Menahem Blondheim's book analyzes the development of telegraphic news wire services in the United States from 1844 to 1897. The work reconstructs the history of the New York Associated Press and Western Union, using a wide-ranging body of primary sources, many previously untapped. It examines the effect of technology on news concepts and the emergence of private sector monopolies.
Use Cases
- Study the evolution of journalistic practices based on the historical analysis of telegraphic news gathering.
- Analyze business oligopoly formation based on the narrative of the Associated Press and Western Union.
- Examine technological innovation and diffusion processes based on the history of the telegraph industry and press.
- Investigate concepts of news commodification based on the discovery of timely news as a tradeable good.
Strengths
- Analysis covers a defined 53-year period from 1844 to 1897.
- Draws from a wide-ranging body of primary sources, many previously untapped.
- Provides a detailed narrative reconstruction of key figures like Daniel H. Craig.
Limitations
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Data may reflect temporal and source bias inherent to the historical monograph.
Provenance
- Source
- Menahem Blondheim, University of Washington
- Collection Method
- Historical research assembling a narrative from primary sources.
- Time Range
- 1844-1897
- Freshness
- Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
- Geography
- United States