4. When publishing changes, so does society. Investigate and compare the impact of two publication technologies, one pre-1900 and one post-1962, on a specific aspect of society (e.g. education, politics, creative industries, science, entertainment, social relationships).
In general terms, publishing refers to the process of making some sort of information known to the public. The concept is one hard to define, firstly due to the large variety of publication forms, many of which serve different purposes from each other. Also, with advancements in technology come advancements in the publishing process, thus, more publication technologies are being created overtime. Publishing is continuously adapting within our society, and its effects on politics have therefore changed throughout history, for the degree to which individuals are affected by publishing has intensified. The electric telegraph and the internet are two publication technologies which have both impacted on politics within society. The impacts of each of these differ, due to the times with which they were invented. Therefore, the internet formed a larger impact on politics, due to the added political purposes with which it held.
The Electric Telegraph
The electric telegraph is an electrical circuit which transmits messages from one point to another. This piece of technology converted “messages into electric impulses that travelled instantaneously by wire to distant receivers, where they were converted back into readable text.”[1] There were several stages in the invention of the electric telegraph. In 1830 the potential of this telegraph was displayed, but still not officially used. Eight years later, Samuel Morse created a demo of the electric telegraph which “popularized the machine.”[2] It was only in 1843 that Morse was given approval to fund the telegraph line, which first ran from Washington to Baltimore.[3]
This invention impacted on politics during this time in a number of ways. Prior to the electric telegraph, information which was to be communicated to different parts of the world required a slow and demanding process. Messages could only be exchanged at the speed of a sailing ship or a galloping horse[4], for written documents were the only form of communication at this time, which had to be physically received on the other end in order to be communicated. In regards to politics, this was described as was “an unreliable process and one that could produce ambiguous results.”[5] Therefore, the electric telegraph allowed for enormous changes in communication, particularly in terms of speed and reliability. Telegraphs travelled at lightning speed across oceans, and the process of coding and decoding these messages allowed for telegraphs to be available within hours after they were created.
Telegraphs firstly impacted on politics in the way that they positively contributed to the work of policymakers. Due to the speed of which messages could now be sent, information of a crisis which occurred could now be available to policymakers within hours of it occurring. This allowed for them to react to any issue involving intense difficulty, trouble or danger; something which may have otherwise been overlooked for weeks.[6] Therefore, the issue could be resolved more efficiently. This ability to resolve things at a faster speed, however, also “placed time pressures upon political leaders.”[7] The news of international government disputes was now capable of reaching the public just as fast. This created challenges for foreign ministries, who now had to perform careful diplomacy at a faster speed, without the time for precise planning with which they were used to. Often, policymakers had to resolve issues before they reached the public, which put much more time pressure on them.
The electric telegraph also impacted on politics in the way the functions of diplomatic representatives soon began to change.[8] In the past, important persons were expected to make enormous decisions by themselves, for they were not able to receive their instructions in time. As further explained by John Shaw, “They were compelled to make important decisions before they could receive instructions from home.”[9] Telegraphs reduced this pressure on diplomats, for almost instantaneous communication could now take place between different representatives. This reduced the possibilities of errors within the government, as decisions could be made with much deliberation and negotiation, yet still in a short amount of time.[10]
Diplomats also began to learn how to write more concisely as a way to reduce the amount of writing, and therefore reduce telegraph expenses.[11] This efficient skill was only formed as a result of the electric telegraph. This publication technology also brought upon the threat of spies, who could potentially track the messages being transmitted. This resulted in the creation of codes among international ministries, to keep contents secret from spies. Therefore, telegraphs also increased the threat of leaking important and secret information to the public; a delicate issue which still exists in other forms of publication today.
As it can be seen, the introduction of the electrical telegraph greatly changed the way politics worked and existed in the 19th Century. In regards to benefiting politics within society, the telegraph allowed for issues to be heard and resolved more efficiently than before, created the need for coding messaged, allowed for more global communication among diplomacies, and improved the roles of certain representatives. The negative impacts of the telegraph concern the potential threat of the public as well as spies having access to secret and important government information. So, through this advancement in publication technology, the way in which governments functioned was both heightened and put at risk.
