Milestones in The Evolution of Mass Media, Up To the World Wide Web
By Prof. Mauri Yambo
MEDIA | BEGINNING DATE | PLACE OF BEGINNING |
ORAL MEDIA: | ||
Speech and face-to-face communication (by Homo Erectus and Homo Sapiens); 'bush telegraphy'. | c. 1,490,000 BC | Eastern and Southern Africa |
TEXTUAL SCRIPTS, PRINT MEDIA | ||
Cuneiform Writing | c. 3100 BC | Sumeria |
Idiographic (Hieroglyphic) Writing | c. 2750 BC | Egypt |
Phonetic Alphabet (Phonetic Writing) | c. 200- c. 1000 BC | Semites, Middle East |
Books (Handwritten) | c. 1580-1350 BC | Egypt |
Printing Press | AD. 1st-7th Century | China, Korea, Japan |
Books (Printed) | AD. 700s - 800s | Japan, China |
Newspaper | AD. 1563-1621 | Italy (Venice), England (Oxford) |
Magazine | AD. 1731 | England |
Photograph | AD. 1822 | France |
'Penny Press' | AD. 1833 | USA |
ELECTRONIC MEDIA | ||
Telegraph (Wired) | AD. 1844 | USA |
Telephone | AD. 1876 | USA |
Phonograph/Gramophone | AD. 1877-8 | USA |
Motion Picture | AD. 1829; 1887-95 | Belgium; USA, England, France |
Wireless Telegraph | AD. 1894-6 | England |
Radio Broadcasting | AD. 1901-6; 1920 | USA; England |
Television | AD. 1923 | USA |
'Talking' Picture | AD. 1927 | USA |
Mainframe Computer | AD. 1946 | USA |
Satellite | AD. 1957 | USA |
Internet | AD. 1969 | USA |
World Wide Web (WWW) | AD. 1990 | Switzerland |
SOURCES: The table's format is adapted from table 1.1 in Real (1989: 25)1; see also, Mauri Yambo (2003) “Toward a Theory of the Memetic Sphere.”
1 Actual figures in the table are derived from the following sources: Oral Media, date and place (Oliver, 1993: 4, 10-20);cuneiform writing (McGarry, 1975: 124); idiographic writing (Toulmin and Goodfield, 1965: 25); idiographic book , the world's first book -- the Egyptian Book of the Dead (McGarry, 1975: 124); phonetic writing, the "first real alphabet" (Real, 1989: 25; McGarry, 1975: 124; DeGregori, 1985: 31); printing press (Needham, 1965: 7; Needham, 1971: 544;Gordon, 1977: 2; DeGregori, 1985: 31); books were printed in Japan in the 8th century, and the first known printed book, The Diamond Sutra, appeared in China in the 9th (Gordon, 1977: 2); newspapers (Real, 1989: 25; Gordon, 1977: 9); magazines (Real, 1989: 25);photograph (McGarry, 1975: 161); the first successful 'penny' newspaper (i.e. mass circulation, sold at a penny), the Sun (Gordon, 1977: 33; Real, 1989: 25); wired telegraph (Real, 1989: 25); telephone (Real, 1989: 25; McGarry, 1975: 161-2); phonograph (Real, 1989: 25;McGarry, 1975: 161-2); motion picture (Gordon, 1977: 76-80; Real, 1989: 25; McGarry, 1975: 161-2); wireless telegraph (Gordon, 1977: 87); radio broadcasting (Gordon, 1977: 88-90; McGarry, 1975: 161-2); television (Real, 1989: 25; McGarry, 1975: 161-2); 'talking' picture (McGarry, 1975: 161-2); mainframe computer (Real, 1989: 25); satellite (Real, 1989: 25); Internet (Salus, 1994: 70; Kantor and Neubarth, 1994: 74-5); WWW (McGrath, 1997: 42).