The History of 20th Century Telecommunications: The Development and Regulation of Telecommunications and Broadcasting

Clay T. Whitehead was a major figure in the history of telecommunications in the late 20th century. In 2005 he started to write The History of 20th Century Telecommunications: The Development and Regulation of Telecommunications and Broadcasting. According to Whitehead, had it been completed, History would have provided a broad investigation of electronic communications: “why it is important, what factors are shaping it and what that means going forward for society.”^[1] The extant chapter outlines show that he had planned to lay out significant moments in the history of telecommunications with attention to the rise of technologies, the emergence of monopolies, and de-regulation and their various economies. He also intended to theorize about the transformative character and significance of policymaking in the1970’s in connection to these issues.

Whitehead conducted the research for History from late 2003 until his death in 2008. In 2004-2005 he began to assemble, to organize, and to digitize the papers generated during his tenure as Special Assistant to the President, Director of the Office of Telecommunications Policy, and member of the Ford Transition committee amassed during the Nixon Administration (1969-1974). From 2006-2008 he engaged in research and writing.

Available here are elements of this unfinished work including chapter outlines and drafts, research memos, and bibliographies, as well as a significant number of the primary and secondary resources collected by Whitehead and his researchers.  

 

_________________________

[1] Tara Laskowski, "Visiting Professor Brings 'Old Friends' to Law School Class," The Mason Gazette, 
Sept. 14, 2005 at http://eagle.gmu.edu/gazette/articles/7130