The Internet
The evolution of the internet has reshaped our society, as it has influenced numerous aspects of our world, including social relationships, education, politics, entertainment and business. Politics is one aspect which has predominantly changed, following the introduction of the internet. These changes are seen to be both beneficial and detrimental, for the following reasons.
Firstly, it has become a lever for direct democracy, in the way that politicians can now provide necessary information to the public, through the internet, in order to gain their vote. Political candidates are now adapting their campaigns through Internet technology, such as weblogs.[13] For example, politicians such as Kevin Rudd have created their own Twitter accounts in order to gain public attention through having other twitter users follow their daily movements. This allows for the public to keep up to date on the campaigns of candidates which, in time, influences their vote, for they are able to further understand the value of each candidate.
Secondly, politicians can communicate with the public on a more personal level, as average citizens can now interact with websites and voice their opinion on certain political issues. This is further shown in an article which explains the way that Thai politicians recently turned to social media for campaigning, describing how “the Democrats have launched a recruiting campaign on Facebook called "Future Thai Leaders". A week after its launch, the page has drawn more than 1,370 fans.”[14] These fans now have the opportunity to communicate with their government through interacting with the Facebook page.
Another political impact which the internet has created is the fact that in the modern day, almost anyone can be a democratiser due to the social media which surrounds us. The internet has created the notion of online political discussion. Following the introduction of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, a new level of human interaction has been made possible, whereby individuals can now engage with political discussions with another and voice their opinions to the social networking world. Studies show that “Facebook is serving as an arena for political debate among members.”[15] Also, Charlie Brooker explains the way that YouTube is now commonly used by people to voice their opinions and videos on politics to the unknown public.[16] The internet has therefore allowed for average citizens to express their political opinion to the public, enabling them to also influence the public’s vote, as there is now great potential for users to receive political information which they would have otherwise not known about.
Finally, politics have been put at risk due to the internet being created, for the leaking of secret Government information to the public has become a growing trend among society. Many members of society use Wikileaks to read about recently leaked diplomatic cables. This site illegally provides government documents to its users, which the government were intending on guarding from the public. Certain types of information are attempted to be kept away from the public eye, so that the Government can deal with foreign affairs and issues within themselves, in an efficient, safe and productive manner. Wikileaks disrupts this process, and allows for the public to become involved in something which they should not have insight into. David Wilkins, former US ambassador to Canada stated that “it is important that those frank opinions and judgments be stated in secret cables. That is what they are supposed to be — secret and confidential.”[18] This issue is similar to that of the electric telegraph, whereby spies could track messages which were being transmitted by the government, to gain insight into private government information. Therefore, both the telegraph and the internet increased potential threat of unauthorized persons accessing private information, which resulted in the tightening of government security in both circumstances.
However in regards to other impacts, it can be seen that the internet tends to affect politics to a greater extent. Firstly, the public have become further involved in politics following the introduction of the internet, as they can now interact with democratic persons as well as express their own political opinions to the public. This function was not possible through the electric telegraph, as only important government persons were involved in this particular communication process. Also, the capabilities of politicians to extend their campaigns has only been made possible through the internet, and not through telegraphs. Therefore, through viewing several sources, one might suggest that the political impacts of publishing technologies increase overtime, for the invention of the internet has advanced the functions of governments around the world.
References:
· Unknown. (2010). The Electric Telegraph. Available: http://www.wisteme.com/question.view?targetAction=viewQuestionTab&id=9502. Last accessed 7th June 2011.
· Unknown. (2010). Who Invented the Telegraph?. Available: http://www.whoinventedit.net/who-invented-the-telegraph.html. Last accessed 7th June 2011.
· Solymar. L. (2000). The effect of the telegraph on law and order, war, diplomacy, and power politics. Available: The effect of the telegraph on law and order, war, diplomacy, and power politics. Last accessed 5th June 2011.
· David Paull Nickles (2003). Under the Wire. USA: Harvard University Press. 4.
· Shaw. J. (2009). State Department Historian Urges Diplomats to Embrace Technology Carefully. Available: http://www
· Unknown. (2004). The Internet's Impact on Mainstream Politics. Available: http://depts.washington.edu/ccce/digitalMedia/politicalimpact.html. Last accessed 6th June 2011.
