Global mass media network is the exchange of information about the current events and activities of human beings and also about every significant natural phenomenon and others of public interest on a worldwide scale. It covers practically all topics imaginable, with an emphasis on a large audience, regardless of their education and experience. The term “media” in this context refers to a variety of channels, including print and non-print, via which users can access news and information.
The development of mass media began with early forms of art and writing, advanced to the development of Gutenberg’s printing press in 1455, the publication of the first weekly newspaper in Antwerp in 1605, radio by Marconi in 1895, television by John Logie Baird in 1925, and finally the internet (the World Wide Web) by Tim Berners Lee in 1990.
Through newspapers, radio, and TV, the audiences for each of these platforms have continuously increased from a small number to hundreds of thousands or even millions. Ever since the introduction of the world wide web, the audience is now essentially limitless.
What is Global Mass Media and how did it Evolve?
Global mass media is the means of communication that reaches many people in a short time, such as television, newspapers, magazines, and radio. The Global mass media plays a fundamental role in our society.
Entertainment is a crucial aspect of it. The media can serve as a creative outlet for curious minds, a source of fantasy to live all those beautiful dreams that seem unachievable, and a means of escape from the reality of life now and then. Additionally, the media may educate and inform. Information can take many forms, and it can occasionally be challenging to distinguish it from enjoyment. The world revolves around fictional and non-fictional entities, and so does the media.
Newspapers, news-focused television, radio shows, and the internet all provide access to global news.
The media’s capacity to serve as a public forum for the discussion of significant topics is another beneficial feature. Readers can comment on journalists’ articles or express their perspectives on current events in newspapers and other periodicals through letters to the editor.
Today, the global mass media system has changed in terms of scale and scope as well as from physical to virtual means. The main media formats include:
- The printing press was created in 1450, and it was then that literary works, particularly religious works like the Bible, were first effectively duplicated. The cost of producing printed work dramatically decreased as printing technology advanced, and the first newspapers were published. Newspapers were the first media utilised for commercialization with advertisements in them educating a large number of readers about certain items/services.
- A market for news was created when newspapers and periodicals developed, especially about global events. News organizations established a worldwide network of journalists who could give their subscribers up-to-date information. These organisations particularly the telegraph, were significant pioneers in the rapid dissemination of news (scoops) over large distances.
- New types of media transmission were made possible by the capacity to capture images and convey them as an animated sequence (motion picture). Theatre performances have long been a staple of many civilizations, but access to them was expensive and scarce. Movies became the “theatre of the masses” in the 1910s because they made it possible to recreate and disseminate a story to a large audience (by enabling the proliferation of genres).
- By the 1920s, radio had made it possible for mass media to deliver a variety of content, such as music, news, and stories, into the homes of many people for the first time.
- Television enabled similar dispersion to radio, but with more material and visual components. Prior to the introduction of cable television in the 1980s which allowed the establishment of numerous speciality channels, the number of channels was initially constrained. Television became the primary medium for mass advertising since then.
- Given the availability of numerous media sources and distribution channels via the Internet, this change in the media system is probably the biggest in history. A value assessment market is vying for consumers’ attention because a significant portion of the information is freely accessible. All forms of media that were already in use, such as newspapers, references, and movies, might be adapted by the Internet (streaming).
- The development of portable communication devices—first cell phones in the early 1980s and then “smartphones” in the 2000s—represents the most recent stage in the evolution of media systems. These latter ones have developed into multipurpose gadgets with sensors, GPS, media access, and the ability to capture photos and films. As users interact with information systems, such as navigational aids, new types of mobilities emerge.
Conclusion
Global mass media has gradually changed its pace and by utilizing mass media networks, corporations can transmit specific messages to the public. We receive a tonne of information daily on a wide range of subjects through global mass media. In order to prevent our thoughts/perspectives from being skewed in favour of the interests of other people, it is our responsibility to constructively critique the information we receive.
‘THE EMISSARY’ is a global mass media network exclusively operated by perspicacious teenagers. In recent years all of us have witnessed the strong influence of mass media networks in our lives and therefore, ‘The Emissary’ stands to provide a space for teenagers with a global facet of every aspect through wide-ranging opportunities that provide them with imperative exposure to people with common interests to enrich them with highly beneficial experiences.