"The Future of Internet News: What Can History Teach Us?"

For better or worse, the internet (and the rise of social media) has transformed the nature of news, from its funding model to its production and distribution systems, with social and political effects that are still unfolding. But what can history teach us about the nature and future direction of this transformation? Journalism has experienced two other major technological revolutions that utterly transformed its nature and influence. The first was the creation of the mass media in the late 19th and early 20th century, which enormously increased circulation and content in the metropolis. The second was the broadcasting revolution of second and third quarter of 20th century, which led to a radically new method of newsgathering and distribution. In both cases these changes were driven by a range of new technologies, some unique to news and others more widely adopted. They were also closely linked to a range of major social and economic transformations that were the preconditions for such changes. This paper examines the scope of changes to newsgathering, news production and news distribution during these two revolutions, and how they transformed what we understand as the news. It suggests some insights we might gain from understanding these two previous technological revolutions, such as the role of path dependence and the evolutionary as well as revolutionary nature of the changes. The paper’s aim is to outline an agenda for future research. As well as archival research, the paper draws on the rich scholarly literature on selected topics, across a wide range of disciplines, and the author’s own experience in managing the BBC’s transition from broadcast to internet news.