“Exploring How Technology Has Changed the Relationship between Print, the
Computer, and the Radio/TV Media”

An Honors Thesis
by

Thomas D. Caton

California, Pennsylvania
2021

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Radio/TV Media 1

It is obvious to see and witness that technology has evolved rapidly and
significantly over the centuries. Technology has changed the way we now view the
television, radio, print media, the computer, and anything else that pertains or associates
with the mass media.
Exploring how the advancements made in technology overtime can possibly
further explain how we are currently living in a heavily technology-influenced society.
Technology has positively and negatively influenced the world as well. Overall,
exploring how technology has changed television, radio, and the newspaper can be very
interesting and worthwhile.
First and foremost, the reason I chose this particular topic is because I am a
communications major with a concentration in radio and television. It is obvious that the
technological advances that have been made overtime have improved the current world
we find ourselves living in today.
For me, personally, my life and my major constantly revolves around having to
use technology—whether that is a video camera, computer, software system—quite
frequently. Overall, I thought it would be very interesting and compelling to explore
and conduct research on this topic.
Think of the old sayings “in the beginning, there was nothing” and “there is a
first time for everything.” In regards to this particular honors thesis topic/project, those
expressions are relatable and relevant in so many ways.
In the beginning, there really was nothing. The technology that exists today was
not around 100 years ago…or even say 1,000 years ago. The concept and invention of
modern day technology—like the television, radio, and computer/internet—is not that
old compared to the concept and invention of writing and printing.

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As previously stated, many and many technological advances have been created
over the centuries and these advancements have played a vital role in transforming the
world of communication and the mass media today.
It is known that print became the first mass medium to be introduced in history.
Due to the invention of the printing press and other forms/advances made in
distributing texts and papers, is what eventually led to the establishment of the print
mass media (Communication in the real world: An introduction to communication
studies, 2016).
During ancient times, people would chisel on stone tablets, draw or paint on
cave walls, or create pottery and jewelry as forms of expressionism; in regards to
express their culture or heritage. The “manuscript age” was the time in history when
texts were first introduced; which was around 3500 BCE and lasted until the invention
of the printing press in 1450 CE.
Speaking of the printing press, we all have heard or learned of this invention.
Johannes Gutenberg (1400-1468), a German goldsmith and printer may be credited for
inventing the printing press, however, he really did not invent much during his life.
Gutenberg often referred to the printing press as the “Gutenberg Press” since had
invented it himself—I too would name an invention after myself! (History.com Editors)
Before Gutenberg invented the printing press, most of the technology that was
needed for print, like moveable type had already existed—about 700 years prior to the
invention of the printing press. In East Asia, during the 8th century, Chinese used this
woodblock printing system to produce and distribute ancient texts; most of these texts
were Buddhist texts.

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In further detail, this woodblock printing system involved printing on textiles
and later would be printed onto paper. A major advantage to this style of printing is that
it could be done on a surface regardless of size or texture (Computersmiths, “History of
Chinese Invention - The Invention of Block Printing).
Shortly after the printing press was invented, an explosion of printing spread
across Europe between the 15th to 17th centuries. This ultimately proves that print was
the first form of mass media to exist in history.
Due to the invention of the printing press, books, pamphlets, and newspapers
began to rapidly pop up throughout Europe.
Ten years prior to Gutenberg inventing the printing press, he spent some time in
Strasbourg, France and experimented with writing in the year 1440. In 1450, he created
the first printing press ever in the world.
Between the years of 1454 to 1500, approximately 30,000 pamphlets and books
were published in Europe. Also, approximately 20 million books were published as well.
(Communication in the real world: An introduction to communication studies, 2016).
Throughout the 17th century in Europe, approximately 150 million to 200 million
individual books were published using the printing press. For this astonishing number of
books to be produced during a time when there was not much technology around is
absolutely incredible! (Communication in the real world: An introduction to
communication studies, 2016).
A quick fun fact: in the United States, approximately 3.1 million books; 1,400
newspapers; and 19,000 newspapers are published each and every year. (Communication
in the real world: An introduction to communication studies, 2016).
As previously stated, the printing press led to the creation of newspapers.

