SECTION 1 : INTRODUCTION TO MEDIA AND 

INFORMATION LITERACY  
TOPIC 2: EVOLUTION OF TRADITIONAL MEDIA TO NEW MEDIA

READING OF WIKI

1. Read the WIKI: Evolution of Traditional to New Media on page 22-39. Go through and
understand the contents and be familiar with it.
2. In your notebook, write down the different media and forms of communication that were used
before for the following Ages:

a. Prehistoric Age
b. Industrial Age
c. Electronic Age
d. New Age ( Digital)

3. After going through the WIKI, proceed and perform the Activity: How did we get her?

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WIKI Title: Evolution of Media and Information

Description: Over time, media and information have continuously evolved. In

this WIKI, you will be able to know and understand how media
and information have developed from the earliest of time up until
the present time.

Pre-Industrial Age (Before 1700s)

Pre-industrial society refers to social attributes and forms both political and cultural groups or
organizations that were extensive before the advent of the Industrial Revolution. The industrial
revolution occured from 1750 to 1850. In the Pre-industrial age, people discovered fire, developed
paper from plants, forged weapons and tools through the use of stone, copper, iron, and bronze.

I. Cave Paintings

Magdalenia-era cave painting of a bison, Altamira Spain. (Source: UNESCO)

The cave discovered by a hunter in 1868, was visited in 1876 by Marcelino Sanz De Sautola, a
local nobleman. He returned in 1879 to excavate the floor of the cave’s entrance chamber,
unearthing animal bones and stone tools. On one visit in the late summer, he was accompanied by
his eight-year-old daughter, Maria, who first noticed the paintings of a bison on the ceiling of a side
chamber. They were painted by the Magdalenian people between 16,000-9,000 BC. It is more
likely to be about 35,600 years ago. Altamira was designated as UNESCO (United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) World Heritage site in 1985.

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II. Papyrus

One of the oldest papyri in the history of Egypt discovered at Wadi El-Jarf port
(Source: Egyptian Museum, Cairo, Egypt)

More than two thousand years ago, papyrus was the most popular writing material in the world.
Papyrus, from which we get the modern word paper, is a writing material made from the papyrus
plant, a reed which grows in the marshy areas around the Nile River. Papyrus was used as a
writing material as early as 3,000 BC in ancient Egypt and continued to be used to some extent until
around 1100 AD.

III. Clay Tablets

Clay tablet found in Southern Iraq (3100-3000 B.C.E.)

(Source: Khan Academy Website)

The first clay tablets were found in Mesopotamia, which is now the modern-day country of Iraq. It
was believed to be made around 2400 BC. The earliest tablets with written inscriptions were said to
be the work of administrators recording the ration’s allocation or the progress and storage of food.

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IV. Acta Diurna

Acta Diurna: World's first newspaper in Rome 131 BCE

(Source: Ancient Pages)

According to Britannica, the Acta Diurna (also called Acta populi or Acta publica), said to date from
before 59 BCE, recorded official business and matters of public interest. Under the empire (after
27BCE), the Acta diurna constituted a type of daily gazette, and thus it was, in a sense, the
prototype of the modern newspaper

V. Dibao

Dibao in Ancient China 206 BCE (Source: TImegraphics)

The Chinese “Dibao'' is the earliest and oldest newspaper in the world. During West Han time, Han
government carried out the “Jun xian zhi,” the eparch (territorial diocese) and county system which
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is helpful in concentrating the central power. The country was divided into many eparches and
counties but governed by the central government as a whole. Every eparch sets up its office in the
capital Chang’an, which has the same function as the provincial office in today Beijing.

VI. Maya Codices

Codices by Mayan civilization, Mexico (Source: Berlin/Art Resource)

The codices were probably written no earlier than the twelfth century A.D., but the Maya may have
copied books that were written much earlier. According to archaeoastronomer Anthony Aveni, the
codices were used to set dates for rituals, often by linking them to astronomical events. The pages
of the codices usually depict a deity and include a series of glyphs describing what the deity is
doing. Many pages of these books also contain lists of numbers that allowed the Maya to predict
lunar and solar eclipses, the phases of the moon, and movements of Mars and Venus.

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 Industrial Age (1700s to 1930s)

This is the period where people developed tools, discovered the use of steam, developed
machines, iron production, and manufacturing of a certain number of products such as books
through the printing press. It was easier for people to print documents and these documents were
made available to people especially when it regards to political, economic and societal issues.

