Brief History of Mass Media

Chapter 5

Evolution of Mass Media over nearly 170 years

• The age of Print

• The pre-Cinema Period 1839-1895

• Arrival of Cinema 1895

• Arrival of Radio 1901

• Arrival of TV 1926

• Arrival of Internet 1990

The Age of Print

Find out and write down the meanings of the

terms

• Broadsheet

• Tabloid

• Supplement

Why are they called so?

Broadsheet

Broadsheet

Compare the old broadsheet with new broadsheet in terms of size, composition and layout.

Activities

Tabloid

Supplement

Do you think supplements have become more glossy and colourful due to the competition from the television? If so, explain how & why?

Activities

• The editorial page (also known as the opinion page) is the page reserved in a newspaper or magazine for the publication's editorial. Frequently letters to the editor, the masthead, and editorial cartoons are also printed here

• The Masthead is a list, usually found on the editorial page of a newspaper or magazine, of the members of the newspaper's editorial board. If no editorial board exists, the masthead will often feature a list of top news staff members. Some mastheads also include information such as the publication's founding date, slogan, logo and contact information

• An editorial is an opinion piece written by the senior editorial staff or publisher of a newspaper or magazine. Editorials are usually unsigned and may be supposed to reflect the opinion of the periodical.

• An editorial cartoon, also known as a political cartoon, is an illustration or comic strip containing a political or social message, that usually relates to current events or personalities.

An Editorial give the reader some impression of the political affiliation of the writer

The Pre- Cinema Period

The age of still Photography and phonograph

Activities

Compare the pictures taken by a still camera to those clicked in 19th century

An outdoor scene

Portrait of a person

A close view of objects

Create a simple toy, to demonstrate the principle of persistence of vision. The toy could be a flip book or a flat revolving disc with visuals on both sides.

Have you ever thought what the original still camera looked like?

Find out by means of the Internet, what the original still camera., telephone and phonograph looked like. Track their journey upto the latest modern form.

First still camera

Arrival of Cinema

Find out about the following- 1. The first ever screening of the Lumiere

Programme in France2. the first ever screening of the Lumiere

Programme in India3. What was the name of the first sound[talkie]

film? Where was it made?4. Which was the first sound film made in India?

5. Name the five great Black and White films of

India with their years of making.

Arrival of Radio

• In India a service called Indian State Broadcasting Service [ISBS] was set up in the 1930s and due to the efforts of the Lionel Fielden India's first Controller of Broadcasting it was changed to All India Radio [AIR].

First Radio Station

In groups of four conduct a small scale survey to find out the popular channels & programmes generally liked by various age groups What kind of instrument do you use to listen to these? Present your findings in a tabular form.You may need to prepare a questionnaire to conduct the survey.

Activities

Find out the biographical details of Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose.What was the other scientific ideas/discoveries/inventions that he is known for? Try to present your findings in the form of documentary with background commentary.

Activities

Arrival of Television

the age of wireless, audio-visual, electronic transmission

Activities

• Explain how listening to news on radio and watching it on TV differ from each other as experiences. Why do you think visual news are more effective?

Activities

Try to find out the details of a live transmission of an event like a Cricket match. What are the salient details of a typical cricket match transmission as seen in 10 continuous minutes of transmission.How much of advertising do you see in those ten minutes and in what form?

Arrival of Internet

Blogs (Web Logs)RSS feedsPodcastMobile

Activities

• Based on your experience, how would you explain to an old relative of yours- who is unfamiliar with the Internet- what the Internet is. Write down the salient points that you would elaborate on while doing this.

Activities

Do you think the Internet can make our lives better in the public sphere? Give your

point of view and ideas in brief.