Evolution of Media Media and information have evolved throughout the history and they can be categorized into four ages, namely: Prehistoric Age (Before 1700s) During this time, people have discovered fire and have used tools such as sharpedged stones, bronze, copper, and iron as tools for carving, and have used plant pigments and animal blood to paint on cave walls. Media and information were being shared or relayed through: • • • • • • • Cave paintings (35,000 BC) Clay tablets in Mesopotamia (2400 BC) Papyrus in Egypt (2500 BC) Acta Diurna in Rome (130 BC) Dibao in China (2nd Century) Codex in the Mayan region (5th Century) Printing press using wood blocks (220 AD) What do you think are the characteristics of people during this period? What do they give value on? Industrial Age (1700s-1930s) During this period, people used the power of steam and developed power-driven machines to replace hand tools. They have established iron production and the manufacturing of various products including books through the printing press. Media • • • • • • • • • and information were being shared or relayed through: Printing press for mass production (19th Century) Newspaper- The London Gazette (1640) Typewriter (1800) Telephone (1876) Motion picture photography/projection (1890) Commercial motion pictures (1913) Motion picture with sound (1926) Telegraph Punch cards What can you say about the values of the people during this age? Why? Electronic Age (1930s-1980s) The invention of the transistor ushered in the electronic age. People used transistors to make transistor radio, electronic circuits, and the early computers. In this age, long distance communication became more efficient. Media • • • • • • • • and information used during the Electronic Age include: Transistor Radio Television (1941) Large electronic computers- i.e. EDSAC (1949) and UNIVAC 1 (1951) Mainframe computers - i.e. IBM 704 (1960) Personal computers - i.e. HewlettPackard 9100A (1968), Apple 1 (1976) OHP, LCD projectors Information Age (1990s-2000s) The Internet paved the way for faster communication and the creation of the social network such as Facebook. People have used microelectronics to invent personal computers, smart phones, and wearable technology. People can easily share images, videos, voice, and data which are now digitalized. We are now living in the information age. Examples: • • • • • • • • • • • • Web browsers: Mosaic (1993), Internet Explorer (1995) Blogs: Blogspot (1999), LiveJournal (1999), Wordpress (2003) Social networks: Friendster (2002), Multiply (2003), Facebook (2004) Microblogs: Twitter (2006), Tumblr (2007) Video: YouTube (2005) Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality Video chat: Skype (2003), Google Hangouts (2013) Search Engines: Google (1996), Yahoo 1995) Portable computers: laptops (1980), Netbooks (2008), tablets (1993) Smart phones Wearable technology Cloud and Big Data What do you think are the values and norms of the people today? Traditional Media vs. New Media Traditional media include printed materials such as books, magazines, and journals (print media); TV, films, and radio (broadcast media), and static web pages. You can only read the contents of print media and static web pages but you cannot interact or provide feedback to them right away. In the same way, you can only listen and watch broadcast media but you cannot interact with them. New media include the use of social media like Facebook, blogging such as WordPress, microblogging sites such as Twitter, and media sharing sites like YouTube among others. With these platforms, users can interact with other users by posting comments, images, and videos. How else can you interact or provide feedback on social media? New Media Traditional Media • Media experience is limited. • One-directional • Sense receptors used are very specific (i.e. print media like books and newspapers make use of the sense of sight, broadcast media like radio uses sense of hearing, while TV and film use sense of sight and hearing) • Media experience is more interactive • Audience is more involved and can send feedback simultaneously • Integrates all the aspects of old media It is possible that traditional and new media exist at the same time. This coexistence of traditional and new media is a reality called media convergence. An example of which is when a newspaper company publishes its articles not just on paper but also online so its readers can read them using their smartphones or laptops, and can also post their views and opinions. Take a look at the editorial cartoon. This is taken from the Internet instead of newspaper. Source: The Philippine Star January 21, 2020, retrieved on June 20, 2020, https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2020/01/31/1989199/editorial-novel-coronavirus-here What do you think does the cartoon tell you? What is the purpose of it? The editorial cartoon is a form of media. Media can take on various roles and functions in a democratic society. Roles and Functions of Media in a Democratic Society Channel Provides opportunities for people to communicate, share ideas, speculate, tell stories and give information Watchdog Exposes corrupt practices of the government and the private sector. Creating a space wherein governance is challenged or scrutinized by the governed. It also guarantees free and fair elections Resource Center Acts as a gateway of information for the society’s consumption. Also, it becomes a keeper of memories of the community, preserver of heritage and source of academic knowledge. Advocate Through its diverse sources or formats, it bridges the gap of digital divide.
