Public Media: An Ever-Changing Necessity
The ability to spread ideas and information to large amounts of people is a concept which man has addressed since the dawn of humanity. In modern society, media dramatically affects the lives of people throughout the global community. Over time, the form it has taken, as well as the technology used to produce it, has changed drastically. As the technology continues to change, the world must adapt with it, and new ways of effectively producing the media must also be created. Today the world has reached a pinnacle of convenience and effectiveness, and has an immense impact on virtually all aspects of life. The culmination of former technologies, as well as the current forms media, and its effect on the public, are all important aspects of public media.
In early times, the only way for any information to be spread to a large amount of people was by word of mouth; since then many strides have been made in technology which makes it much more possible and practical to reach the masses. One of the first major advancements in public media was Johann Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press in the early fifteenth century. This made it possible for written works to be easily, mechanically reproduced, without the need for someone to manually rewrite it for each individual copy. A printer could then set the type in a printing press once, and make countless copies of the same work in relatively little time, leading to the ability to spread ideas, news, and entertainment, more quickly, efficiently and to a more broad audience (Ayiter). As this idea developed, newspapers were eventually able to be created within one or two days of an event and spread throughout large communities. The next obvious step in reaching large audiences was the use of audible communication from remote locations, thus the radio was invented. Gugliemo Marconi is credited for creating the radio in the late nineteenth century, with one of its first initial uses being military communication. This was a tremendous change in the world of communication, because now for the first time, the same message could be sent to numerous people, all in different locations, in virtually real time. People could now find out about things almost as soon as they happen. In addition to Radio, some recording media began to become available, and the combination of these two, led to an advance in music, as it could now be recorded for future playback, as well as be heard by a much larger public. Other entertainment also began showing up via the radio, with a range of shows, from children’s stories, to dramas, to comedies (Schoenherr). About the same time that radio was beginning to become popular, people began watching moving pictures. Until the mid 1920’s these films had no prerecorded sound, so audiences typically were left to rely on the body language of the black and white actors on screen, as they watched in small movie houses where a live pianist, or light orchestra would accompany the film with music corresponding to the mood being expressed. The main purpose for movies at this time was entertainment, with little ability to make much practical utility out of them without sound; this would change around the late 1920’s when synchronized sound was finally achieved. This technology opened up a world of possibilities by integrating two former, yet equally important technologies. With the ability to have sound synchronized, it became common for small local movie theaters to show news reels with a vocal commentary of different footage from all over the world, which people at this time would never have seen (Fisher). It also completely changed the way people were able to get information. Not only could they read about events, but they could see them as they actually heard, and on some occasions, such as speeches, they could see what was actually occurring. The industry, which at the time was actually not very large but growing tremendously, was now forced to undergo a great change, because now, not only did actors have to look good on stage, but they also needed to have professional sounding voices. Radio personalities often would attempt to be in movies, however they hadn’t the practice of stage presence, and also were not properly suited for the new “talkies.” As a result, much like the physical technology and equipment needed to undergo change and adjustments, so did the on-screen personnel. The next step in improving the technology was to get the pictures in a sort of true-to-life color, to be more pleasing to the public. This change came about slowly, as it was expensive at first, but as it became more commonplace, the price settled down, and many production companies began using mainly colored film by about the mid 1940’s. Although many people enjoyed going to see films in the theater, they had a great desire to have a similar luxury within the comfort of their homes, in lieu of relying solely on their radio. It was obviously impractical for households to each have a large film projector and a screen, so a new technology needed to be created. In addition, people did not only want to be able to play prerecorded items at will, but rather be able to watch a program, as they used to be able to listen to the programs on the radio. This need spurred the invention of the television, which finally became available to the public in the late 1930’s. This amazing resource now allowed people to see, as well as hear, all different kinds of programming, from movies, and comedies, to news programs, all within the comfort of their own homes. The television was slightly behind the cinemas, however, in the area of color. The television industry did not go into color until approximately the mid 1960’s (Fisher). This was due to a greater difficulty to capture and distribute images in color on a television, then in movies. These were all foundations for what has become modern technology in public media, all making important contributions in their own way.
