The British Cable and Merger (1928-29) as an International / National News Event

This chapter sets out to analyse the convergence of powerful competing interests underpinning the communication and media systems of the British Empire, and to unravel the implications of this unprecedented development for the Dominions and Australia in particular. As will be shown, the growing complexity of the imperial news system between the wars ensured that the newspaper press in Britain and the Dominions was more than a disinterested spectator in covering these cable and wireless rivalries. In reporting the complex developments associated with the merger of cable and wireless, the Australian press played several distinct roles, acting firstly as a conduit for British official sources; secondly, as a concerted lobby with collective influence upon local politicians and parties; and thirdly, as an advocate and booster on popular communication issues. In particular, the pressure group activity of the Australian section of the Empire Press Union, will be highlighted, including its well publicised conferences and recommendations on imperial communication policy, culminating in 1929 with the establishment of a Senate Select Committee of Inquiry, to canvass the national implications of the cable and wireless merger.