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This introduction serves several important goals. It lays out both the research objective and theoretical framework placing this study on an interdisciplinary foundation that combines work from political science, American political development, mass communication, history, and diffusion studies. It introduces the core concepts of the book, concentrated around a recurring multistage process called the political communication cycle (PCC). The three stages of the PCC, detailed in the following chapters, include the information and communications technology (ICT)–focused technological imperative phase; the political choice phase, which emphasizes the behavioral process central to innovation; and stabilization through the establishment of new norms, regulations, and institutions. This process has repeated throughout history, where long periods of relative stability, known as political communication orders (PCOs), are disrupted by shorter periods of permanent change, identified as political communication revolutions (PCRs). The introduction concludes by introducing the three claims that are used throughout the book and outlining the chapters that follow.

Chapter 2 provides a historical overview of information and communications technology (ICT) development through the lens of political communication orders (PCOs) and political communication revolutions (PCRs). This chapter begins a focus on the first stage of the political communication cycle (PCC): the technological imperative. This historically rich chapter details the social and technological history of the four PCOs that have existed through American political history and the revolutions that disrupted them. First is the Elite PCO from the colonial era through the 1830s, when newspapers were printed for small, elite audiences. The Mass PCO emerged as printing technology and political access expanded in the early nineteenth century, creating the first mass media in the United States. Next, the Broadcast PCO grew out of the expansion of radio and later television use across the country. Finally, the Information PCO is linked to the internet and digital communication since the 1990s.

This chapter summarizes the key takeaways from the book and the utility of the political communication cycle (PCC) overall. Technological changes and political contexts matter a great deal in the process of political communication change, but nothing is as consequential as the political choices that political actors and organizations make. These behavioral motivations explain much of the difference in innovativeness over time between different types of organizations, like the campaigns, social movements, and interest groups detailed in chapters 5 through 7. The conclusion applies these historical lessons to the current status of political communication, clarifying where we now are in the recurring cycle, and explaining why our position within the stabilization phase matters for political actors and consumers of political communication alike. Finally, this chapter sketches three possible paths forward and highlights related areas that could become subjects of future studies.