A History of Mass Communication Six Information Revolutions Irving Fang Focal Press Boston, Oxford, Johannesburg, Melbourne, New Delhi, Singapore Focal Press is an imprint of Butterworth-Heinemann. Copyright ® 1997 by Butterworth-Heinemann A member of the Reed Elsevier group All rights reserved. No part of this publication maybe reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Recognizing the importance of preserving what has been written, Butterworth-Heinemann prints its books on acid-free paper whenever possible. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fang, Irving E. A history of information revolutions / Irving Fang. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-240-80254-3 (pbk. : acid-free paper) 1. Communication—History. I. Title. P90.F26 1997 302.2'09-dc20 96-36527 CIP British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. The publisher offers special discounts on bulk orders of this book. For information, please contact: Manager of Special Sales Butterworth-Heinemann 313 Washington Street Newton, MA 02158-1626 Tel: 617-928-2500 Fax: 617- 928-2620 For information on all Focal Press publications available, contact our World Wide Web home page at: http://www.bh.com/fp 109876543 2 Printed in the United States of America Contents Acknowledgments xiv What Are Information Revolutions? 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 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 TaTbot 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 A head 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