Did you know that the classic media business model (widely distributed, subsidised by advertising) only took off in 1833 with the launch of the New York Sun? The Sun sold at 1/6th the price of its rivals; juiced circulation with tales of men on the moon; and made its money from ads. Within five years, it was the most popular newspaper in the world.
That is the most interesting fact I learned from Writing on the Wall, the author’s latest popular history (his previous titles include A History of the World in 6 Glasses and An Edible History of Humanity, both of which I’ve read and enjoyed). Writing on the Wall is really two books in one:
1. An episodic romp through the last 2,000 years of (usually written) communication, from how Cicero’s writings spread in a world of “no publishers, no copyright, and very few booksellersâ€, to “how [Martin] Luther went viral†through the printers and pamphleteers of Germany, through the American, French and Industrial revolutions, and finally to the modern day.
2. An argument that “social media†(horizontal, two-way, relatively low barriers to entry) has in fact been the norm through history, and that “traditional†mass media (vertical, one-way, high barriers to entry) is the aberration, brought about by the steam press and later by the economics of broadcast media.
To some extent these missions conflict; a number of the episodes in the book, such as the discussion of Tudor poetry and “commonplace books†(the Evernote of their day), are interesting but not really germane to the author’s thesis. Nonetheless, the book succeeds as popular history – it’s breezy and crammed with fun trivia; it’s enlightening for those new to the subject (me); and, I think, it would make a good jumping-off point for further research – there is a long bibliography as well as a source list for each chapter. Recommended as a enjoyable introductory read.