Discuss the Correlation Between Media Theories and the Development of Jamaican Media Between the 18th Century and the 1950s
Print Media Era (1700-1834)
Jamaica’s media history dates back to 1718 when Robert Baldwin published the country’s first newspaper, Weekly Jamaican Courant from his printery on Church Street. Between the period 1718 and 1834 no fewer than 33 newspapers were published across the island. These included The St Jago Intelligencer, Royal Gazette, Cornwall Chronicle and County Gazette, Kingston Morning Post and Trelawney Advertiser. Books and magazines developed at a slower pace than newspapers as only 12 books were published in the 40 years that followed the advent of the local printing press. Among them were the account of the 1721 trial of notorious pirate captain Jack Rackham alias Calico Jack and his female ship mates Anne Bonney and Mary Read and records of legislative votes in the House of Assembly. The Jamaica Magazine (1781) signalled a new form of print medium, the magazine, its content was lighter than that contained in books and newspapers of the times. For reasons that are unknown, it seemed that most early magazines averaged a life span of two to four years. Early newspaper owners belonged to the powerful planter and merchant class that formed the establishment and as such the papers reflected their interests. The Gleaner and Weekly Compendium of News rolled off the press September 13, 1834. The paper founded by Jacob and Joshua DeCordova, later became known as The Gleaner and remained under family ownership or management until 1948 and as the distinction as the oldest continuously published newspaper in Jamaica.
The period was dominated by the system of slavery that divided Jamaican society into two groups; the powerless black slaves and the powerful white plantocracy who controlled the political and economic life of the country. Numerous revolts occurred as the tensions between both groups escalated. Many newspapers functioned as an extension of the establishment and reinforced the existing status quo. Karl Marx states that “in every
Jamaica’s media history dates back to 1718 when Robert Baldwin published the country’s first newspaper, Weekly Jamaican Courant from his printery on Church Street. Between the period 1718 and 1834 no fewer than 33 newspapers were published across the island. These included The St Jago Intelligencer, Royal Gazette, Cornwall Chronicle and County Gazette, Kingston Morning Post and Trelawney Advertiser. Books and magazines developed at a slower pace than newspapers as only 12 books were published in the 40 years that followed the advent of the local printing press. Among them were the account of the 1721 trial of notorious pirate captain Jack Rackham alias Calico Jack and his female ship mates Anne Bonney and Mary Read and records of legislative votes in the House of Assembly. The Jamaica Magazine (1781) signalled a new form of print medium, the magazine, its content was lighter than that contained in books and newspapers of the times. For reasons that are unknown, it seemed that most early magazines averaged a life span of two to four years. Early newspaper owners belonged to the powerful planter and merchant class that formed the establishment and as such the papers reflected their interests. The Gleaner and Weekly Compendium of News rolled off the press September 13, 1834. The paper founded by Jacob and Joshua DeCordova, later became known as The Gleaner and remained under family ownership or management until 1948 and as the distinction as the oldest continuously published newspaper in Jamaica.
The period was dominated by the system of slavery that divided Jamaican society into two groups; the powerless black slaves and the powerful white plantocracy who controlled the political and economic life of the country. Numerous revolts occurred as the tensions between both groups escalated. Many newspapers functioned as an extension of the establishment and reinforced the existing status quo. Karl Marx states that “in every
Bibliography: Baran, Stanley. Introduction to Mass Communication Media Literacy & Culture. N.Y., McGraw-Hill, 2002 Chandler, Daniel. Marxist Media Theory. Retrieved October 24, 2009 from http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/Marxism.html Cundall, Frank. A History of Printing in Jamaica from 1717-1834. Kingston, Institute of Jamaica, 1935 Fairclough, Richard. (son of O.T. Fairclough) Telephone conversation on October 28, 2009 History of Radio Jamaica Ltd Franchise and Licence Granted this Company in 1949. 1955 Manley, Michael Arawak Publications, 2002 Sherlock, Phillip and Bennett, Hazel [ 4 ]. Stanley Baran, Introduction to Mass Communication Media Literacy and Culture, (Mew York: McGraw-Hill, 2002) p. 379 [ 5 ] [ 10 ]. Michael Manley, A Voice at the Workplace, (London: Andre Deutsch Ltd, 1975) p. 44-45 [ 11 ]