Podcast Summary: New Books Network – Politicians and Mass Media in the Age of Empire with Betto van Waarden
Aired: January 23, 2026
Host: Dr. Miranda Melcher
Guest: Dr. Betto van Waarden, author of "Politicians and Mass Media in the Age of Empire" (Cambridge UP, 2025)

Episode Overview

This episode explores the historical transformation between politics and mass media during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as detailed in Betto van Waarden’s "Politicians and Mass Media in the Age of Empire." The conversation investigates how political leaders navigated, manipulated, and were shaped by the burgeoning media landscape—what van Waarden calls the emergence of a “hybrid system of media politics.” This period saw the rise of mass newspapers, global news infrastructure, and new forms of political celebrity, dramatically altering the practice of politics and the relationship between politicians and the public in imperial contexts.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Defining the Research and Scope

• Van Waarden’s Motivation (03:13):
  Explains his background as a historian at Maastricht University and his interest in how the close contemporary relationship between politics and media evolved.
• Research Focus (04:27):
  Approaches the broad question: How did politics change with the emergence of mass media? Focus is mainly on the late 19th-century mass press and the broader visual revolution, dissected into two sub-questions:
  • How did politicians shape the media? (“Politicization of media”)
  • How did media shape politics? (“Mediatization of politics”)
  • Quote:
    “How did all of this come together to create a type of new system of media politics, which is what I explore in the book.” (05:34)

2. The Figures Studied: Media Savvy Politicians

• Selection of Key Figures (06:38):
  Van Waarden examines six highly visible, “mediagenic” imperial political leaders from four empires:
  • Kaiser Wilhelm II (Germany)
  • Bernhard von Bülow (Germany)
  • Joseph Chamberlain (Britain)
  • Cecil Rhodes (Britain/South Africa)
  • Leopold II (Belgium/Congo)
  • Theodore Roosevelt (USA)
  • Each represented different styles—media manipulators, celebrities, and hybrid media-politicians.
  • Quote:
    “By zooming in on these six key figures... I also want to kind of highlight the similarities and differences across four different empires.” (09:44)
• Comparative Approach:
  Their use of the media illuminates broader transnational trends and similarities in the interaction of empire, politics, and media.

3. The Hybrid System of Media Politics

• Explosion of the Mass Press and Global Media (11:03):
  • Newspaper circulation surged globally—e.g., from 3,000 globally in early 19th century to 30,000 by century’s end.
  • Press growth was not just European; regions like Kolkata and the Ottoman Empire had major print cultures.
  • “This is not a media revolution—it’s not one medium overtaking the next ... older forms of media ... start interacting with these newer visual media.” (16:22)
  • Media became more commercial, with advertising driving mass reach rather than political subscriptions.
• Infrastructure Transformation:
  • Telegraphy and steamships radically sped up news transmission (e.g., Australia-Europe drops from months to hours).
  • Press agencies (Havas, Reuters, etc.) enabled rapid, global information flows.
  • Urbanization concentrated media influence in key metropolitan centers, particularly London, which became a global news hub.
• Global Public Sphere:
  • Transnational readership meant cosmopolitan aspects—people worldwide were informed about the same issues and political figures.
  • Quotes and anecdotes detail how media stories crossed boundaries rapidly (e.g., Chamberlain’s caricatures starting local and becoming international).

4. Politicians’ Reactions and Engagement with the New System

• Traditional vs. Newcomer Responses (25:55):
  • Aristocratic politicians felt threatened as secretive, elite politics gave way to scrutiny; newcomers saw opportunities.
  • Importance of “public opinion” as legitimacy, even for unelected leaders like Kaiser Wilhelm II.
• Obsessive News Consumption (28:08):
  • Leaders like Bülow, the Kaiser, and Leopold II closely monitored international press as a barometer of public feeling and a guide for policy.
  • Anecdotes: Leopold II canceling then secretly acquiring The Times due to Congo atrocity coverage; Rhodes smuggling newspapers into besieged Kimberley during the Boer War.
  • Quote:
    “This also means that these politicians were all very sensitive to public opinion.” (33:05)