I. Woodblocks Printing

A sample of woodblocks used for printing in China. (Source:Shine China)

Everything had to be written before the invention of printing. It took a long period of time. The
repercussion of this is that books and other written materials were rare and very expensive. Around
220 AD the Chinese began printing pictures on silk and other fabrics. Then around 650 AD, they
began printing on paper using wooden blocks. Woodblock printing works by carving words or
pictures onto a large block of wood. Once carved ink is then spread across the block and then
sheets of paper are pressed against it. The most difficult part of the process is to remember that
images or text has to be carved in reverse so when the paper is pressed on it it creates an image
the right way. Woodblock printing was used mostly to print religious books. The most famous book
printed during the Tang dynasty was the Diamond Sutra. This huge book included pictures and text
and helped to spread Buddhism throughout China.

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II. Printing Press

The first ever “Stanhope” Printing Press. (Source: Science Photo)

Iron presses inspired by earlier attempts by Swiss type founder Wilhlm Hass, Charles Stanhope
built iron presses that can print around 200 impressions per hour. The increased rigidity due to iron
made printing more efficient compared to using woodblocks but just by a very small margin though.
It has been said that using woodblocks, one can print an average of 200 pages an hour while using
the “iron” printing press, one can print an average of 250 pages an hour. The only difference is that
iron is more sturdy and lasts longer than wood.

III. Newspaper

The first newspaper in London, England in 1666. (Source: www.rarenewspaper.com)

During the industrial age, newspapers were the source of information that mostly contained topics
or issues about politics and war. This was specifically true in Europe where conflict and war was
very rampant. The London Gazette was the first reported newspaper during the industrial age and
is said to be the oldest surviving newspaper in the world. It was the official journal of records for the
British government.

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IV. Typewriter

The Sholes & Glidden Typewriter, 1873 (Source: www.xavier.edu)

The concept of typewriter actually dates back to 1714. But based on history, the first typewriter to
have been proven to work was built by an Italian, Pellegrino Turri, in 1808 that was meant for his
blind friend, Countess Carolina Fantoni da Fivizzano. The most significant milestone in the
development of typewriters is when the Sholes & Glidden typewriter was created. Christopher L.
Sholes, a Milwaukee newspaperman, poet, and part-time inventor, was the main creator of this
machine. This was the first time that an actual keyboard was placed and made it easier for an
individual to input the letters or words onto the paper.

V. Motion Picture Photography/Projection

First motion picture, 1878. (Source: Franklin Institute)

It is during the industrial age that the first motion ever motion picture was developed. Eadweard
Muybridge was born Edward James Muggeridge in Kingston-upon-Thames in 1830. He traveled to
the United States in 1852 with the notion of someday changing his name to use the Saxon spelling
(he eventually did by 1867). In the earlier part of June of 1878, Muybridge was able to make his
first successful serial photographs of fast motion at Stanford's California stock farm. The
photographs were of a horse running and another horse trotting. They were developed on the spot
so as not to be accused of doctoring or manipulating the images. Since then, more motion pictures
began emerging such as commercial motion pictures and motion pictures with sound.

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VI. Telegraph

First telegraph machine by Samuel Morse, 1832. (Source: Britannica)

Samuel Finley Breese Morse who was born on April 27, 1791 in Charlestown, Massachusetts
developed the first ever electric telegraph. Also, in 1838, he and his friend, Alfred Vail, developed
the Morse Code named after Samuel Morse’s family name. Telegraphy is one of the earliest ways
of long distance communication. The sender sends textual messages using symbols that are
known to the receiver of the message. During the industrial revolution, telegraphs were very useful
especially for the army’s tactical operations.

VII. Punch Cards

An example of a punch card machine. (Source: Computer Hope Site)

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 A punch card with information and instruction inputs represented by holes .(Source: Computer Hope Site)

Punch cards are basically paper cards in which holes may be punched using a person’s hand or
using a punch card machine. These holes represent data and instructions. It was generally the
data that serves as input to computers during the industrial age. This is similar to what we
presently use and know as binary codes.

Electronic Age (1930s-1980s)

The transistor was invented during this time and this revolutionized the electronic age. It began in
1939. Russell Ohl was studying crystals at Bell Labs in the United States and discovered the PN
junction. Walter Brattain, a research physicist at Bell Labs, saw Ohl’s work and realized that it could
go towards a solid state alternative to the thermionic valve. In December of 1947, he produced the
first working point contact transistor with John Bardeen. In the early part of 1948, William Shockley
began work on a different concept that led to the development of the junction transistor. In July of
1951, the world’s first junction transistor was introduced through a press conference. In 1956,
Walter Brattain, John Bardeen and William Shockley shared the Nobel prize for physics for their
invention of the transistor. People made use of the maximum potential of the transistors which led
to invention of the transistor radio and electronic circuits as well as the early computers.

