The first dated print book known as the Diamond Sutra appeared in China in 868 AD, yet the true birth of mass media as a global phenomenon began much later in Europe. Johannes Gutenberg's invention of the printing press in 1453 marked the first time books could be produced on a scale that transformed society, though books remained too expensive for the common person for at least a century. The first English newspaper emerged in 1620, but it was not until the early 1800s that high-circulation newspapers like The Times in London became a true mass medium. This shift was made possible by the invention of the high-speed rotary steam printing press and the expansion of railroads, which allowed for large-scale distribution over wide geographical areas. The increase in circulation, however, led to a decline in feedback and interactivity from the readership, making newspapers a one-way medium that set the stage for future mass communication models.
The Audio-Visual Revolution
The phrase the media began to be used in the 1920s, but the notion of mass media was generally restricted to print media until the post-Second World War era when radio, television, and video were introduced. The audio-visual facilities became very popular because they provided both information and entertainment, and because the color and sound engaged the viewers and listeners more effectively than text. Radio and television allowed the electronic duplication of information for the first time, creating a new form of mass communication that reached far removed audiences in time and space. The invention of the compact cassette in the 1960s, followed by Sony's Walkman, gave a major boost to the mass distribution of music recordings, and the invention of digital recording and the compact disc in 1983 brought massive improvements in ruggedness and quality. These technologies transformed the way people consumed information, shifting from active reading to passive watching and listening.
The Digital Disruption
The Internet became the latest and most popular mass medium, with the advent of the World Wide Web marking the first era in which most individuals could have a means of exposure on a scale comparable to that of mass media. Mobile phones were introduced in Japan in 1979 but became a mass media only in 1998 when the first downloadable ringing tones were introduced in Finland. Soon most forms of media content were introduced on mobile phones, tablets, and other portable devices. The Internet is a more interactive medium of mass media, and can be briefly described as a network of networks. It consists of millions of smaller domestic, academic, business, and governmental networks, which together carry various information and services, such as email, online chat, file transfer, and the interlinked web pages and other documents of the World Wide Web. This shift challenged the traditional classification of mass media and created a new paradigm where the distinction between mass communication and interpersonal communication became blurred.
Between 1985 and 2018, about 76,720 deals have been announced in the media industry, summing up to an overall value of around US$5,634 billion. The largest deal in history was the acquisition of Time Warner by AOL Inc. for US$164,746.86 million. In 2012, an article asserted that 90 percent of US mass media, including radio, video news, sports entertainment, and other, were owned by six major companies: GE, News-Corp, Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, and CBS. This concentration of ownership raises concerns about media capture and the threat to democracy. The United States is the most prominent country in media mergers and acquisitions, with 41 of the top 50 deals having an acquirer from the United States. The three major waves of M&A in the mass media sector occurred in 2000, 2007, and 2015, with the most active year in terms of numbers being 2007 with around 3,808 deals. This consolidation has led to a situation where vast fortunes are made in mass media, and the control of communications becomes a key factor in political power.
The Shaping of Perception
In 1997, J. R. Finnegan Jr. and K. Viswanath identified three main effects or functions of mass media: the Knowledge Gap, Agenda Setting, and Cultivation of Perceptions. The Knowledge Gap refers to the influence of mass media on knowledge gaps due to factors including the extent to which the content is appealing, the degree to which information channels are accessible and desirable, and the amount of social conflict and diversity there is in a community. Agenda Setting describes how people are influenced in how they think about issues due to the selective nature of what media groups choose for public consumption. Cultivation of Perceptions refers to the extent to which media exposure shapes audience perceptions over time, with television being a common experience that can be described as a homogenising agent. Mass media play a significant role in shaping public perceptions on a variety of important issues, both through the information that is dispensed through them, and through the interpretations they place upon this information. They also play a large role in shaping modern culture, by selecting and portraying a particular set of beliefs, values, and traditions as reality.
The Manipulation of Truth
Media artist Joey Skaggs has demonstrated the ease with which mass media can be manipulated using fabricated press releases, staged events, and fictitious experts. His long-running series of media hoaxes reveal how news outlets can be drawn to sensational narratives, often publishing stories with minimal fact-checking. Skaggs' work has been cited as a critique of journalistic practices and a case study in the vulnerabilities of modern media systems. Mass media sources, through framing and agenda-setting, can affect the impact of a story, as particular facts and information can be highlighted. This can correlate with how individuals perceive certain groups of people, as the media coverage a person receives can be limited and may not reflect the whole story or situation. Stories are often covered to reflect a particular perspective, sometimes to target a specific demographic. Mass media, as well as propaganda, can reinforce or introduce stereotypes to the general public, as seen in historical media focus on African Americans in the contexts of crime, drug use, gang violence, and other forms of anti-social behavior.
The Future of Mass Media
Contemporary research demonstrates an increasing level of concentration of media ownership, with many media industries already highly concentrated and dominated by a small number of firms. The Hallin and Mancini media model, based on traditional indicators, no longer fully aligns with today's media ecosystem. While television continues to target a more mature audience and uphold professional journalism standards, digital journalism and social media tend to adapt those standards to align more closely with audience preferences. Theorist Lance Bennett explains that excluding a few major events in recent history, it is uncommon for a group big enough to be labeled a mass, to be watching the same news via the same medium of mass production. Today it is more common for a group of people to be receiving different news stories, from completely different sources, and thus, mass media has been re-invented. The widespread use of social media and the rapid development of information technology have led to a situation where the media landscape has undergone significant changes, challenging the traditional filters that once controlled what the general public would be exposed to in regards to news.