The rhetoric of the “information highway” in the media 1992-2008: Was the hype actually trumped by the reality?

This study utilizes Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Habermas´ validity claims for understanding media discourse for the term `information highway´ as it occurs in North American newspaper sources from 1992 - 2008. We find that the term `information highway´ is virtually non-existent in newspaper articles prior to 1993. Its quick diffusion to describe the emergence of early Internet-based communications and functions fuelled the `hype´ surrounding these technologies. Use of the expression peaked in 1994 and largely fell out of use by the year 2000. This paper emphasizes the unique attributes and benefits of using Habermas´ validity claims as a standard for communication and way of distinguishing hype from reality of emerging technologies.