· Thai democrats article- K.Raksaseri. (2011). Politicians turn to social media for election campaigning. Available: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/02/18/national/Politicians-turn-to-social-media-for-election-camp-30148987.html. Last accessed 6th June 2011.
· K.Kitchener and M.J.Kushin. (2009). First Monday. Getting political on social networking sites: Exploring online political discourse on Facebook. 14 (11), 14-15.
· Charlier booker C.Brooker. (2010). How to Report the News. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtGSXMuWMR4. Last accessed 7th June 2011.
· Unknown. (2011). Peace, justice, and security in cyberspace. Available: http://www.cybercrimelaw.net/Cybercrimelaw.html. Last accessed 7th June 2011
· S.Alberts. (2010). WikiLeaks will have a 'chilling' effect on U.S. diplomacy: former ambassador. Available: http://www.canada.com/news/canada-in-afghanistan/WikiLeaks+will+have+chilling+effect+diplomacy+former+ambassador/3918814/story.html. Last accessed 6th June 2011.
By Caitlin Morris[1] Unknown. (2010). The Electric Telegraph. Available: http://www.wisteme.com/question.view?targetAction=viewQuestionTab&id=9502. Last accessed 7th June 2011.
[2] Unknown. (2010). Who Invented the Telegraph?. Available: http://www.whoinventedit.net/who-invented-the-telegraph.html. Last accessed 7th June 2011.
[3] Unknown. (2010). Who Invented the Telegraph?. Available: http://www.whoinventedit.net/who-invented-the-telegraph.html. Last accessed 7th June 2011.
[4] Unknown. (2010). The Electric Telegraph. Available: http://www.wisteme.com/question.view?targetAction=viewQuestionTab&id=9502. Last accessed 7th June 2011.
[5] Solymar. L. (2000). The effect of the telegraph on law and order, war, diplomacy, and power politics. Available: The effect of the telegraph on law and order, war, diplomacy, and power politics. Last accessed 5th June 2011.
[6] The Electric Telegraph. Available: http://www.wisteme.com/question.view?targetAction=viewQuestionTab&id=9502. Last accessed 7th June 2011.
[7] The Electric Telegraph. Available: http://www.wisteme.com/question.view?targetAction=viewQuestionTab&id=9502. Last accessed 7th June 2011.
[8] David Paull Nickles (2003). Under the Wire. USA: Harvard University Press. 4.
[9] Shaw. J. (2009). State Department Historian Urges Diplomats to Embrace Technology Carefully. Available: http://www.washingtondiplomat.com/04-11/a1_11_04.html. Last accessed 6th June 2011.
[10] Unknown. The Electric Telegraph. Available: http://www.wisteme.com/question.view?targetAction=viewQuestionTab&id=9502. Last accessed 7th June 2011.
[11] Unknown. The Electric Telegraph. Available: http://www.wisteme.com/question.view?targetAction=viewQuestionTab&id=9502. Last accessed 7th June 2011.
[12] Unknown. (2008). Internet, Impact on Politics. Available: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-3045301169.html. Last accessed 4th June 2011.
[13] Unknown. (2004). The Internet's Impact on Mainstream Politics. Available: http://depts.washington.edu/ccce/digitalMedia/politicalimpact.html. Last accessed 6th June 2011.
[14] Thai democrats article- K.Raksaseri. (2011). Politicians turn to social media for election campaigning. Available: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/02/18/national/Politicians-turn-to-social-media-for-election-camp-30148987.html. Last accessed 6th June 2011.
[15] K.Kitchener and M.J.Kushin. (2009). First Monday. Getting political on social networking sites: Exploring online political discourse on Facebook. 14 (11), 14-15.
[16] Charlier booker C.Brooker. (2010). How to Report the News. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtGSXMuWMR4. Last accessed 7th June 2011.
[17] Unknown. (2011). Peace, justice, and security in cyberspace. Available: http://www.cybercrimelaw.net/Cybercrimelaw.html. Last accessed 7th June 2011.
[18] S.Alberts. (2010). WikiLeaks will have a 'chilling' effect on U.S. diplomacy: former ambassador. Available: http://www.canada.com/news/canada-in-afghanistan/WikiLeaks+will+have+chilling+effect+diplomacy+former+ambassador/3918814/story.html. Last accessed 6th June 2011.
