The Structure of the News Market in Britain, 1870–1914

In this essay, I grapple with three main questions: What effect did the nationalization of telegraphy in 1868-70 have on the structure of the news market in Britain? How did this market structure affect the pricing and supply of news? What effects did subsequent technological change have on the structure of the news market? I show that nationalization resulted in a tripartite market arrangement characterized by collusion that benefited the provincial press over the London press, but retarded the productivity of the General Post Office and the adoption of new technology