_RESPONSE PAPER (600 words)

- Example -

He uses the concept of Niche Theory, which originates in ecology,

and transfers it to his study of information and communications

Date

technology. Niche Theory predicts that the introduction of a competitor

Name

promotes either specialization (exploiting a narrower range of resources)

Paper No. X

or generalization (turning to new resources) of the existing entity. Thus

already established technologies persist even though they are threatened

Please write your response papers accordingly and send them to me via e-

by a competing innovation.

mail. The deadline is Wednesday evening, 6pm for the following

In order to explain the effect of the telegraph on established forms

week's paper (and I DO mean Wednesday evening, 6pm here). Make

of news relay, Kielbowicz starts out with characterizing the technologies

sure you bring a copy for yourself to class. I will try to return the papers

which are involved in the process. Then he defines the economic and

on Monday, but there might be busy weeks where I just manage to

political environment in which these technologies must be defined.

compile your questions for the in-class discussion and return them later

In

the

very

beginning

of

American

journalism,

gaining

and

on. I will mark every paper but you will get your cumulative grade only

distributing information using postal services was the major way of

after the end of term when I got all assignments.

gaining information. Mails and a free exchange of printed papers were the
backbone of news gathering during the first half of the 18th century.

E-MAIL to: saskia.sell@fu-berlin.de

Printers had the permission to exchange one copy of their paper with
every other paper in the country. These exchanges were not rendered

FULL TITLE

obsolete even though the telegraph altered the basis of news gathering.

(Follow citation rules! Use either MLA or APA style guide or rules on our
website, c.f. Hinweise zur Bachelorarbeit, AS Journalistik)

A two-step relay was developed along with the innovation in media

technology. News by wire focussed on urgent, short and precise
information whereas news by mail specialized on longer pieces of in-debt

Kielbowicz, Richard B. (1987): News Gathering by Mail in the Age

analyses. The telegraphs advantage was speed, but as the transmission

of the Telegraph: Adapting to a New Technology. In: Technology

was very expensive in the early days, stories had to be summarized or

and Culture, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp26-41.

even skeletonised and sent in code to save money. This directly influenced
the form of the news the concise, impartial, inverted pyramid story

SUMMARY

was established as modern news form.

The constraints that came with the telegraph created the niche for

Richard

Kielbowicz

analyses

how

certain

technologies

survive

the

exchanges and letters they permitted the distribution of more complex

challenge of competing innovations on the basis of an example from the

and opinionated stories that were of interest to narrower audiences, their

field of journalistic practice in America: the gathering and distribution of

focus shifted towards features and political commentary. Instead of a

news.

replacement of one technology by another, a functional differentiation

took place. Due to the high expenses of telegraphic transmissions, the
1

new technology was mostly used by financial elites, larger businesses and

3. Other general information

newspapers. Smaller papers still relied on letters and exchanges. Also

4. Background information

news from small towns were still mainly send and received the old way, as
initially only large cities were linked to the new telegraphic network.

QUESTIONS THAT COME UP WHILE READING

Exchanges also kept their attractiveness because they were cost-

(think about at least three questions)

free. There were public assaults against this policy of free exchanges. The
most vigorous assault came from the Postmaster General Montgomery

1) Does Niche Theory apply to all forms of technological innovation?

Blair in 1859. He claimed that as the government does not transport other

2) How does ICT influence journalistic practice in this case?

goods for free, it also should not transport papers for free.

3) The usage of the telegraph was initially only possible for elites is

After a period of public debates, Congress left out the free-exchange

privilege in a new press law. From now on, papers had to pay for every

this related to contemporary descriptions of the Digital Divide

when it comes to discussions about the Internet?

way of news gathering. Still both ways of news relay persisted, as one

4) Can intangible goods be compared to material goods? Is Blairs

channel of communication complemented the other because they occupied

assault valid? What is the difference between material and intangible

different functional niches. Thus Niche Theory provides a valid framework

goods?

when it comes to processes of both change and continuity within the

usage of media technologies.
(533 words)

DISCUSSION IN CLASS
From now on, I will collect your questions and we will discuss them

KEY CONCEPTS/ DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS

together in class. This is why I really need them before on Wednesday

evening, 6pm.

Niche Theory = introduction of a competitor promotes either

specialization or generalization of the established form

Spatial Differentiation = potentially competing forms occupy

different areas

Intangible Goods = an object that cannot be touched, a good that

increases utility, i.e. anything digital that can be delivered via the
Internet (a piece of music, an article, etc.); not to be confused
with a service

Inverted Pyramid Story = form of modern news

1. Most newsworthy information: Who? What? When? Where?
How? Why?
2. Important details
3