5. Attempts to Influence the Media

• Traditional Tools and Their Limits (39:29):
  • Censorship (pre- and post-publication), direct writing and editing, subsidizing/bribing newspapers/agencies.
  • Examples: Paying for positive coverage, buying up critical editions, editing prominent travelogues (Leopold and Stanley), and financing local/international papers (Rhodes).
  • Commercialization and press independence diminished the effectiveness of bribes and coercion.
  • Public opinion often constrained political manipulation.
  • Quote:
    “These were the old methods... but do you see that it becomes a kind of... type of arms race to the bottom.” (45:55)

6. Innovation: Politicians as Public Performers

• New Methods—Speeches, Interviews, Events (49:58):
  • Politicians adopted speeches, interviews, and media events to directly reach mass publics—sometimes with spectacular backfires (e.g., Kaiser’s “Hun” speech).
  • The rise of journalistic interviews fostered more intimate and personal portrayals.
  • Media events, like Chamberlain’s colonial tour or Roosevelt’s adventures, provided news spectacle and constructed celebrity.
• 'Personalization' and the Rise of Political Celebrity (55:40):
  • Focus shifted to leaders’ psychology, appearance, families, and private spaces—early roots of modern political branding.
  • Quote:
    “To be a great politician was to be caricatured. And to be caricatured, yeah, you needed to be recognizable.” (58:33)
  • Famous leaders used props (Chamberlain’s orchid, Kaiser’s mustache/helmet) for recognizability.
  • The press constructed family-centered and domestic images, sometimes through photomontage.

7. Structural Changes in Politics (Then and Now)

• From Insiders to Mass Politics (64:06):
  • The expansion of the public sphere allowed non-aristocrats greater involvement; politicians became central not just in politics but in wider culture.
  • Larger-than-life leaders shaped public identity, often filling a need for symbolic order—sometimes setting the stage for future personality cults.
  • Media logic fostered “Matthew effect”—the already-visible became more visible.
  • Non-elite and bottom-up movements struggled for coverage; celebrity attention dominated.
• Contemporary Resonances

  • The late 19th century prefigured today’s “media politics”: Politicians acting as media performers; the interplay between style and substance.

  • Direct communication tools then (controlled newspapers, speeches) have their analogue now (social media, YouTube, Twitter).

  • Visuals, narratives, scandals, and the pressures of immediacy and scale all echo today.

  • Opportunities: direct connection, bypassing intermediaries. Pitfalls: oversimplification, amplification of scandals, blurring of boundaries between information and manipulation.

  • Quote:
    “It’s not about style versus substance, but it’s really about style, packaging the substance.” (67:48)

  • Democratization vs. De-Democratization:

    • Media connects leaders and public, but also allows for bypassing of representative institutions—echoes of contemporary populism.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Does it come from. How did it evolve?” – Betto van Waarden (03:26)
• “First politicians try to shape the media and then media become more powerful in this time period and they kind of take the upper hand and politicians start needing to adjust.” (05:19)
• “Newspapers need to reach as many readers as possible for their advertisers. So media logic really comes to dominate... particularly commercial logic.” (16:55)
• “This is not a media revolution—it’s not one medium overtaking the next... older forms of media... start interacting with these newer visual media, right?” (16:22)
• “To be it that to be a great politician was to be caricatured. And to be caricatured, yeah, you needed to be recognizable.” (58:33)
• “It’s not about style versus substance, but it’s really about style, packaging the substance.” (67:48)
• “This tension between democratization and de-democratization... On one hand, people are more informed, but on the other, there’s democratic backsliding with politicians bypassing democratic institutions.” (73:38)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Research Motivation and Framing: 03:06–06:08
• Key Figures Explained: 06:38–10:30
• Describing the Hybrid System: 11:03–24:48
• Politicians’ Reactions to Public Opinion: 25:55–38:56
• Influencing the Media: Old and New Tactics: 39:29–48:55
• Rise of Political Celebrity and Personalization: 49:58–63:17
• Expanding and Transforming Politics: 64:06–74:08
• Looking Ahead: Disinformation, Truth, and Democracy: 74:25–78:28

Host & Guest Closing

At episode's end, Dr. van Waarden previews his upcoming work on disinformation and democracy, focusing on the interplay of truth, time, and conflicting realities in Dutch political history, connecting these themes to ongoing debates about media and politics around the world.

Recommended for:
Historians, political scientists, media scholars, and anyone interested in the origins of our current media-driven political landscape.