History of mass media

Paper

100 BCE

Paper was invented in China in 100 B.C. by Ts’ai Lun. The first pieces of paper were made from mulberry, fishnets, old rags, and hemp waste. People were now able to keep records, but it was mostly used for religious purposes, by the government or very wealthy.

Printing press

1455

The printing press is a device that allows mass production of texts such as books, newspapers, and pamphlets. the more modern version was invented in 1455 in Europe by Johannes Gutenberg, although woodblock printing press can be found decades earlier in China.

Photography

1814

The first photograph was taken in 1814 by Joseph Nicépce in Le Gras, France. This photograph was taken by a camera obscura and was titled “View from window at Le Gras”. This picture was an eight hour process and was the beginning steps of photography and helped technology get to where it is today.

Morse Code

1835

Morse code was invented in 1835 by Samuel Morse. This is a communication system that can transmit electrical signals, in Samuel’s time most commonly via telegraph, electrical lines, and paper tape. This was a new way to send messages over long distances and paved the way for the common ways of communication today like cellphones. This system was designed in America.

Telegraph

1843

The telegraph was invented in 1843 by the same man who invented the Morse code: Samuel Morse. He invented the telegraph to send out Morse code messages, and the first one was sent from Washington D.C. to Baltimore. This sends messages by making and breaking electrical connections and was the first piece of technology to allow instant communication across large distances.

Telephone

1876

Alexander Graham Bell invented the first telephone in Massachusetts in 1876. He invented the first successful telephone and recieved a patent on it. This wasn’t his only invention but was the one that changed the way humans communicate forever.

Film

1898

The first public shown film was presented by the Lumiere brothers in 1898 in Paris. This film was titled “Workers leaving Lumière factory” and was shown to a paying audience of around 40 people. This moment and movie is often called the birth of cinema and spread around the world.

Radio broadcast

1920

The first radio broadcast in the U.S. was made by Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company in 1920. This broadcast was Leo Rosenberg announcing the live outcome of the presidential election between Warren Harding and James Cox. The was broadcasted from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania and is considered the birth of the modern mass media.

talkie

1927

The first talkie was premiered in 1927 and was titled “The Jazz Singer”. A talkie is a movie with dialogue, contrary to the previous norm, silent movies. The film was produced by Jerry Leider and was viewed by millions, silent films were now a thing of the past.

Television

1950

The first television was invented in 1927 but didn’t become more prominent in American homes till the 1950’s. By 1955 half of America had a black and white television set in their home but before then only the very wealthy had them. The television is now something almost everyone in America has in their homes, even around 4 or 5 per home.

Home computers

1976

The first Apple at home computer was sold in 1976 for $666.66. The computer weighed over 16 pounds and they only produced 200 of them. This was the base line for computers now and we are way more technologically advanced. The first computer was sold in Mountsin View California.

The internet

1990

The internet takes the world by storm in the 90’s. This was when a New communications protocol was established and the Internet was born. The internet has completely transformed the world, it has influenced the way we get information, the way we communicate with each other, and the opportunities we have. Tim Berners-Lee was the one who first proposed the idea of “web of information” and the idea hasn’t stopped growing since then.