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Evolution of Mass Media

Mass media has evolved greatly over thousands of years, from early forms of writing in ancient Egypt and alphabets developed by Semites, to the printing press and books in China and Europe, to newspapers and printed media in the 18th-19th centuries. New forms of mass media then emerged such as the telegraph, telephone, radio, television, and more recently the internet and smartphones, which have connected the world and transformed how people receive information. Mass media has played an important role in social and historical events while also providing entertainment and convenience to people worldwide.

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Inayat Rahman
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372 views

Evolution of Mass Media

Mass media has evolved greatly over thousands of years, from early forms of writing in ancient Egypt and alphabets developed by Semites, to the printing press and books in China and Europe, to newspapers and printed media in the 18th-19th centuries. New forms of mass media then emerged such as the telegraph, telephone, radio, television, and more recently the internet and smartphones, which have connected the world and transformed how people receive information. Mass media has played an important role in social and historical events while also providing entertainment and convenience to people worldwide.

Uploaded by

Inayat Rahman
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as RTF, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Evolution of Mass Media

Mass Media has been evolving through the ancient periods when kings patronized their writers
and poets for writing books and creating dramas. The power of mass media is known to the
world. It has thrown away mighty dynasties and created new empires. Mass media has helped
in creating social awareness and has also provided people with an easy way of living life. The
print media played an important part in the historical events such as, The Renaissance, The
American War of Independence, The French Revolution and many more...

Early Years

The mass media started evolving as early as 3300 B.C., when the Egyptians perfected the
hieroglyphics. This writing system was based on symbols. Later in 1500 B.C., the Semites devised
the alphabets with consonants. It was around 800 B.C. that the vowels were introduced into the
alphabet by the Greeks.

The Book

Many books were written in ancient times, but sources confirm that the first printed book was
the 'Diamond Sutra' written in China in 868 A.D. But with the slow spread of literacy in China
and the high cost of paper in the country, printing lacked the speed required to reach large
numbers of people. However, printing technology quickly evolved in Europe. In 1400 A.D.,
Johannes Gutenberg, a German goldsmith, invented the printing press of movable type, which is
said to be based on screw bases. The first book was printed in the year 1453 A.D. One of the
books that were printed was, 'The Gutenberg Bible'. From a single city in Germany, the printing
press spread all over Europe, like a wild fire. In 1468 A.D. William Caxton produced a book with
the first printed advertisement in England. By the year 1500 A.D., two million copies of books
were printed in these countries. In the next hundred years, the printing rose to two hundred
million copies.

The Rise of Newspaper

The newspaper developed around 1600 A.D., but it took this form of mass media more than a
century to influence the masses directly. The first printed newspaper was "The Relation". Later,
in the year 1690, Benjamin Harris printed the first colonial newspaper in Boston. There was an
increase in the circulation of newspaper in the nineteenth century. The first African-American
paper titled "Freedom's Journal" was published in the year 1827. By the end of 1900, print
media could be found in the form of books, pamphlets, magazines and newspapers. Newspaper
provided all the necessary information about the world for the people at remote locations. Even
today, newspapers remain an important global source of information
Telegraph and Telephone

The first telegraph line was set in the year 1844 by Samuel Morse. And by the year 1858, the
first transatlantic cable was established, making it easier for people to communicate.

The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in the year 1876 which brought about a
revolution in the field of communication. People were now able to sit in the comfort of their
homes and chat with friends and relatives across the globe.

Radio and Television

Meanwhile, in the year 1885, George Eastman invented the photographic film. The film
developed by Eastman helped Gilbert Grosvenor to introduce photographs in 'National
Geographic' in the year 1899. The print media began losing popularity in the twentieth century
with the emergence of televisions and radios.

uring the year 1894, the radio was invented by Guglielmo Marconi. Radios worked on the
principle of transmission of electromagnetic waves. As the transmission of radio programs
began, it became a prominent source of entertainment for the public.

The television was invented by John Logie Baird in the year 1925. The first television
transmission was done in the year 1927 by Philo Farnsworth. Walt Disney produced the world's
first full color film "Flower and trees" in the year 1932. It was during the 1950s that the black
and white television became a part of the American household. What was earlier in the paper
could now be seen audio-visually. Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon was televised globally in
color, in the year 1969. Mass media in this form became technologically dependent and
progressed along with developments in fields of electricity, semi-conductors and cathode ray
tubes.

Internet and Smartphone

In the second half of the twentieth century, the Internet evolved. With the concept of the
Internet, the world got globally connected. The e-mail technology developed during the 1970s.
It was Tim Berners-Lee who had come up with this idea of WWW (world wide web) in the year
1990. By the year 2004 Internet broadband connected more than half of American homes.
Instant message services were introduced in the year 2001. Since its introduction, the Internet
has been providing us with information and connectivity. Today, there are more than two billion
people who use the Internet. The world is now at our fingertips. With the click of a button we
can search for anything we want.

In recent times, the introduction of smartphones has brought about a major change in the lives
of people. People do not have to wait for hours to avail valuable information. The portability of
this device is an added advantage. Smartphones have specific features such as touchscreen,
GPS, web browsers, Wi-Fi connectivity and many more applications which have added comfort
and convenience.

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