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

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

Tabloid

Supplement

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

 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 following1. The first ever screening of the Lumiere
Programme in France
2. the first ever screening of the Lumiere
Programme in India
3. 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

Activities
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.

Arrival of Television
the age of
wireless, audiovisual, 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 feeds
Podcast
Mobile

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.