University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

The speed at which information travels has increased drastically due to technological advancements. Comparing historical events, such as the spread of news about Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860, shows how news travelled at 7 miles per hour over a relay of horseback riders called the Pony Express. In ancient Rome and Egypt, news travelled at 1 mile per hour, and between Venice and other Mediterranean cities, it was slightly slower. However, the pace of news began to quicken in the following centuries. For example, news of a mutiny of Indian troops against British rule took 46 days to reach London in 1857, while news of Lincoln's assassination reached readers of the Times of London only 13 days after the event. The invention of the transatlantic cable in 1866 cut the time for news to travel between New York and London to a matter of minutes.

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