MEDIA AND

INFORMATION
LITERACY
Lesson 2: FROM WRITINGS ON THE WALL TO SIGNALS
TRAVELING IN THE AIRWAVES: A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF
COMMUNICATIONS
COMMUNICATION BEGAN...
FROM PAPYRUS TO PAPER

Christians - who invented the codex around AD 100

Codex - a document which can be rightfully referred to as
the prototype of a book.
Papyrus pages facing one another were bound together
instead of rolled up for easy reading.
15th Century - revolution in printing took place.

Johaness Gutenberg - (1394-1460) invented the printing technology

that would eventually be called the movable type machine.
● Moving letters came to be the distinguishing feature of his
invention from the woodblock, which could only be used to
create one message at any point in time.
● Bible - earliest and most famous creations
Instead of using wood blocks, Gutenberg
used metal instead. This became known as a
"movable type machine," since the metal
block letters could be moved around to
create new words and sentences. With this
machine, Gutenberg made the very first
printed book, which was naturally a
reproduction of the Bible.
Around 1500, printing presses have been established in 242 cities
across various countries, mostly in Western Europe.

17th Century ( Industrial Revolution ) - Church, Science, Arts, and

Politics.

Doctrina Cristiana - First Book printed in the Philippines ( teachings

of Roman Catholic Church ) written by Fray Juan Plasencia -
Augustinian Priest
NATION-STATES AND THE RISE OF
NEWSPAPERS
Gutenberg printing press made it possible to for newspapers to be
produced. It was in England that the first newspaper was reportedly
produced, but not earlier than the 17th century.

The first newspaper were patronized by merchants.

1700- idea of FREE PRESS, independent from the control of the

government, emerged as a strong rhetoric against authoritarian.
McQuail - cites that the newspaper is a more significant
innovation than the book.
● Regular appearance, commercial circulation, serving
multiple purposes (information, education, entertainment,
advertising, diversion, and even gossip)
TURROW ( ADVERSARIAL PRESS )

Defined as a press that had the ability to conduct

dialogue and even argue with the government.

British-American colonies
PHILIPPINES
Newspaper came about in the first decades of the 19th Century.

December 1, 1846 - La Esperanza, the first daily newspaper was

published in the country.

Diario de Manila (1848) Boletin Oficial de Filipinas (1852).

LA SOLIDARIDAD - One of the most popular newspapers in

history, which was published in Spain in 1889 and was actively
used to campaign for reforms for the Philippines.
FROM STATIC TO MOVING IMAGES

George Eastman - invented the film and built a company that

would be known as kodak.
FROM STATIC TO MOVING IMAGES

Thomas Edison - and his assistant

William Dickson, who turned the use
of the photographic film (now in a
strip) into a material that can be
moved in front of a lens at a constant
speed to result several photographs.
When that strip was developed and
viewed by the naked eye, it gave the
illusion of moving object.
(KINETOGRAPH)
FROM STATIC TO MOVING IMAGES

Louis and Augusto Lumiere -

were manufacturers of
photography equipment, best
known for their
Cinématographe motion
picture system and the short
films they produced between
1895 and 1905.
RADIO AND TELEVISION

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 General Electric
in New York City.

● By 1930, the Radio Corporation of America introduced

electronic scanning, a much improved technology from the
mechanical scanning introduced earlier.
Radio Corporation of America
US President Franklin D. Roosevelt
became the first president to appear
on the tube.
● In Europe, that Nazi authorities in Germany operated the world’s first
regular television service, using it as a platform for propaganda.
● Commercial television came into being in the United States only in 1946.
● In the Philippines - commercial television was launched in 1953, but as
early as 1946, there were already explorations on the technology of
broadcasting.
● James Lindenberg - an American engineer, began assembling
transmitters in Bolinao, Pangasinan. He was not fully successful with his
attempt to establish a television station but soon he was able to team up
with Antonio Quirino and together they establish Alto Broadcasting
System. - October 23, 1953 (FIRST TELECAST)
THE RISE OF NEW MEDIA

TRADITIONAL MEDIA - synonymous with seven most common

forms of media-- books, newspapers, magazine, sound recording,
radio, television, and film.
1950- the landscape of media and information technology began
to change.
Semiconductor devices considered the foundation of modern
electronics-- invention of integrated circuits, a technology that will
be critical in the development of the computer.
THE RISE OF NEW MEDIA
First electronic computers - called 701, it sold 19 machines to
research laboratories, aircraft companies, and the federal
government.
ARPANET - created and considered as the predecessor of the
internet. It was a large area-wide network created by the US
military specifically the US Defense (Advanced Research Projects
Agency) ARPA to serve as a ground for networking technologies
will link the military to various federal agencies, even the
universities.
TIMELINE OF INTERNET IN THE PHILIPPINES
March 29, 1994- to be exact, the free and open World Wide Web
was launched in the Philippines.
BBS - Bulletin Board System
- A computer system running a software that allows users to
connect and exchange messages and information using a terminal
program.
-It started as early as 1986 and was operated using a software
that ran on an IBM XT Clone PC, with a modem that ran on 1200
bpm. Fees ran as high as P1000 per month.
TIMELINE OF INTERNET IN THE PHILIPPINES

1987- inter-BBS connectivity was enabled through the Philippine

FidoNet exchange. One BBS in Metro Manila is now able to connect
to other bulletin board system in the same area.
Early 90’s
Email and gateways and services broadened
1993 - the government would figure as a major player, the PhilNet
was launched consisting representatives from different universities
such as UP-Diliman, UP-Los Banos, ADMU, DLSU
TIMELINE OF INTERNET IN THE PHILIPPINES

March 29, 1994 - the Philippines was formally connected to the

Internet, using the PLDT network center in Makati Center.
Same day - First International E-mail Conference was being held at
the University of San Carlos in Cebu.
Dr. John Brule - a professor from Syracuse University announced
“We’re in!” as the Philnet connection successful linked up with the
global Internet.