Politicians and Mass Media in the Age of Empire

Examines how an expanding mass media created a new type of politician and system of transnational media politics between 1890 and WWI.

Betto van Waarden (Author)

9781009604048, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 9 October 2025

373 pages
23.5 x 16 x 2.8 cm, 0.77 kg

'The densely argued analysis focuses on media portrayals and political maneuvering surrounding three disputes between Britain and Germany, and draws on digital newspaper archives, correspondence between politicians and journalists, and a close (often critical) reading of the existing literature. Recommended.' J. Bekken, Choice

How did politicians deal with mass communication in a rapidly changing society? And how did the performance of public politics both help and hinder democratization? In this innovative study, Betto van Waarden explores the emergence of a new type of politician within a system of transnational media politics between 1890 and the onset of the First World War. These politicians situated media management at the centre of their work, as print culture rapidly expanded to form the fabric of modern life for a growing urban public. Transnational media politics transcended and transformed national politics, as news consumers across borders sought symbolic leaders to make sense of international conflicts. Politicians and Mass Media in the Age of Empire historicizes contemporary debates on media and politics. While transnational media politics partly disappeared with the World Wars and decolonization, these 'publicity politicians' set standards that have defined media politics ever since.

Introduction
1. A hybrid system of media politics
2. The politics of press consumption
3. Traditional media management
4. The will to personal publicity
5. Journalists and the journalistic instinct
6. Politicians as celebrity brands
7. Politicians as communicative anchors
8. Competition in the attention economy
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: European history [HBJD]