How did the telegraph change the speed at which news could be gathered and distributed?

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The electric telegraph fundamentally transformed the speed of news gathering and distribution by enabling instantaneous communication between distant political and commercial centers. Before its widespread adoption, news relied on physical transport, such as mounted couriers or packet boats, which could take days to deliver reports from nearby cities.12

The telegraph revolutionized this process by allowing news to be transmitted rapidly across vast distances, including via transoceanic cables. This shift in communication technology fundamentally altered the reporter's conception of time and space, making news a more urgent commodity. To manage the high costs of this new service, newspapers began to pool their resources, leading to the formation of news agencies like the Associated Press and Reuters.12345

In the context of media convergence, the telegraph served as a critical precursor to modern interconnected systems. By uncoupling the transmission of information from physical travel, it laid the groundwork for the rapid, global exchange of content that characterizes today's digital media landscape.165