VS.           

Overview

Until the invention of the telegraph, there were two ways to pass information to someone else.  You could go to the person and tell them/show them, or you could have someone else tell them/show them.  The consistent part is that the information had to be passed physically.  If there were distances involved between sender and receiver, then someone had to travel.  The Pony Express is a famous example of a service that would carry a message before the telegraph. [10]  Transportation and communication had always been synonymous but with the arrival of the telegraph, this no longer held true.  This was due to the fact that no mechanical or muscular transport was needed to pass information. Telegraph, the new way of communicating via the electrical impulses transmitting over wire, became known as an the first example of transmission. 

The first telegraph message

Forms of media have changed throughout human history, but the physical nature of the medium had been a given.  Telegraph created a way of communicating, that to that point, could not be grasped by the mind of the consumer.  The first significant telegraph message in the United States, was sent on May 23, 1844, from Washington to Baltimore. The first message that was sent was: "What hath God wrought?" [5]  The telegraph became a sort of social nervous system, sending messages across the body of the world as fast as the speed of light. 1844 marked the beginning of what is known as the “transmission” age. [1]

Effects of the telegraph

The relationship between communication and transportation became realized in the parallel growth of the railroad and telegraph as this social nervous system as a control mechanism of communication divorced from physical movement of people and things. [2] The use of the telegraph became known as both a model and a mechanism for control of, specifically, the railroad. They no longer relied on horsemen to communicate where a train was. Instead the telegraph was used. Not only could it move information at the speed of light, it could also be a simulation of and control mechanism for what is left behind. [3]

This integrated system of transport of the railroad and telegraph provided a model for all other systems. The same principle governs the development of all modern processes in electrical transmission and control from guided gun sights to simple machines that open doors. (3) This is seen today for aircraft control. Without techniques of radar and radio communication planes would crash more frequently and the whole airport system would be useless [4].

New vision for society

There was the realization of the capacity to transform the great society created by industry into a unified nation with one culture, and a great public of common understanding and knowledge came about. [2] An example of this is the submarine telegraph service between England and France which opened on November 13, 1851. [8] By 1901 all the continents were connected by submarine telegraph lines (see picture below) [9].

Transmission, the new communication

Before the telegraph the term “communication” was used to describe transportation as well as message transmittal because the movement of messages was dependent on being carried on foot, horseback, ship or rail. Can you imagine telling someone to go and communicate with your uncle across the Atlantic and it meaning that you need to take a ship there to meet him? Although understandable it wouldn’t be used in normal contexts today. The new way of thinking about communication is the basis for its new name “transmission.” [3]

Today transmission is defined officially as the forwarding of signal traffic over distances that are too great to be simply connected by a twisted pair cable. Techniques available now may be microwave link, satellite link, coaxial cable or optical fiber. All of these channels of communication using technology divorced of manual and mechanical transportation. Most transmission today is done digitally. [5]

Historical models of Communication and new models of transmission

The communications revolution of the 1830’s generated three unprecedented historical phenomena: an international commodity market, and international commodity depression and, finally, and international commodity discontent. [6]

In the transmission view communication is a process of transmitting messages at a distance for the purpose of control. The generic models for this are persuasion, attitude change, behavior modification, and socialization through the transmission of information, influence, or conditioning as well as the individual’s choice of what to read or view. These terms have much in common with the use or communication in the 19th century as another term for transportation. It is also related to the 19th century desire to use communication and transportation to extend influence, control, and power over wider distances and greater populations. The transmission view of communication centers on the extension of messages across geography for purposes of control. [7]

Results of Transmission on Life in the West

Innis characterized modern Western history as starting with a time organized society to a space organized one. Essentially it was the surrendering of the oral and manuscript tradition and the concern of morals, community, and metaphysics for print and electronics that supported this bias of space. This space orientation can be said to be the focus on real estate, voyage, discovery, movement, expansion, empire, and control. Symbols were replaced to support these goals. Communities were now seen as connected through space, not place – mobile and connected over vast distances. [2]

By contrast, time centered living focused on history, continuity, permanence, and contraction. All these were represented through the symbols of oral, myth, religion, and ritual practices. There communities were rooted in place. [2]

Implications for Media Ecology

The telegraph is another groundbreaking invention in the history of media that changed the medium in which we communicate. This has changed the way we see the world as well as the way we think, giving us a faster, more national if not a global sense of connection with the rest of humanity. Society was reshaped around this medium and therefore it has affected the societies that embraced it. The break between transport and communication gave a whole new sense of where the power message carriers lie.

References

1. Carey, James W. "Time, Space, and the Telegraph." Communication in History. 5th ed. Boston: Pearson Allyn and Bacon, 2007.

2. Carey, James W. "Space, Time, and Communications: A Tribute to Harold Innis." Communication as Culture. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 1992.

3. Carey, James W. "Technology and Ideology: The Case of the Telegraph." Communication as Culture. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 1992.

4. "Transport." Wikipedia. 9 Apr. 2008

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport>

5. "Transmission (telecommunications)." Wikipedia. 9 Apr. 2008

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmission_(telecommunications)>

6. Carey, James W. Communication as Culture. The History of the Future. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 1992.

7. Carey, James W. Communication as Culture. Mass Communication and Cultural Studies. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 1992.

8. "19th Century Bermuda and France Historical Links." Bermuda's Ties with France. 23 Apr. 2008  

<http://www.bermuda-online.org/france.htm>

9. History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications. 24 Apr. 2008

http://www.atlantic-cable.com/Maps/

12. "Telegraph" Wikipedia. 13 Nov. 2012

 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telegraphy>

13. Negroponte, Nicholas "Being Digital" 14 Nov. 2012

http://archives.obs-us.com/obs/english/books/nn/bdcont.htm>

Original Author:  Chad Chumley

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