Communication and Empire: Media, Markets, and Globalization, 1860-1930
Durham: Duke University Press (2007), xx, 429 pp.
Contains illustrations, maps, bibliogr. pp. 379-401, index
Series: American Encounters
ISBN 978-0-8223-3912-0 (hbk); 978-0-8223-3928-1 (pbk)
"[...] Dwayne R. Winseck and Robert M. Pike offer an in-depth examination of the rise of the “global media” between 1860 and 1930. They analyze the connections between the development of a global communication infrastructure, the creation of national telegraph and wireless systems, and news agencies and the content they provided. Conventional histories suggest that the growth of global communications correlated with imperial expansion: an increasing number of cables were laid as colonial powers competed for control of resources. Winseck and Pike argue that the role of the imperial contest, while significant, has been exaggerated. They emphasize how much of the global media system was in place before the high tide of imperialism in the early twentieth century, and they point to other factors that drove the proliferation of global media links, including economic booms and busts, initial steps toward multilateralism and international law, and the formation of corporate cartels." (Publisher description)
Introduction: Deep Globalization and the Global Media in the Late Nineteenth Century and Early Twentieth, 1
1 Building the Global Communication Infrastructure: Brakes and Accelerators on New Communication Technologies, 1850-70, 16
2 From the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era: The Struggle for Control in the Euro-American and South American Communication Markets, 1870-1905, 43
3 Indo-European Communication Markets and the Scrambling of Africa: Communication and Empire in the ''Age of Disorder'', 92
4 Electronic Kingdom and Wired Cities in the ''Age of Disorder'': The Struggle for Control of China's National and Global Communication Capabilities, 1870-1901, 113
5 The Politics of Global Media Reform I, 1870-1905: The Early Movements against Private Cable Monopolies, 142
6 The Politics of Global Media Reform II, 1906-16: Rivalry and Managed Competition in the Age of Empire(s) and Social Reform, 177
7 Wireless, War, and Communication Networks, 1914-22; 228
8 Thick and Thin Globalism: Wilson, the Communication Experts, and the American Approach to Global Communication, 1918-22, 257
9 Communication and Informal Empires: Consortia and the Evolution of South American and Asian Communication Markets, 1918-30, 277
10 The Euro-American Communication Market and Media Merger Mania: New Technology and the Political Economy of Communication in the 1920s, 304
Conclusions: The Moving Forces of the Early Global Media, 338
1 Building the Global Communication Infrastructure: Brakes and Accelerators on New Communication Technologies, 1850-70, 16
2 From the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era: The Struggle for Control in the Euro-American and South American Communication Markets, 1870-1905, 43
3 Indo-European Communication Markets and the Scrambling of Africa: Communication and Empire in the ''Age of Disorder'', 92
4 Electronic Kingdom and Wired Cities in the ''Age of Disorder'': The Struggle for Control of China's National and Global Communication Capabilities, 1870-1901, 113
5 The Politics of Global Media Reform I, 1870-1905: The Early Movements against Private Cable Monopolies, 142
6 The Politics of Global Media Reform II, 1906-16: Rivalry and Managed Competition in the Age of Empire(s) and Social Reform, 177
7 Wireless, War, and Communication Networks, 1914-22; 228
8 Thick and Thin Globalism: Wilson, the Communication Experts, and the American Approach to Global Communication, 1918-22, 257
9 Communication and Informal Empires: Consortia and the Evolution of South American and Asian Communication Markets, 1918-30, 277
10 The Euro-American Communication Market and Media Merger Mania: New Technology and the Political Economy of Communication in the 1920s, 304
Conclusions: The Moving Forces of the Early Global Media, 338
