Breaking the News in the
Age of Revolutions and Today

When Rip Van Winkle woke from his nap and returned to his village, he found the place buzzing with a new and anxious energy. Having lived through the Revolution, villagers couldn’t stop talking about politics in “a busy, bustling, disputatious tone,” which old Rip found disorienting and disconcerting. The same can be said today as news seems to break by the minute on cable news and social media. In his talk, Dr. Joseph Adelman will explore how Americans navigated changes in the news media during the American Revolution and the lessons they offer for handling news consumption today.

Professor Adelman’s book, “Revolutionary Networks: The Business and Politics of Printing the New 1763-1789”, which details many of the issues covered in Professor’s Adelman’s presentation, can be purchased directly from the publisher here.