Cable Began 170
CATV Pioneers 171
Originating Programming 172
Cable's Early Growth 172
City Franchises 173
Pay-TV Without Cable 174
Videotape, a New Book 174
Advantages of the Home VCR 174
Trying to Record Television 175
The First Videotape Machines 175
Electronic News Gathering 176
Going to the Movies at Home 177
The Near Future 178
Spreading Worldwide 179
Broadening the Video Journalist Base 180
Video Piracy 180
"Cultural Imperialism" 181
Video Production Diffusion 181
Setting New Records 182
Radio and Recording 183
High Fidelity 184
We Still Have Books 185
Notes 187
6 The Highway
The Sixth Revolution 189
Heavy Traffic 189
Choices 190
Interactivity 191
Separated by Communication 192
Distant Connections 193
xii CONTENTS
Computer at the Wheel 194
A Tool of Communication 194
How It All Began 195
Desktop Publishing 195
Magazines Target Their Readers 197
Multimedia, a Newer Book 198
What Is Multimedia? 198
CD-ROM 199
CD-ROM Zines 200
Cable Narrowcasting 201
Ted Turner Moves In 201
New Channels 202
Home Shopping 203
Cable Franchises 203
Pay Cable 204
Wireless Cable 205
Fiber Optics 205
Programming Through Optical Fibers 206
Footprints on the Globe 207
Geopolitical Considerations 207
A Split-Second Apart 208
Changes in News Reporting Structures 208
The Beginnings 209
INTELSAT 210
Video Teleconferencing 211
Direct Broadcasting 211
C-Band and Ku-Band 212
Scrambling the Signal 213
Teleports 213
A Limit to Infinite Space 213
Electronic Commuting 214
Who Works at Home? 215
Advantages of Working from Home 215
The Telecenter 216
Where Will We Live? 216
What Will Happen to Cities? 217
The Internet 217
Who Owns the Internet? 218
The World Wide Web 219
Electronic Cash 220
Bulletin Boards 220
Exercising Control 221
Knowlege Groups 222
Advertising 222
Chat Lines 223
Social Implications 223
Radio on the Internet 224
Mailbox in the Computer 225
CONTENTS xiii
Faxing 226
Speed of Facsimile 227
"Fax" Is More Than a Noun 227
Facsimile's Origins 227
A Variety of Uses 228
Going Up the Highway 229
The Qube Experiment 230
Teletext and Videotex 231
Online Services 232
Other Interactive Operations 232
Interactive Possibilities 232
Manipulating Television Programs 233
News Online 234
The Electronic Newspaper 234
Telcos, Newspapers, and Newscasts 234
Selling News Instead of Newspapers 235
The Computerized Newspaper 236
National Distribution 236
Notes 237
A Summing Up 239
Revisiting the Six Information Revolutions 240
Communication in Three Eras 241
Notes 243
Bibliography 244
Communication Timeline 255
Index 268
Acknowledgments
This book is an attempt to find common
themes in the long and complex history of
communication. It endeavors to show how
the means of communication grew out of
their eras, how the tools were developed,
how they influenced the societies of those
eras, and how they have continued to exert
influence upon subsequent generations.
The book is divided into six periods that
are identified as information revolutions,
recognizing that the events that constitute
an information revolution defy neat categorization. For example, motion pictures
are both mass information and packaged
entertainment. Placing certain events
within a particular movement became a
necessity for the sake of clarity and narrative flow.
Because the author has not found it possible to have a sufficiently detailed knowledge of the entire sweep of history covered
by this volume, he has relied on the expertise and the kindness of others. Among
them are Hyman Berman, Ken Doyle,
Mark Heistad, Nancy Roberts, Phillip
Tichenor, and William Wells, all of the University of Minnesota; documentarists
R. Smith Schuneman, Niels Jensen, and
Peter Hammar; William Cologie, National
Cable Television Center; George Potter,
Pennsylvania Cable & Telecommunications Association; Martin Collins, National
Air and Space Museum; Haney Howell,
Winthrop University; Scott Bourne, net.radio; David Glitzer, Blender; Steve Yelvington, Minneapolis Star Tribune; Bernard
Finn, Kay Youngflesh, and E.N. Sivowitch,
Smithsonian Institution; Thomas Volek,
University of Kansas; Steve Blum, USSB;
and James Bruns, National Postal Museum.
Special thanks are due to Cheri Anderson and Erin Labbie for their research assistance, and to Annie Singer for her
drawings.
xiv