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We all know what a newspaper is, hopefully, even if most of them appear online
than a physical printed copy. Newspapers provide coverage of local, national, and
international news events. Basically, newspapers can help keep us up to date on current
world events. Furthermore, newspapers are credited as being the chronicle of daily life
in society.
The first newspaper to ever be established occurred in Paris, France in the year
1631. After this newspaper was created, countless other newspapers began to be
established throughout Europe. (Communication in the real world: An introduction to
communication studies, 2016).
Another quick fun fact: In the United States, as of 2018, there are currently
1,279 different newspapers (i.e. The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Chicago
Tribune, and USA Today—just to name a few famous ones). (List of newspapers in the
United States, 2021).
It was not until near the end of the 17th century when newspapers began to be
established in the United States, or colonies, as it was referred to at the time.
In the year 1690, the first newspaper to be printed in the U.S. was the Publick
Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick out of Boston, Massachusetts. I know the
name of the paper may seem to be misspelled—like “publick,” “forreign,” and
“domestick”—but this is how this newspaper was spelled during its brief inception.
However, the newspaper was quickly suppressed after its first issue due to an antiBritish tone. This was before American declared independence, so Great Britain still
had a strong hold on those living in the colonies at the time. (Communication in the
real world: An introduction to communication studies, 2016).

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In 1704, the first regularly published newspaper, The Boston News-Letter, is
published in the United States. In 1784, the first daily published newspaper, The
Pennsylvania Pocket and Daily Advertiser, is published in the United States.
(Communication in the real world: An introduction to communication studies, 2016).
In the late 1800s, many newspapers practiced a phenomenon known as “yellow
journalism.” Yellow journalism is journalism that is based upon crude sensationalism and
exaggeration (Encyclopedia Britannica, “Yellow Journalism”). In 1955, the rise of
alternative newspapers began to be established in the United States.
As the centuries continued on, technology started to become much more stable.
Several businesses and governments began to seek value in expanding devices that
would later become known as the radio.
In the mid 1890s, Guglielmo Marconi developed the first ever apparatus for long
distance radio communication. In December 1906, a Canadian inventor named Reginald
A. Fessenden became the first person to successfully send audio by means of
electromagnetic waves and was the first to ever create a public wireless broadcast. By
the year 1910, these devices would be
called the “radio.” (Communication in the real world: An introduction to communication
studies, 2016).
In the mid 1910s, radios were viewed as being an essential household item. A
former Marconi telegraph operator, by the name of David Sarnoff, pushed for radios to
be a necessary and essential household item. In the end, his plan was successful and by
the 1930s, almost every American household had a radio. The radio may be seen as one
of the first forms of entertainment.

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Another quick fun fact: there are more than 15,000 radio stations and more than
30,000 licensed broadcast outlets in the United States (Invention of radio, March 30,
2021).
Next up is the invention of the television set. For thousands of years—about
140,000 years to be exact—humans have always enjoyed watching and listening to
something at the same time. Unfortunately, anyone born before the television was
actually invented had to find other forms of entertainment.
The first ever electronic television set was first introduced and successfully
demonstrated in September 1927 in San Francisco, California. A 21-year-old inventor by
the name of Philo Taylor Farnsworth had designed the system. Farnsworth took a
challenge to invent such a device since he had lived in a house without electricity until
the age of 14 (Lemelson, “Philo Farnsworth, 2021).
Television sets have evolved so much and it has only been 94 years since it was
first invented.
The television started to become a much more popular entertainment device
than the radio because you could see and hear entertainment—compared to the radio
where you could only hear entertainment.
Between the 1940s and 1970s, TV was in its “golden age.” Basically, almost
every American household had a television set in their living room. Television was the
dominating visual medium. As the decades continued to pass, television sets got wider,
bigger, smarter, and more efficient. Today, there are television that surpass 70 inches
and come chock full of various smart apps, commands, and controls that were not
available in years before. (Communication in the real world: An introduction to
communication studies, 2016).

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Lastly, the invention of the internet/computer and the World Wide Web (WWW)
is the last to be discussed about in this paper. The internet/WWW is the youngest form
of mass media. The first prototype of the internet may have been introduced in the
1960s, but it was not until 1989 when the World Wide Web was launched by a British
scientist named Tim Berners-Lee. (Communication in the real world: An introduction to
communication studies, 2016).
The internet and digital media age was launched in 1990 and still continues to
this day with new websites and features always popping up. Currently, there are more
than 1.2 billion websites out on the WWW. For the internet and digital media age to
only be 30 years old and to see how it has advanced in such a short amount of time is
astonishing to witness. Who does not use the internet here and there? The internet and
digital media age will most likely never cease to exist. (Communication in the real
world: An introduction to communication studies, 2016).
So, in conclusion, it is obvious to see how the world of communications and
mass media has advanced over the centuries with countless inventions being created to
transform the future world. Technological advances are still being made to this day and
will continue to be made in the future. We still have yet to see flying cars or
hoverboards, but they may come sooner or later.
It is prevalent to see how these advances made in technology, the world of
communications, and the mass media have changed the way we live today. Without
some of these inventions, who knows if we would still be living in the manuscript age
or the printing press age?
Without a doubt, technology has advanced the way we live today and the way we
will continue to live as we progress on into the future.

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References
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References, Continued
History.com Editors. “Printing Press.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 7
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“Yellow Journalism.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia
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