A huge industry which produces and distributes songs, novels, newspapers, movies, Internet services and magazines and other products to large number of people is the Mass Media Industries. First the oral culture existed, then came the writing era from 1000 BCE to 1500 Century which also included formation of manuscripts to restore the information in writing. After the invention of block printing and movable types, large number of books were created in printed forms. This process brought changes in the rise of new socio economic classes, provided resistance to authority, encouraged spread of literacy and people started focusing on individualism. In the late nineteenth century electronic and digital era started and telegraphs, radio, TV were invented to revolutionize the Mass Media and Digital Communication. The most important stage was the media convergence through technology where print and digital both mediums were used to transfer the information at the same time. Media companies consolidated media holdings to reduce costs and maximize profits. Today mass media has become much commercialized and money making despite the fact that it is overly commercial and sensational which is also causing violence and other negative impacts on the society. As mass media is directly related to process of communication it has far much deeper implications than one can imagine.
10 Printing Power – Books and Publications
The idea of books first started about 5000 years ago in ancient sumeria (Mesopotamia) and Egypt. During this time people started experimenting with alphabets and drew pictorial symbols on wooden strips or pressed these symbols into clay tablets and then tied these objects together to form the fists books which we known today. The Egyptians then started gathering reeds from plants found near the Nile river and rolled these plants into scrolls in which they can write on it this was called papyrus. later papyrus was replaced by parchment treated animals skin in Europe because it was stronger, smoother and less expensive then papyrus. The romans then created the codex in which sheets of paper parchment are sewn together and bonded with thin pieces of wood and covered with leather. As the culture of books started, written manuscripts were produced to form the books. The emergence of manuscripts encouraged religions people to create different version of the Bible and other religion books. People created different decorated version of the manuscript in order to enhance the beauty. After the advancement of manuscript culture, block printing was invented in china by the third century printers to increase the quantity of books. In blocks printing, printers used large hand carved wooden blocks to create the print impression on the paper sheets with ink. After block printing in the year 1000 printers used another technique in china by carving commonly used Chinese letter language into smaller wooden ceramic blocks to put together in the form of text. It was called movable type and created pages of text more quickly. The invention of the printing press was done in the year 1453 and 1456 in Germany where printers produced the first modern books which were printed on a fine calf skin based parchment called Vellum. After that the printing presses spread first in Europe and then in rest of the world and then publishing became an industry.
0.9 Evolution of gaming
The idea of gaming started in the 1880s where gaming machines also known as counter machines were first places in trains depots, hotel lobbies, bars and restaurants which were coin operated. In the 20th century gaming arcades were formed which gave birth to mass entertainment industries. Some interactive electronic gaming machines were also created during that time example strength testers which allowed players to show by punching a boxing bag. the very early type of gaming machines were the pinball machines which became were popular despite the fact that these machines were banned in most American cities because of its resemblance to gambling slot machines. Later innovations to the pinball machines were introduced like flipper bumper were made them more popular. In 1948 CRT ( Cathorde – tube ) was invented which provided images for the early television sets and computer screens. The first digital video games were invented in the 1950s and 60s but were not available to the general public. People started owning more television sets and through this the first platform for video games were developed. The first home television gaming system was called the Odyssey which was developed by german immigrant and television engineer Ralph Baer. The Odyssey gaming console used controllers that moved dots of light around the screen. After the successes of the odyssey Atari was developed by a young American engineer Nolan Bushnell which revolutionized the gaming industries. Atari also marketed a home version of gaming called Pong which became a big hit in gaming. In today generation electronic games are played on home consoles, people use these devices specifically to play games. These gaming systems have became more powerful since the lunch of the Atari gaming console in the 1970s. during the early forms of gaming games like tennis and odyssey allowed users to interact with computerized environment where they strived to achieve a desired result. Electronic gaming these days go beyond the simple competition. Gaming in todays generation involve narratives, imaginative and exciting adventures.
0.8 Evolution of the internet and new web technology
The idea of the internet started from the development of computers in the 1950s. In 1958 the U.S Defense Departments Advance Research Project Agency (ARPA) developed the Internet by a team of computer scientists. These scientist wanted accesses to the mainframe computers and later figured out a solution, by creating a wired network system in which users from different location can log into a main computer whenever they needed to. Simultaneously, another network system was created to provide multiple paths linking computers to one another which allowed the information and communication to move freely without any jams or obstructions. This computer network later became the original internet called ARPNET. During the period of the early 1970s the late 1980s the internet became a marketable product, and entered into the entrepreneurial stage. In 197 microprocessors were introduced which led to the development of the first personal computers which were smaller in size, cheaper and more powerful. In the Mid 1980s fiber-optic cables were introduced which were capable of transmitting thousands messages at the same time through laser lights, which made commercial use of computers very efficient and cost effective.
NSF(National Science Foundation ) opened its network in 1991 to the commercial users and many computer users opted for this advantage of getting information quickly. Thousands of participants got accesses to this quick and fast medium.
The revolution of internet usage came in the late 1980s with the introduction of the World Wide Web (WWW) and information was easily available through clickable links rather than difficult computer codes. The development of web browsers which helped users to navigate through the web easily. In 1993 computer programmers controlled by Marc Andreesen at the university of illions lunched Mosaic the first user friendly browser. As the web became popular search engines and directories were invented to help people track information pages on the net.
0.7 Womens influence in media
Women in media are playing a very crucial role. Many forums highlighting women’s integral part, are working to increase women’s presence in the public debate, emphasizing different issues which needs to be resolved immediately and media can play a powerful role in eliminating problems relating to women.
Representation of women in media has ensured that media outlets are accountable to the public interest. It advocates for policy reform and structural change; and working closely with journalists to broaden the quantity and diversity of women’s voices appearing in the media.
