THE HISTORY OF THE MEDIA INDUSTRY

BY ALFIO AL HUSSAINY

THE FIRST BOOK• THE FIRST PRINTED BOOK THAT WAS DATED WAS THE “DIAMOND SUTRA”

PRINTED IN CHINA IN 868 AD. MANY BOOKS HAD BEEN PRINTED PREVIOUSLY BUT HAD NO PRECISE DATE MAKING ITS ORIGIN HARD TO PIN POINT.

• THE MOVABLE CLAY TYPE WAS INVENTED IN 1041 IN CHINA. HOWEVER DUE TO THE SLOW SPREAD OF LITERACY TO THE MASSES IN CHINA, AND THE RELATIVELY HIGH COST OF PAPER THERE, IT NEVER REALLY “TOOK OFF”.

THE FIRST PRINTED MASS-MEDIUM

• EUROPE DIDN'T’T SUFFER FROM THE SAME RESTRICTIONS, PAPER WAS CHEAPER BY COMPARISON AND THE MAJORITY OF EUROPE HAD LITERACY SKILLS. HOWEVER THE FIRST PRINTED MASS-MEDIUM WERE “POPULAR PRINTS”. THESE WERE CHEAP LOW QUALITY IMAGES SOLD IN EUROPE FROM ABOUT 1400 ONWARDS.

• AFTER ABOUT 1800, THE TYPES AND QUANTITY OF IMAGES GREATLY INCREASED, BUT OTHER TERMS ARE USUALLY USED TO CATEGORIZE THEM.

• THE TERM “MASS MEDIA” WAS COINED WITH THE CREATION OF PRINT MEDIA AND IS STILL USED TODAY, THE FIRST FORM OF THIS MEDIA BEGAN IN EUROPE DURING THE MIDDLE AGES.

• ANY OF THESE PRINTED BEFORE 1600 DID NOT SURVIVE.

THE PRINTING PRESS

• JOHANNES GUTENBERG WAS THE INVENTOR OF THE PRINTING PRESS WHICH ALLOWED THE MASS PRODUCTION OF BOOKS TO SWEEP THE NATION, THE FIRST BOOK HE PRINTED WAS A LATIN BIBLE IN 1453.

• THE INVENTION OF THE PRINTING PRESS GAVE RISE TO SOME OF THE FIRST FORMS OF MASS COMMUNICATION, BY ENABLING THE PUBLICATION OF BOOKS AND NEWSPAPERS ON A SCALE MUCH LARGER THAN WAS PREVIOUSLY POSSIBLE.

• BY THE 19TH CENTURY, NEWSPAPERS WERE REACHING MASS AUDIENCES DIRECTLY.

LEADING UP TO PRESENT DAY

• THE IDEA OF MASS MEDIA WAS RESTRICTED TO PRINT MEDIA UNTIL AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF RADIO, TELEVISION AND VIDEO.

• THE PREFERRED MEDIUM FOR MEDIA IN THE PRESENT DAY IS THE INTERNET AS IT REMOVES ALMOST ALL RESTRICTIONS AS TO WHAT ONE CAN DO, YOU CAN DO MANY ACTIVITIES AT THE SAME TIME, SUCH AS PLAYING GAMES, LISTENING TO MUSIC, AND SOCIAL NETWORKING, IRRESPECTIVE OF LOCATION.