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I. Transistor Radio

A collection of early transistor radio models. (Source: Nuts & Volts Magazine)

The American company, Raytheon, first produced the transistors in 1952. The first radio to be
produced commercially was the Regency TR-1, which was also manufactured in America. It went
on sale in November of 1954. It only used four Texas Instruments transistors, as transistors were
then very expensive. It operated from a 22.5 volt battery and sold for $49.95. But sadly, their sales
were not too good because of the main reason that it sells at a high price. After a few years, the
transistor prices had fallen and transistor radios became affordable as well as became very popular
in every household.

II. Television

John Logie Baird with his television transmitter. (Source: Science Photo Library)

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As defined by Britannica, the television (TV) is the electronic delivery of moving images and sound
from a source to a receiver. By extending the senses of vision and hearing beyond the limits of
physical distance, television has had a considerable influence on society. It was conceived in the
early 20th century as possibly a medium for education and interpersonal communication. In 1922,
Charles Francis Jenkins sent a still picture by radio waves; but the first true television success, the
transmission of a live human face, was achieved by John Logie Baird in 1925. In the mid-century,
it became a vibrant broadcast medium, using the model of broadcast radio to bring news and
entertainment to people all over the world.

III. Large Electronic Computers/Mainframe Computers

NEAC 2203 ComputerCPU, Console, and Tape drive, 1960. (Source: Computer History Museum)

It was said during the electronic age that big businesses that have big needs required big
computers. Economies of large scale also favored large and consolidated computer systems.
Based on the history of computers, this demand for big computers, just when “second generation”
transistor-based computers were replacing vacuum-tube machines in the late 1950s, gave way to
developments in hardware and software. Manufacturers regularly built small numbers of each
model in the aim of targeting narrowly defined markets.

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 New Information Age (1900s-2000s)

The most important milestone during this period is the development of the internet. It gave way for
faster and easy communication as well as the creation of social networks. Microelectronics were
used to its fullest potential with the creation of personal computers, mobile technologies such as
pocketbells and phones, and wearable technology like watches, wireless headsets and
microphones. Voice, image, data and sound were converted into digital form. It can simply be said
that we are now living in a digitalized world, the information age.

I. Web Browsers

Mosaic, web browser that popularized the World Wide Web in 1992. (Source: History-Computer website)

In 1992, Marc Andreesen was a student taking up computer science and a part-time assistant at the
NCSA (National Center for Supercomputing Applications) at the University of Illinois. Because of
his position at NCSA, this allowed him to become very knowledgeable with the internet and the
World Wide Web, which began to take off. Many years later, several web browsers emerged like
Netscape Navigator, and the very popular Internet Explorer. The latest addition to the collection of
web browsers are Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari, which are the most commonly used
browsers nowadays. By simply using these browsers, people can have unlimited access to the
information they need.

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II. Blogs

Sample blog. (Source: Make a Website Homepage)

A blog or weblog is an online journal or informational website displaying information in the reverse
chronological order, which means that the latest posts will appear first followed by a previous post.
It is a platform where a person, specifically a writer or even a group of writers, share their views and
opinions on an individual subject or a certain issue or topic. Blogging also focused on marketing
items or products as well as promoting tourism. Blogging has also evolved to Vlogging, which uses
video instead of images or pictures and texts alone.

III. Social Networks

The two social media site giants during the new information age: Facebook and Friendster.
(Source: https://myaffiliaterockstar.com)

Another development during the New Information Age is the introduction of Social Networks. Social
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networking sites have been very helpful for people to communicate with each other. Through these,
they can share their ideas, pictures, and videos. Some would even use them as a platform for their
business ventures. The very first and famous social networking site that most people knew was
Friendster, which was launched on March 22, 2003 by Jonathan Abrams. By 2010, Friendster
reported that they have about 8.2 million users. But sadly, the company was sold to Money Online
(MOL), a Malaysian gaming company and the social networking site eventually lost its hosting
capability for individuals. Then here comes Facebook which was launched on February 4, 2004 by
Mark Zuckerberg and his friends. To date, Facebook is one of the most used and patronized social
networking sites.

IV. Video

Videos available on Youtube. (Source: Youtube website)

Information dissemination was made simpler using videos. Sometimes, what people read in the
books or other documents are hard to understand. Through videos, people understand better what
others are trying to convey. By actually seeing the reality using graphics and real-life images of
living organisms or actual scenarios of events, the viewers easily get the message that the video
shown was intended for.