Media channels also promote equality for women and gender diversification because accurate reporting, diverse news and entertainment media are essential to a vibrant society and an informed public.
It has been observed that women journalists are usually very keen to get engage in coalition work with other media channels, creating public awareness campaigns and other advocacy efforts to transform the media through structural changes in media policy. They are also involved in Media Analysis including writing articles, studies and creating dynamic multimedia lecture series for high school and college campus groups on topics involving women, media, politics and society participation in conferences and public discussions.
Women have also taken a lead when they performed in the production, film making and script writing worldwide e.g J. K. Rowling. If we take Pakistan’s example we may see many names shining on the sky of Media World such as Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Momina Duraid, Sahira Kazmi, etc. Ellen’s show is also one such example.
0.6 History of alphabets
Many evidences are present through which we can observe that alphabets were first used in the second millennium BCE in Semitic languages of Ancient Egypt. Egyptian hieroglyphs were a formal writing system used by the ancient Egyptians that combined logographic and alphabetic elements. Egyptians used these hieroglyphs scripts (pictographic symbols) for religious literature.
Building on this ancient foundation, the first widely used alphabet was developed by the Phoenicians. Consisting of 22 letters, all consonants, this Semitic language became used throughout the Mediterranean, including in the Levant, the Iberian peninsula, North Africa and southern Europe.
The first true alphabet was the Greek alphabet, which was adapted from the Latin language. The modern English Alphabets have also been driven from Latin alphabets and came to England in 7th Century by Christian Missionaries. In 1011, a Monk named Brythfero arranged the alphabets in the order with 24 letters of Latin order and added 5 English letters:
A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T V X Y Z & ⁊ Ƿ Þ Ð Æ
Shortly after the Old English alphabet was first set down, the Normans invaded (1066 AD). By the 13th century when writing in English began to become more prominent again, the language reflected two centuries of Norman rule. The Old English letters thorn and eth were replaced by “th”; wynn eventually became u-u or “w”; and the other English letters were discarded.
With the introduction of the printing press (invented by Johann Gutenberg in 1448) to Great Britain in the mid 15th century by William Caxton, English became more standardized and modern English appeared.
0.5 History of Movies or Motion Pictures
History of Movies or Motion Pictures
Film making began in the 1890s when the first motion picture cameras were invented. During the 1890s films were only a minute long and until 1927 motion picture films were made without sound. The idea of films started back in the 1400s where Leonardo de Vinci theorized that a device could be created to reproduce reality.
There are many early pioneers to films for example in the 1600s magic lanterns were created to project images painted on glass by using oil lamps as light source. Eadweard Muubridge was an English photographer who make images move by placing various cameras to capture successive picture of humans and animals in motion. Other inventor like George Eastman founder of Eastman Kodak developed the first roll film in 1884 which became a massive improvement over the heavy glass plates and metal plates which were used to make individual photos.
The first motion picture camera was invented by Louis Aime Le Prince a Frenchman living in England who used film rolls. Le Prince is also credited for filming the first motion picture Roundhay Garden Scene. During the entrepreneurial stage of films, inventors like Thomas Edison created another early movie camera which he called Kinetoscope. This device was designed to show films to one individual at a time through a peephole viewer at the top. Edison originated many inventions and later developed a new large screen system called the Vitascope, which was staged at the music hall in New York in April 1896, which featured shots from a boxing match and waves splashing on shores.
The earlier films didn’t have a story or narratives in it, they simply contained small clips of moving objects. Cameras used to be placed at one spot and no editing or special effects were present.
0.4 Evolution of Sound Recording
The evolution of sound recording started with recording a live performance directly to a recording medium. In the early developing stages, sound inventors examined sound technology closely and realized that they can make huge money out of this technology. But sound recording had to go through multiple mediums before entering into a developed phase.
In 1850s Edouard-Leon Scott who was a french printer, did an experiment of sound recording. He used a hog hair bristle as a needle and tied one end to the narrow part of the funnel with a membrane. This way he created sound but never figured out how to replay the sound again. This experiment was a milestone and helped later in the developing stages of sound recording.
Emile Berliner, a German engineer, invented a machine called the gramophone in 1887, which played flat disks or records made from shellac. He also created master records to copy them in mass production. They were very popular till 1925, when electric record players came and sound recording started through them.
1940 is the year of introduction of audio tapes which was again a milestone for major inventions in the industry of sound recording and cassettes, stereographic sounds and digital recording were introduced.
0.3 Whale Songs
There are many different types of communications used by marine animals to interact with each other and to respond in different situations. Out of which the unique way of producing sound waves, through which Whales communicate is very interesting. Whales make special sounds, which travel in the form of sound waves up to miles in the water and then echo back to them after hitting with an object.
This is the ideal method through which they can interact, due to the conditions inside the water they cannot rely on their other senses such as smell and sight. The sounds produced by whales are very unique and based on the clicks and whistles high pitched noise. Sounds and clicks help whales to navigate in the water and also helps them to communicate. There are many different types of Whales species which adapt various forms of sound to communicate with one another. The Humpback Whales communicate through melodic tones which are called Whale Songs, are sometimes extremely loud. It can be so high pitched that human ear will not be able to hear it.
Other than producing sounds, Whales are intelligent enough to use body language in order to interact with their fellow whales, such as slapping pectoral fins and tails to show the excitement and releasing air from the blowhole to warn others in case of danger. God has made this marvelous creature with smart communication tools which can be used effectively to give the message across or to find other animals and way to move ahead in the water.
About Shaheer Ahmed
Hello I am Shaheer Ahmed. I study at Szabist in Media Science program. I have built this blog for Introduction to Media Industries. Hope my viewers will like it.
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