Exam 3 Mass Media History

Very early long-distance communication

Included smoke signals and drums.

18th-19th century long-distance communication

Semaphore (flag codes), light codes

Limitations of Visual Long-distance Communications

• Had to be in direct line of sight

• Messages could be easily intercepted

• Each station along line required operator

• Misinterpretation was common

• Weather rendered these methods useless

Telegraph

System for transmitting messages across long distances using electrical impulses carried by a wire.

Limitations of the Cooke and Wheatstone telegraph

It was complex mechanically, needing 5 separate, high-quality wires. It did not allow for punctuation, and only had code for 20 letters. Never went to U.S.

Who created the U.S. single-wire telegraph?

Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail

Morse Code

Used by the Morse and Vail telegraph, series of dots and dashes to make out every letter and single-digit number. Allowed for punctuation.

What were impacts made on by the telegraph?

• Technological

• Newswriting, newsgathering

• Cultural

Technological Impact of the Telegraph

• Speed of communication went from 30 mph to 186k mph (speed of light)

• First instantaneous, point-to-point, long-distance communication.

• One of the first ‘digital’ technologies.

The Impact of the Telegraph on News (Writing)

• Inverted pyramid news style created in response to limitations of telegraph.

  • Including the most important info at the beginning of a news story

• Shifts writing emphasis from poetic and emotionally charged language to plain, punchy language.

  • standardized news format

• Rise of objectivity as major journalistic value.

The Impact of the Telegraph on News (Gathering)

• Telegraphs were expensive, so in 1848, six NY newspapers agree to share one correspondent in Boston, founding the Associated Press (AP), the first US wire service.

  • Monopoly

• Wire services generate news centrality.

• Encourages objectivity because if all papers are running the same story, they should be identical.

Impact of the telegraph on Culture

• Made stock market a full-time job, fundamentally changed economy.

• Indispensable military tool.

• Encouraged development of national and international culture.

  • 1866: trans-Atlantic cable connects US with Europe

• Changed perspectives of distance. Every “there” became a “here.”

Why was the telephone invented?

Originally was developed during a search for a harmonic telegraph. Goal was to carry several messages at once using multiple frequencies/tones. Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell work together to solve the problem but fail, with Bell later inventing the telephone.

Initial Limitations of Bell’s Telephone

• Large, unreliable, limited range.

• Bell did not have money to make improvements.

• Bell did not have the business sense to understand the value of the invention.

Who financed Bell’s telephone and became his business director?

Gardiner Hubbard, father of Mabel Hubbard, one of Bell’s students and future wife. He opposed the Western Union’s monopoly.

American Speaking Telephone

Western Union’s attempt at monopolizing the telephone with an invention done by Thomas Edison and Elisha Gray. Eventually, they cede the telephone to Bell and keep focus on the telegraph.

1913 Kingsbury commitment

US government decides that for Bell and AT&T to maintain their monopoly, they must allow independent phone companies to use their lines.

Communications Act of 1934

Created separate regulations for radio and telephone. Bell/AT&T system deemed a “natural monopoly" which protected from antitrust actions if promised to provide universal telephone service.

Telecommunications Act of 1996

Deregulated the telephone; local, long-distance and cable companies can all be owned by the same company. This was in opposition to the 1984 phone regulation that stated local telephone, long distance, and cable service providers must have separate ownership.

Phonoautograph

The first recorder, developed in 1857 by Edouard-Leon Scott (France) in a desire to replicate the human ear. He recorded sound waves on a piece of blackened paper or glass.

• Brush bristle would be vibrated by sound through a funnel and would scratch the paper or glass to create a visual recording of sound waves.

Charles Cros

In 1877, he discovers a way to convert phonautograph recordings into sound by engraving the recordings into a metal plate. This guy was later forgotten.

The (tinfoil) Phonograph

Invented by Thomas Edison in 1877 and patented in 1878 in an attempt to find a way to record and play back telegraph and telephone messages.

Later flopped because the machine was hard to operate, the tinfoil was easily damaged, the sound quality was distorted, and Edison was more interested in the light bulb.

The Graphophone

Alexander Bell stepped in with help, improving Edison’s original invention with better sound by:

• Using a wax cylinder instead of tinfoil

• Used a stylus that would cut into the cylinder rather than just indent it.

Patented in 1855.

Volta Graphophone Company

Bell group starts this company in Alexandria, VA in 1866 after Edison refuses a collaboration.

Initial Marketing of the Graphophone

• Dictation machines

• Books for the blind

• Recording family member’s voices

• Preservation of correct pronunciation

• Recording of important phone calls

  • Office professionals opposed this bc they were afraid tech would steal their jobs.

Gramophone

Patented by Emile Berliner in 1887, this used a flat disc with Cros’ concept of etching grooves into a plate instead of carving rigid material.

How did Edison market phonographs?

Sold coin-operated phonographs alongside catalogue of recorded music cylinders. These became incorporated into Nickelodeon theatres and other entertainment venues. Cylinders could store around 2 min worth of music.

