Communication and empire Efficient communication networks played crucial roles in establishing ancient imperial authority and international trade. The extent of empire could be used as an 'indication of the
efficiency of communication'. Ancient empires such as Rome, Persia, Axum and China, all utilized writing in collecting information and dispersing, creating enormous postal and dispatch systems. As early as in fifteenth century, news had been disseminated trans-nationally in Europe. 'The wheat traders of Venice, the silver traders of Antwerp, the merchants of Nuremberg and their trading partners shared economic newsletters and created common values and beliefs in the rights of capital.'
The advent of telegraph and time–space compression In 1837,
Samuel Morse invented the
telegraph. The telegraph worked by transmitting electrical signals over a wire laid between stations. It was the first mode of communication to eliminate the effect of distance, allowing for a near instantaneous connection. Given its speed and reliability in delivering information, telegraph offered opportunities for capital and military expansion. It also increased market integration. It did so by lowering the cost of trade by increasing the capacity utilization of shipping.
The era of news agencies The newspaper industry and international telegraph networks mutually facilitated each other. Telegraph communications drastically altered the way in which news was produced. The individual items of modern newspapers became no longer selected on the basis of spatial proximity, but following newly emerging journalistic criteria of news relevance. As the supply and demand of the newspaper industry rapidly increased in the nineteenth century,
news agencies were established successively.
The French Havas Agency was founded in 1835, the German agency
Wolffs Telegraphisches Bureau in 1849, and the British
Reuters in 1851. These three European agencies began as financial-data services for bankers, but eventually started to operate internationally and extended their coverage to world news. They were all subsidized by their respective governments. By 1866, national news agencies were beginning to rise in many European countries. While they covered and sold news locally, they relied on the major services for coverage and sales abroad. Shortwave transmission sites, known as "number stations" were used by both the United States and Soviet governments to send propaganda to foreign countries. They were also a secure means of sending coded messages to intelligence officers operating in other countries. As long as an agent had the station, the air time, and encryption code, he could receive a one-time message that only he could understand. The Rwandan media have been accused of inciting hatred that led to violence by using an ethical framework to report a political struggle, as well as spreading fear, rumors, and panic.
Demanding a new communication order Since the cold war officially ended in 1990, the intense relations of super powers halted with the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the emergence of the Third World countries, the unequally developed communication order can no longer exist. The Third World called for ceasing their marginalized communication status. Especially when international communications stepped into the information age, 'the convergence of telecommunication and computing and the ability to move all type of data – pictures, words, sounds – via the Internet have revolutionized international information exchange.' The New World Information and Communication Order debate changed the trajectory of international communication. This was a series of debates that happened in the 1980s about information flow across the world.
Considerations for international communication When communicating internationally it is important to take culture into consideration. Though English has become the language of business, many businesses fail to recognize that the language used does not determine how business is conducted. Therefore, it is important to understand that intercultural and international communication are interchangeable. Effective communication between international business partners is critical for global success, and underlying national and organizational cultural differences in international business-related relationships can create hurdles to effective communication, which can hinder performance. The New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO) was one of the major shift in the history of international communication. As a tourist it may be acceptable to maintain the cultural norms from a country of origin when visiting, though attempting to adapt would be appreciated. However, when conducting business it is important to recognize cultural differences, especially when communicating. At the turn of the century there was a large amount of research based on the needs of those that travel abroad in order to commercialize products or services. The list of researchers includes Hofstede, 1991; Storti, 1994; Ansari & Jackson, 1995; Cushner & Brislin, 1996; Adler, 1997; Mead, 1998; and Marx, 1999. From those studies Gibson's volume becomes an important source of information for business professionals interested in succeeding internationally. As explained by Douglas Storey, there was a change in style and strategy of American diplomacy since 1979 after the first addition of Glen Fisher's book appeared. Despite the reason for international communication it is important to understand that international communication is not limited to the language spoken during communication. There are two broadly conceived approaches to the creation of international communications regulations. The first would be internationalizing a minimum standard by agreement among the parties. The second is to allow the parties to denote exceptions for specific points about which they may be unable to reach agreement. Though the second approach falls short of uniformity it permits higher standards by allowing some parties to opt out. == Scope and approaches of international communication research ==