Milestones in Media Communication

In communication, media (singular medium) are the storage and transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver information or data. It is often referred to as synonymous with mass media or news media, but may refer to a single medium used to communicate any data for any purpose. (CMS, 2008)

Interpersonal communication, or communication in which one person or group interacts with another person or group without the assistance of a mechanical device, is probably the most common form of media communication. Giving a speech, talking to a friend, or yelling at the bad driver that just cut you off are all forms of interpersonal communication. Mass communication is communication in which a person, group, or organization uses a machine to produce and transmit public messages directed at large, widespread, and often diverse audiences. Machine-assisted interpersonal communication is the gray area between mass communication and interpersonal communication. I can send an email to one person, or to a thousand people, and those same emails can be forwarded on to still more individuals or organizations. (Dominick, 2009).

The eight forms of mass media with the largest audiences and greatest impact are radio, television, film, books, sound recordings, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet. The printing press came into usage in the 1400s, becoming perhaps the first true instrument of machine assisted interpersonal communications. The rotary printing press, a press in which the items to be printed are curved around a cylinder, allowing the medium to be sheet fed through. This increased the speed at which items could be printed. Many of the first newspapers relied on such a press.

The first transatlantic two-way radio broadcast occurred in 1906. In Detroit, Michigan, the first news broadcast was transmitted by 8MK in 1920. The radio has now moved into the digital and satellite age, and is still a major source for information, entertainment, and advertising, especially in this transportation age. With the radio, information began to travel at lightning speed. News of an event could reach neighboring cities moments after the event occurred, where previously the information was limited to the speed it could be carried by a human intermediary. A musician in New Orleans could sing to an audience in New York. And perhaps more importantly, the information was sent in all directions, where anyone who wished to pick up the information could. My great grandmother spoke with wonder about the first time she heard a radio broadcast. Those of us born in this era of information are hard pressed to imagine the wonder the radio brought. We simply take its miracle for granted.

Perhaps the greatest milestone of the past century is the Internet. The Internet both encompasses and replaces traditional forms of media. Radio can be streamed across the World Wide Web, as can films and television programs. Books are available for download, and newspapers and magazines have their content reflected in their websites. The Internet has also provided for direct contact between buyers and sellers, allowing for the bypassing of the middlemen of old. Travel agents, stock brokers, even book publishers are suffering from 'disintermediation' now that access to a product or service is given directly to a consumer. I personally sell game modules through my website, whereas previously I would have had to get an agent and publisher to market my works.

Blogs allow for virtually anyone to become a news reporter, leading to the downside of the Internet. As the information becomes more easily disseminated, it also becomes less reliable. Often the Internet is no more reliable than simple word of mouth, and there are those that craft websites entirely devoted to misinformation. One well-known source of disinformation is a popular pseudo-news website known as the Onion. While the Onion is admittedly satire, it has been sourced on multiple occasions as proof of some outlandish event.
Ultimately, regardless of medium, information is only as good as its source. The Internet is perhaps the only true medium of free speech, which sadly means that any idiot can find their voice therein. However, it is also one of the best mediums to get to the truth of any matter, as there is no other form of media that allows information from so many sources to be accessed as easily as through the internet. Websites such as Wikipedia act as mini-think tanks where knowledge can be shared and disseminated, abet with slightly less reliability. But then, one of my great grandmother's favorite stories was the night of October 30th, 1938, where her father made she and her siblings huddle in the center of the house while he bravely stood by the window, shotgun in hand, waiting for the Martians to arrive.

References
Chicago Manual Style (CMS): media. Dictionary.com. Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/media (accessed: February 24, 2008)
Dominick, J. R. (2009). The Dynamics of Mass Communication: Media in the Digital Age (10th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.