Historical Evolution and Development of the Various Mass Media

Throughout history there have been several factors that contributed to the historical evolution and development of the various mass media in the United States. Print, broadcast, and electronic media have changed drastically since man was first introduced to them. The speed of these changes are occurring more rapidly now, altering the different forms of media along with it. Though these changes have brought forth many benefits, a few negative impacts have been brought along as well. Print media has been used by people to spread information for centuries, dating all the way back to 59 B.C. by Julius Caesar. Caesar created the “newspaper” to tell the public about important events. During this time news was written on large white boards, which were located in places where people would usually go. Later the Chinese created the first hand-written newspapers. In 1447, Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press. Gutenberg’s creation made the exchange of people’s ideas much easier. Newspapers did not start having publications on a regular basis until the beginning of the 17th century. Print media completely transformed after the creation of the telegraph in 1844. Then finally in the 19th century, newspapers have became the primary source of news. Since the introduction of broadcast media in the 1900’s, print media has had to reevaluate their position as an information provider. Broadcasting media started with wireless telegraphy which was dots and dashes carried by radio transmissions. Audio broadcasting services that traveled through radio waves sent from a transmitter to an antenna became very popular quickly. People all across the world tuned into their radios regularly to hear current events. Television eventually began to take the place of radio in the 1950’s. During the cold war, shortwave broadcasting played an important role in keeping people informed. FM radio changed younger Americans interest in radio in the 1970’s. Many stations would play entire

Cited: Barber, Phil. “A Brief History of Newspapers”, Historic Newspapers and Early Imprints. 2002. . Bethelsen, John. “Internet Hacks: Web News Cashes In”. Asia Times Online, April 2003. . B.L. Yates, . "History of Broadcast media." . N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr 2012. . Mathew, Roy. "Technology Advances in Journalism." Cyber Journalist: Technology, Tools, Ethics. N.p., 25 S. Web. 15 Apr 2012. Middleberg, Donald & Ross, Steven. (March 1996). "The Media in Cyberspace." Paper delivered at Columbia University. "Newspapers: A brief history." World Association of Newspapers. N.p., 2004. Web. 15 Apr 2012. . “Newspapers: The Continent” Columbia Encyclopedia, 6 Ed., 2003.