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Printing press
Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. These innovations led to the daily newspaper, which united the urbanized, industrialized populations of the 19th century. -
Photography in the 1820s
Photography was invented in the 1820s, and methods for reproducing photographs in the print media were improved throughout the century, making such media even more attractive to consumers. -
The Telegraph
The telegraph was invented in the 1830s but it wasn’t used until the late 1840s. It was the single most important invention in the history of mass communication. It revolutionized existing media by supplying newspapers and magazines with a continuous stream of news dispatches from the region. Thus print became the first of the modern mass media. -
Morse Code
Samuel Morse invented Morse code so that communication breaks the distance barrier. -
Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell invented telephone so conversations can break the distance barrier. It was also invented so that you no longer needed to be in the same room or town to talk to someone. -
The phonograph
The phonograph emerged as a mass medium as well. It was invented in 1877 and it achieved wider use as electrification of homes allowed for replacement of hand-cranked mechanical models. Sales of recording reached mass proportions during the 1920s as commercial radios was used to popularize musical genres, create hit songs, and make stars of artists. -
Radio broadcasting
Lee de Forest invented the radio in the 1920s. The idea of radio as entertainment took off in 1920, with the opening of the first radio stations established specifically for broadcast to the public -
Television
Philo Taylor Farnsworth II invented the television. Television broadcasting is supported by continuing technical developments such as long-haul microwave networks, which allow distribution of programming over a wide geographic area. -
Broadcast Television
During the 1950s, broadcast television emerged as the nexus of the mass media. Containing news, drama, cinema, music, and at least some content from all other mass media in a single, convenient home appliance, television’s overwhelming functionality was soon dictating supplementary roles to other components of the mass media. -
The internet
The 1990s were marked by an explosive growth in online services for people who use computers, as well public access to the internet. By the turn of the 21st century, the familiar influence of mass-media reasserted itself heavily in the online world. Mass-media companies have become the dominant delivers of content, extending their familiar brand names to this newest source for information and entertainment.
