News and the British World

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa were increasingly drawn together by an imperial press system. This is the first scholarly study of the development of that system. Revealed to contemporaries by the South African War, the basis on which the system would develop soon became the focus for debate. Commercial organizations, including newspaper combinations and news agencies such as Reuters, fought to protect their interests, while 'ccnstructive imperialists' attempted to enlist the power of the state to strrengthen the system. Debate culminated in fierce controversies over state censorship and propaganda during and after the First World War.

Based on extensive archival research, this study addresses crucial themes, including the impact of empire on the press, Britain's imperial experience, and the idea of a 'British world.' Challenging earlier nationalist accounts, Dr Potter draws out the ambiguous impact of the imperial press system on local, national, and imperial identities.