V. Video Chat

Famous video chat applications. (Source: www.gadgetstouse.com)

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The development of technology made communication even easier for people across the world.
Before, we use postage letters, telegrams, or codes to communicate with people. Now, we can
communicate and talk directly to them and actually see them live on video through the video chat
features of applications that were developed such as Skype, Google meet, Facebook messenger,
microsoft team, Zoom, and Duo. It is like talking to each other face to face in one place. So no
wonder, transfer of information is a lot faster nowadays. It is as easy as a video chat away.

VI. Search Engines

Some of the famous search engines to date. (Source: www.spikedm.com)

Search engines are web-based tools that enable a person to search for information over the World
Wide Web. Some of the most famous search engines that we are using are google, AOL, and
yahoo. Basically, web pages are connected to these search engines. Authors of web pages
connect or link their sites to these engines and tag them for specific search tags like education,
tourism, politics, food, etc.

VII. Portable Computers

Portable computers (Laptops). (Source: www.laptophungry.com)

A portable computer is a personal computer that is easily movable, which means you can bring it
with you anywhere you go because it is handy. From the big and bulky desktop computers,
portable computers offer the same or even better efficiency. People can easily do their work
anytime and anywhere. The first portable computer was designed in 1973 by IBM, the SCAMP,

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which stood for Special Computer APL Machine Portable. Since then, numerous brands have come
out like Apple’s Macbook, Asus, Dell, Sony, HP, Acer, and Toshiba laptops to name a few.

VIII. Smartphones/Wearable Technology

Different brands and models of smartphones. (Source: www.androidpit.com)

A smartwatch - an example of wearable technology. (Source: www.amazon.com)

A smartphone is a cellular phone that does not only allow you to make phone calls or send text
messages but also allows you to browse the internet and run software programs or applications just
like a computer. With the help of this technology, it is easier to communicate with others because
everything is accessible using your smartphone. Another breakthrough is the creation of wearable
technology such as the smartwatches, Ipods, mp3 players, etc. These wearable technology can
allow people to make calls, check their emails or messages, listen to music or news updates, etc.
but with a limited capability compared to smartphones.

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 References

Altamira, Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/Altamira

7 Oldest Cave Paintings in the World, Retrived from https://www.oldest.org/artliterature/cave-paintings

University of Michigan (2004). An Introduction to Papyrus: Ancient and Modern. Retrieved from
https://www.lib.umich.edu/papyrus_making/pm_intro.html

Frigg, Mark (2016). The diary of a pyramid builder: Oldest papyrus in existence details where Egyptian
workers shifted stones and even how many sheep they ate - and could reveal the secrets of the Great
Pyramid of Giza. Retrieved from
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3692283/The-diary-pyramid-builder-Oldest-papyrus-existence
-details-workers-shifted-stones-sheep-ate-reveal-secrets-inside-Great-Pyramid-Giza.html

Khan Academy (2020). Cuneiform. Retrieved from

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/ancient-near-east1/the-ancient-near-east-a
n-introduction/a/cuneiform

Acta. Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Acta

Acta Diurna. Retrieved from

http://www.ancientpages.com/2019/06/10/acta-diurna-worlds-first-newspaper-appeared-in-131-b-c/

Myan (2010), Dibao - Chinese First Newspapers. Retrieved from

https://chailibrary.com/dibao-chinese-first-newspapers/

Dibao in Ancient China. Retrieved from https://time.graphics/period/1079435

Chinese Inventions. Retrieved from

https://www.centennialsd.org/cms/lib/PA01001061/Centricity/Domain/298/China%20-%20Chinese%20Inventi
ons%20Project.pdf

CVDizon (2017). Pre-Industrial Age Before 1700s. Retrieved from

https://cvdizon.wordpress.com/2017/07/20/cave-paintings-35-000-bc/

Stanhope Press, First Iron Printing Press, 1806. Retrieved from

https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/776011/view/stanhope-press-first-iron-printing-press-1806

Timothy Hughes (2020). First Report of Shipment of slaves? Details of the Plague… Retrieved from
http://www.rarenewspapers.com/view/615130

The Classic Typewriter Page, A Brief History of Typewriters. Retrieved from

https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-history.html

First Motion Pictures, The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, PA. Retrieved from
https://www.fi.edu/history-resources/first-motion-pictures

Mabee, Carleton (1998). Samuel F.B. Morse - American Artist and Inventor. Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc.

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