Mass Media Timeline

Newspaper

Sep 19, 1690

The first known newspaper was published around 1690, but was quickly shut down. The first newspaper to gain prominence was the "Boston News-Letter" in 1704.

Magazine

Sep 21, 1842

Though originally introduced in 1663 before the newspaper, the magazine we've come to know was founded by Herbert Ingram with "The Illustrated London News" as the first illustrated magazine.

Billboard

Sep 21, 1850

The first usages of the billboard go back to the 1850s, with the earliest recordings of billboard leases going back to 1867

Television

Sep 21, 1884

Invented in the mid-to-late-19th century, the television never started to have any practical uses until the 1920s when inventor John Logie Baird utilized amplification in his prototypes.

Radio

Sep 19, 1920

Invented in 1893, the radio didn't gain popularity until the 1920's following World War I

Internet

Sep 21, 1950

The Internet was first developed in the 1950s while computers were still in development and was utilized by various governments. Internet wasn't globalized until the late 1980s. Since then, other forms of Mass Media have taken the form of New Media such as social networks like Facebook and Twitter and video sharing platforms such as YouTube.