Victrola

Gramophone sold by the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1906, used pressed discs (records) that were easier to mass produce, store, and maintain. By 1914, most households have a record player.

Aurora Borealis in September 1959

Led to discovery of invisible electromagnetic fields. James Clark Maxwell published paper on how electricity can be transferred without wires, while Hertz in 1880’s makes, detects, and measures electromagnetic waves.

Guglielmo Marconi

1896-1901: Interested in Hertz work. Funded research and invested time and is regarded as inventor of the radio (wireless telegraph). Nikola Tesla had patented this invention nearly 3 years before, but this guy had the knowledge to make radio a practical, commercial enterprise.

Reginald Fessenden

1902, develops tech to transmit voice over radio, but didn’t have the financial power to dethrone Marconi’s spark gab transmitter.W

Wireless Ship Act of 1910

Requires all ships with more than 50 passengers to carry a wireless receiver and radio operator.

The reason behind the Titanic disaster

Several ships had sent warnings of hazardous conditions along the Titanic’s route, and another ship, the Californian, sent radio warnings about icebergs, but the Titanic’s operators eventually told them to stay off the air so they could hear signals from their relay station. Since the Californian had turned off their radios, when the ship hit the iceberg, there was no ships nearby to hear distress calls near them.

Radio Act of 1912

As a re-evaluation due to the Titanic disaster, all ships at sea must monitor the radio for distress calls 24 hours a day. No radio system is permitted to lock out transmissions from other radio systems. Begins government regulation of radio systems.

The Radio Act of 1927

Edtablishes FRC, Federal Radio Commission, and determines that radio stations are a limited resource. Decides radio should serve public interest, convenience, and necessity. FRC consists of five people with the power to grant or deny a radio license and to assign frequencies and power levels for each license.

Radio in the Great Depression

Golden age of radio if you had one. Nearly ¼ of the US population was out of work.

The Nipkow Disk

Invented in 1884 by Paul Nipkow, this was used to scan a moving image. Each hole represents a single line (slice) of an image. Nipkow never could produce a functional television.

The Mechanical television

Developed by John Logie Baird in 1926, this machine used the Nipkow disk. The first public demonstration of a working television was done in London for scientists and reporters.

The Baird Televisor

In 1928, Barid produced this very first commercial television set with a very small screen. FRC determined that licenses would be granted to experimental and non-commercial stations due to lack of technical standards. CBS began a regular 7 days a week schedule.

Flop of the Mechanical Television

Images were poor and low resolution, the equipment was noisy, expensive, and dangerous (required very high voltage to operate), equipment was bulky and hard to maintain.

Philo Farnsworth and Vladimir Zworykin

The two men generally regarded as the inventors of the electronic television.

Dissector tube

Invented in 1927 by Farnsworth, it replaced the Nipkow disc as a method of image conversion.

Farnsworth’s Electronic TV

In 1928, the first working demonstration of the electronic television was presented. First image of a dollar sign in 1928.

Electronic TV Transmitter

Created by Zworykin who had worked for Westinghouse, this was patented in 1923 but never got past experimental stages. Zworykin was later in 1930 hired at RCA by David Sarnoff.

Patent Wars over TV

• Philco backs Farnsworth, RCA supports Zworykin.

• Sarnoff (RCA) tries to purchase Farnsworth patents unsuccessfully.

• RCA files patent interference suit against Farnsworth stating that it came later than Zworykins patent. (Invalid).

  • RCA finally agrees to pay one million dollars over a ten year period to Farnsworth and yearly licensing payments to use his patents.

Commercial television broadcasts

First permitted by FRC (FCC) in 1941 due to more standardization in electronic televisions in terms of broadcasting. First commercial airs on NBC and is a 10 second Bulova watch commercial.

4 major TV networks of 1940s

• NBC (RCA)

• CBS (Columbia)

• ABC (Paramount)

  • Dumont Television Network

TV Freeze of 1948

FCC places freeze on processing of station applications until 1952 due to technology changes as TV is being broadcast on radio frequencies.F

FCC Stages for Distribution

1. Everyone in US should be able to get at least 1 TV station

2. There should be at least one TV station in each community

3. Everyone in US should be able to get at least 2 or more TV stations

4. There should be at least 2 stations in each community

5. If more than 3 VHF channels are assigned to one community, one should be reserved for educational use.

TV’s social influence

• People feared TVs could watch you back.

• Radio still prevailed.

• 2 levels of popular culture: local and national.

• National medium

• Relatively few TV stations, only ones that could be picked up with 100% reliability were ABC, NBC, and CBS. (National network stations)

• After TV, only one popular culture: national.

Newton Minow’s Speech

In 1961, this speech critiqued the content and quality of television. THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!

Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)

Established in 1967 by Congress, this forms the Public Broadcast Service, PBS, and the National Public Radio, NPR, for educational programming.