In universities today, the use of written language is by far the most valuable subject taught to students. Written language is not only the backbone of the academic world, but it is also the backbone of our natural ability to communicate. Academically speaking, the value of printed media took off thanks to Johan Gutenberg and his printing press. Outside of the academic world, many people rely on other forms of media. Typically, the radio outlet is most used by citizens who do not rely on written media for information.
Media today consists of more than just books and digital media. Both forms of media are quite different, but they still have the same purpose: to give individuals more responsibility to determine what is true and what is not. The producers of written media tend to lean toward academic usage, and their publishings tend to be taken very seriously in the academic community. Radio media is more oriented toward the broadcaster’s prospective on what the most important thing to be broadcasted is.
The written word appeared near the 5,000 BC range. Artifacts found included symbols that represented the spoken word. With the ability to reserve a symbol for a particular word, we believe that our ancestors were capable of creating permanent, empirical, and complex ideas. This book in particular is one of the first stories ever written, and perhaps on of my favorites. Overall, I believe that the discovery of symbols on ancient parchment are the base of what is today’s academic nature. With the permanent nature of the word on paper, complex ideas can be passed on for a very long time, if the media is preserved properly. The preservation of important media is similar to the evolution of today’s Bible, with is entirely a collection of ancient media. Although not all media has survived history, the media that tends to triumph can offer a big “thank you” to Johan Gutenberg.
Gutenberg’s printing press immortalized written media. In its prime, the printing press allowed for the production of mass quantities of books and pamphlets. To communities otherwise unfamiliar with printed media, this sensation caused many people to hit the books and figure out what everybody else was eagerly reading. Particularly fascinating was the religious community who copied Bibles and passed the word of God along to others. In academic respects, particular universities had to compete due to the sudden output of books. Where a particular university may have collected a number of books, more universities were collecting large amounts of books due to the new rise in production!
Those who typically do not consume information written in books or pamphlets rely on forms of electronic media. After Gutenberg invented his press, it took until the 1900’s for the next wave of electronic media: radio and television. In World War I, the radio was used first as a tool for soldiers fighting in the war. It was a powerful tool to keep troops organized, but it also became a powerful tool for recreation. Radio, when developed in the 20’s was more available for commercial production. Nowadays, radios are built standard in all personal vehicles. The radio is constantly on and is a readily accessible media outlet.
In the new age of information in books and media, people have much more governance, and journalism is set to thrive. Journalists who know how to properly utilize written and electronic media can choose which media is most important, and what is to be displayed most. In the academic realm, we tend to look to books for the old facts we base learning on. In the entertainment sense, the radio brings the world together, but at the governance by those who broadcast their information.
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