The theme ‘Media and ICT’ may make some of our readers nostalgic as media is associated with our lives. But the mode and approach of media are changing very fast.
Newspapers began to appear as regular and frequent publications during the first half of the 17th century. Both the telegraph and the telephone transformed communications in the 1800s, and, at the close of the century, radio was poised to start a third revolution. The invention of the telegraph in 1844 transformed print media. Demonstration of a practical system for generating and receiving long-range radio signals by Marconi sparked interest worldwide. The invention of radio brought the chance to transfer information within a matter of minutes, allowing for more timely, relevant reporting.
By mid of 19th century, newspapers became primary means of disseminating and receiving information. Between 1890 to 1920, the period was marked as the ‘golden age’ of print media in Europe when media barons like William Randolph Hearst, Joseph Pulitzer, and Lord Northcliffe built huge publishing empires. Television came into the media platform later in 20th century, it was invented by many people working together and alone. First television broadcasts in the United States took place in 1930.
The technological revolution has brought challenges to traditional media as found in the history of the media, at the same time, technology has brought the opportunities to generate more information in a more innovative manner for the common people. It was 1920s when radio broadcast appeared into the media scene. Newspapers started re-evaluating their role as society’s primary information provider. The development of a low cost, alternative media source produced the chance of collapse of newspaper industry.
Now we are experiencing the time when people bring information together by a single click of ‘mouse’. Media is going to be ‘online’ and ‘offline’ both. ICT has made it possible to collect latest information, news, top stories and many more from ‘online’ services. According to a sneak preview of the top 15 media properties worldwide, issued by comScore, MSN- Microsoft Sites tops the list with 538.6 million global users, followed by Google (495.8 million users), and Yahoo! (480.2 million users).
The day may not be far away when a kid will ask how a newspaper or a magazine looks like