The technology that the world is utilizing today in the area of public media is truly unprecedented on many levels. Contemporary forms of media are a combination of advancements on older ideas, and entirely new concepts. An example of how old technology has recently been improved is in television. Where broadcasting used to only be done over airwaves and radio frequencies, upon the advent of cable television, more specialized programs were made available at a premium cost. Other such forms now include satellite, and digital cable. These very new technologies allow viewers to tune in to a veritable myriad of programming. Beyond the programs, these services also show picture in a much higher quality and definition, now know as High Definition, or HD for short. With one of these new forms of television, it also allows some forms of interaction, in which a person can actually select certain shows, and program it to actually, “learn” what viewers enjoy watching and can adjust accordingly (Schoenherr). Currently most public channels are broadcast in what’s considered an analog format, which takes up a large amount of spectrum space, which all broadcasters must share. This format also does not provide nearly as sharp of an image, and is being phased out in countries around the world including the UK and Japan (“Professor”). In the United States, a law has been put into place that all broadcasters must change to digital transmissions by February 17, 2009. This is in order to provide for the future, and allow for further advancement of technology (Crosby-Volmer). Another media technology which has come a long way recently is movies. In theaters many movies are now filmed either partially or entirely in a digital format, which makes it an easier, more organized, and reliable form of filming. Also, recently the IMAX movie has become fairly popular. This audio visual experience virtually puts viewers in the movie, by utilizing a larger screen, with video which actually appears in three dimensions through the use of special glasses, and the audio is virtually unmatched, using 5.1 high quality surround sound, as opposed to simple stereo sound utilizing only 2 separate channels; all of which really help to incorporate the audience into the scene. The home movies have also come a long way. With DVDs now virtually overtaking the market from VHS, it is truly helping public media to movie into the digital age. DVD’s, or Digital Video Discs, have many advantages over its predecessors, such as the ability to jump to any point in the movie with the touch of a button, as well as the ability to have interactive features such as optional commentary which can be toggled on or off, and multiple language tracks for one movie. The sound and picture quality are also much more reliable. This technology is now being even further advanced through the exploration of both Blu Ray and HD DVD technologies, which are fairly new but seek to improve image and sound quality even more (Schoenherr).
In all aspects these changes are very positive ideas from old technology, but, a new form of mass media which has very recently risen, and is very unlike anything before it, is the internet. The internet is a worldwide system of inter-connected computers in which people can communicate and spread information from virtually anywhere, on any topic. This technology was originally explored by the United States military as a more effective way of communicating amongst troops in many different areas at once, and to be able to share their information with each other. Within a few short years, this technology became public and spread rapidly throughout the world. It is often called the information super-highway, as it allows people to access or post information on literally any topic, which anyone else can view. People can also communicate as a result of the internet in many ways (“Internet”). Instant messaging, allows people to send and receive typed messages to each other in real time, and e-mail too works in a similar way, but is not as direct of a conversation. It is closer to an actual mail system, except it works more immediately. Web-cams and uploadable videos also enable people to share memories, or spread news to the world themselves, using websites such as “YouTube.com” in which millions of people share their videos and ideas with the world on a daily basis. Colleges and other business have utilized this technology in many ways. For instance, podcasts, or periodic digital radio-like programs, are often released by professors, either in lieu of, or as a supplement to their lectures. As a result, more and more colleges are actually requiring students to have a computer with internet capabilities in order to keep up with the times, and have access to all of the news and resources which will greater inform them (Ferrara). With all of these current forms of highly advanced public media technology, our world is much better informed.
As public media advances more and more in our world today, it also has an increasing effect on everyone’s lives. It is apparent that now more than ever we can learn of events happening anywhere in the world within minutes of them occurring. Through the use of 24 hours news television stations, such as CNN, and online news feeds, people are actually becoming virtually obsessed with keeping up on issues which, in effect, is not a bad thing. Also, public entertainment has flourished as a result of media. Watching television shows brings people together more to discuss their views, and have a common culture. The media also has a great way of influencing people as it is so ubiquitous. People can get political views, moral stances, and even ideas of physical behavior, and cultural tendencies, all from the many forms of mass media that they are constantly exposed to (McGee). Individuals are also now very empowered to express their viewpoints to the world, through easy communication and sharing of music and videos (Bok). This cultural exchange helps to nurture and support a more tight-knit, caring, and well informed international society (Kilic).
As technology continues to excel, the impact of public media will also continue to push forward. The forms of media have changed over time, but the basic idea and mission have remained the same: to make information, ideas, and entertainment available to the people. Internationally people are also influenced more and more often by the media, and are actually more familiar with more of the world, and other cultures. There is no doubt that technology will continue to improve, and there is no telling what impact media will have in the future.

Works Cited
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