Mass communication sources, including newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and the Internet.
Newspapers were the original mass media through which trade was promoted and discussed. European and colonial newspapers were relatively expensive to print because of the cost of paper and ink, so important trade news would appear in articles but advertising was limited. The cost of changing the layout of the ads meant that some ads maintained the same appearance for a year or more. During the early 1800s, the cost of newspapers and printing decreased with the invention of the rotary press. With the price of a newspaper lowered to a penny, more people could afford to buy and read it. Advertising space was increased and changed daily. Important news over trade issues such as the tariff was reported, and in some cases political debates on the subject appeared as well. After the War of 1812, Niles’ Register became the first newspaper to take a strong stand on the issue of trade. Article after article was printed in support of a protective tariff. Soon, other newspapers across the country began reprinting the stories.
After the Civil War, newspapers continued to print articles on trade, including the great tariff debate of 1888. Most editors took strong positions on the subject. Free traders and protectionists alike vied for the attention of voters, who were directly affected by high duties. The media had shifted from being a source of information to an instrument of persuasion.
Newspapers continued to promote the various positions of their owners and editors on the issue of trade. Each time the tariff was revised, stories were printed on the subject. The newspapers affected trade locally by devoting more space to advertising. Most papers received at least a third of their revenues from advertisers.
During the 1920s, a new form of media, the radio, was sold to Americans across the country. Newspaper companies realized the potential threat of this new media outlet to their existing business. Instead of resisting the new technology, newspaper editors often established the first radio station in their market. Early programming included a few hours of airtime divided among inspirational broadcasts, news, sports updates, and music. The popularity of the radio would eventually bring entertainment shows to the air-waves and with them sponsors who received air-time to promote their products.
This marriage of the media and advertisers became even stronger with the advent of the television. By the twenty-first century national, and sometimes international, audiences watch events such as the Super Bowl and are enticed to purchase goods advertisers promote during the broadcast. Sports figures and entertainers are featured in shoe, clothing, soft drink, and even pantyhose ads. Image has become everything. Although advertising costs have increased, so have the sales.
Television first became popular after World War II, when the United States was promoting free trade under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Debates on trade remained limited at first. However, when the United States, Mexico, and Canada signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1992, the media played a central role in the debate over ratification. Vice President Al Gore and independent candidate Ross Perot appeared on the television program Larry King Live to argue their positions on the subject. Gore presented Perot with a photo of Representative Willis Hawley and Senator Reed Smoot, the two sponsors of the Hawley-Smoot Tariff of 1930 that raised rates to record high levels and covered most products grown and manufactured. By linking high tariffs with the Great Depression, Gore was able to argue that a free-trade zone would be beneficial for all three nations. Perot, on the other hand, raised issues such as transportation safety, since Mexican trucks did not have to meet the same standards as those in the United States and Canada, and the loss of American jobs to factories in Mexico, where wages were lower. The debate persuaded most Americans that they should not fear adverse economic consequences, while labor and environmental groups continued to oppose NAFTA’s ratification. Again, newspapers helped persuade Americans that issues of concern by these two groups would be addressed and that the overall impact of the agreement would be positive. President William Clinton reassured these activists that side agreements would be reached, and they were.
Since the ratification of NAFTA, the issue of trade has been featured in the media with producers and editors usually promoting the idea of free and open trade. Although some debate occurred in the media over the creation of the World Trade Organization, the new international body was portrayed as a necessary vehicle for international trade negotiations. Stories of protests were reported but they were not covered extensively or in a positive light.
The mass media has proven most influential on issues of trade when society is in a period of transition. Following the War of 1812, newspapers persuaded the American public of the need for a protective tariff. During the debate of 1888, when the treasury operated with a surplus, free traders and others who simply wanted a reduction in the tariff pushed their message through the media. When the administration of George H.W. Bush recognized the need to establish a free-trade zone in North America to counterbalance the creation of the European Union, the media was again instrumental in persuading the public that free trade was the best course of action.
Between these high points of involvement, the media reports trade events but not with the same intensity. Throughout the debates over free trade and protectionism, the media has continued to impact trade by offering companies the opportunity to advertise through its medium.
Cynthia Clark Northrup
See also: Advertising.
Bertrab, Hermann von. Negotiating NAFTA: A Mexican Envoy’s Account. Westport: Praeger, 1997.
Eckes, Alfred E., Jr. Opening America’s Markets: U.S. Foreign Trade Policy Since 1776. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1995.