Slideshow: The Media in American Politics
The press has always played an important role in American politics. The fact that the Constitution as it was originally written had no guarantee of freedom of the press was a major criticism leveled by the anti-federalists and remedied with the first amendment.
There was virtually no daily press when the U.S. Constitution was written. The role of the press and today, the mass media has evolved over time.
Click the images below to view how the involvement of the media in politics has changed over time.
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United States Newspapers
In the early years of the American colonies, the newspaper was the first widely distributed form of information and media. The earliest regularly published paper was the Boston News-Letter of 1704. Benjamin Franklin later published the Pennsylvania Gazette, shown here from 1729. Newspapers played an important role in politics, providing editorials and essays regarding current events and a myriad of informational discussions. James Madison and Alexander Hamilton famously used the press to persuade public opinion regarding constitutional ratification through the publication of The Federalist Papers. The 1800s marked the beginning of mass circulation newspapers, many of which appealed to the working-class audience.
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Telegraph
In 1832, Samuel Morse, pictured here, invented the first single wire telegraph. The telegraph allowed for instant message transmission and changed the speed of media. Many newspapers adopted the name of The Telegraph to show how up-to-date their news was. Information could be transmitted to the newspaper as soon as it happened instead of waiting for the journalist to bring the written news copy in.
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Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell wanted to add a harmonic element to the telegraph. In 1876, Bell received his patent on the telephone. Bell is shown here speaking into his invention, the telephone. Information could now be transferred live using human voices. The result was of course revolutionary. Information now traveled faster than ever before. News, emergency services, business decisions, and everyday conversation changed drastically. By 1920, there were 13 million phones being used in the United States.
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Radio
Wireless communication was the next frontier in media and information transfer. In 1891, several innovative scientists, including Nicola Tesla, discovered that information could be transferred wirelessly. The resulting invention was the radio. As radio stations popped up around the world, people could listen to news, stories, music, and editorials. By 1934, more than 60 percent of households owned a radio. Radios were considered an important means for hearing the most current news and media, especially during times of distress, as seen here in a government poster from the 1940s World War II era. President Franklin Roosevelt held “fireside chats” with the nation using the radio to communicate national news and policy.
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Television
The late 1930s and early 1940s saw the invention and rise of the television. Regular broadcasts developed later with news reports, entertainment, educational shows, and advertising. By 1954, over 50 percent of U.S. households owned a television set. Information was transmitted directly to the masses in their homes, no purchase required, with exception of the initial purchase of a television set. True mass media had begun. Many Americans now turned to television for their news and entertainment. President Harry Truman, shown here playing the piano, appears on the popular Jack Benny show.
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Computer & Internet
Although they had been around for quite some time, computers became popularized and useful on a personal basis in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1981, IBM developed a 16 bit personal computer which used the Microsoft Disk Operating System or DOS. The founders of Microsoft, Bill Gates, shown here on the far left, and Paul Allen, quickly became two of the wealthiest people in the world. The internet was originally a military research tool developed to help scientist share computer information. Gradually the technology developed into a system useable by home computers. People currently can access information, using personal computers from basically anywhere in the world. New technology has enabled computers to become so small that telephones and other handheld devices can access the internet, do research, and receive broadcast news and entertainment media.
