ABSTRACT
Communication is an essential and integral part of any society. It is anecessary, if not always well used, tool of the politician’s trade. Toinfluence others, one must communicate. With the advent of a mass electorate, politicians have had to communicate with a large audience. In the eighteenth century, when affairs of state were the concern of an aristocratic elite, communication by word of mouth or by letter was often sufficient to reach those with political influence. In the nineteenth century, the newspaper became more important as a medium of communication, especially toward the end of the century. (The only other medium of mass communication, or at least one capable of reaching a large audience, was the political pamphlet.) In the twentieth century, newspapers remained important but were supplemented, in some cases supplanted, in the latter half of the century by radio and television. Increasingly other means of communication, notably the Internet, are assuming importance. It is now possible to reach a mass audience through a range of media.
