From writings on the wall to

signals traveling In the

airwaves: A historical
overview of
communications
•Communication began as
drawing on walls of caves,
carvings on barks of trees,
and later on, papyrus and
parchment.
•These developments altered
how people communicated with
one another, how people passed
on information across, diverse
and dispersed group of people.
•Papyrus pages facing one another
were bound together instead of
rolled up for easy reading, because
it only meant flipping the pages
instead of unraveling a long
papyrus. By the 15 century the
th

technology was already paper.

Johann (Johannes) Gutenberg
(1394 – 1460)
• He invented the printing
technology that would
eventually be called the
movable type machine.

• The bible was one of

Gutenberg’ earliest and most
famous creations.
Papyrus Paper
Doctrina Cristiana
• The first book printed in
the Philippines is believed
to be Doctrina Cristiana, a
treatise on the teachings
of the Roman Catholic
Church, written by Fray
Juan Plasencia an
Augustinian Priest.
Nation – States and the
Rise of Newspapers
•The Gutenberg printing press made
it possible for newspapers to be
produced. It was in England that the
first newspaper was reportedly
produced, but not earlier than the
17 century.
th
•The First newspapers were
patronized by merchants. As
perennials travelers, they were very
interested on what was going on in
various parts of the world, both
economically and politically.
McQuail (1983, 20 – 21)

Cites that the newspaper is a more significant

innovation than the book.
• He also cites the following defining features of a
newspaper: regular appearance, commercial
circulation, serving multiple ( information,
education, entertainment, advertising, diversion
and even gossip), and its unrefutably public
character.
• In the Philippines, the
rise of the newspaper
came about in the first
decades of the 19th
century. In December 1,
1846 La Ezperanza the
first daily newspaper,
was published in the
country.
•Other early
newspaper were
Diario de Manila
(1848) and Boletin
Oficial de Filipinas
(1852).
• One of the most
popular newspapers in
history is La
Solidaridad, which was
published in Spain in
1889 and was actively
used to campaign for
reforms for the
Philippines.
• In January 18, 1896, The
Katipuneros published
Ang Kalayaan as the
official revolutionary
newspaper of the
Kataastaasang Kagalang-
galangang Katipunan ng
mga Anak ng Bayan
(KKK).
•Today, the newspaper as a medium has
evolved with the rise of the internet and
digital technology. While the broadsheet
and tabloid formats still exist, news
agencies have turned to the web as
another platform for newspaper
publications and have generated a new
business model for the newspaper
industry.
•George Eastman
invented the film
and built the
company that
would be known
as kodak.
 Thomas Edison and his
assistant, William Dickson
who turned the use of
photographic films (now in a
strip) into a material that can
be moved in front of a lens at
a constant speed to result
into several photographs,
each one different from the
other one because of a slight
change in the movements of
the subject.
• Radio and television followed very closely. By
1907, the word “television” was already used in a
magazine called the scientific American. By 1928,
the first telecast of a television program took
place, transmitting from the experimental studio
of the general electric in New York city. By 1930,
the radio corporation in America introduced
electronic scanning a much improved technology
from the mechanical scanning introduced earlier.
By 1930, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt
become the first president to appear on the tube.
• In 1946, James Lindenberg, an American
engineer, began assembling transmitter in
Bolinao, Pangasinan. He was not fully
successful with his attempt to establish
television on station but soon he was able
to team up with Antonio Quirino and
together, they would establish the also
broadcasting system where he would serve
as the general manager. Their first official
telecast was in October 23, 1953.