Industrial Age

The Industrial Age began in the 18th century during the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain when the country made drastic reforms to improve its economy. This period brought in economic and societal changes such as how technology shifted from using hand tools to operating power-driven machines like the power loom and the steam engine. Most people associate factories and machines with industries. The transformation of the manufacturing industry and commercial enterprise for mass production of various products occurred. Also, long-distance communication became possible via telegraph - a system used for transmitting messages

The selling of goods was boosted during the Industrial Age. The concept of mass production or manufacturing of goods in large quantities was introduced, increasing the demand for bigger and better machines. Special machines were fabricated to meet the specific needs of different factories.

The Industrial Age improved the people’s way of living as new inventions such as steamboats and steam locomotives, made transportation faster. However some business owners during this era focused only on earning profit so they took advantage of the poor economic condition of the working class. When the steam press was invented, printing materials like newspapers became much faster, cheaper, and easier.

Before this development, publishers used to receive financial support from political parties and rich patrons so that the latter could be featured in the newspaper. When printing costs were marked down, publishers started to print articles for the common interest of the public. The earlier injustices experienced by the laborers were also published in the newspaper. Communication during the Industrial Age also became viable because of the invention of the telegraph. The telegraph key was used to send the famous message “What Hath God Wrought” over the prototype telegraph line between Baltimore and Washington D.C. in 1844. A mechanical typewriter used for writing characters was also invented around 1800.

The Industrial Era was marked by significant technological advancements that changed how media was produced and consumed. Several countries played key roles in shaping the development of mass media during this time:

United kingdom

The UK was one of the early adopters of the printing press, which revolutionized media production.

UK saw the rise of newspapers and periodicals, with notable publications like The Times (founded in 1785) leading the way.

The UK’s Industrial Revolution was a catalyst for advancements in printing technology, such as steam-powered printing presses, which allowed newspapers to be printed faster and in larger quantities.

The UK was pivotal in the development of the telegraph, an important communication breakthrough during the era.

UNITED STATES

The U.S. saw significant growth in print media, including newspapers like The New York Times and The Washington Post, which began to dominate the market.

In the 1830s, the U.S. introduced the penny press, which made newspapers affordable and accessible to a broader audience, greatly influencing the spread of information.

Samuel Morse's development of the telegraph in the 1830s greatly expanded long-distance communication, laying the foundation for future media innovation.

In the early 20th century, the U.S. became the birthplace of radio broadcasting, starting with the first radio station, KDKA in Pittsburgh, in 1920.

GERMANY

Germany had a long tradition of innovation in printing, with Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the movable type printing press in the 15th century leading the way for mass production of written media.

In the 19th century, Germany became a leader in industrial printing technology, which helped spread printed material more quickly and widely.

Germany also played a role in the early development of telecommunication technologies, particularly in electrical and telegraphic communication.

FRANCE

France, especially Paris, became a hub for cultural and artistic expression during the industrial period. The country was home to important newspapers, journals, and literary magazines.

France was also a center for the development of photography, which became an essential part of media evolution in the 19th century.

French printers and publishers contributed to the mass production of literature and newspapers.

ITALY

Italy contributed to the early development of telegraphy, with pioneers such as Antonio Meucci (often credited for the invention of the telephone).

The growth of Italian newspapers helped spread information throughout the country and across Europe.

belgium

Belgium was home to several important developments in printing technology and was one of the leading countries in industrializing the printing process.

france and the united states (film)

The birth of cinema in the late 19th century was a collaboration of technological and cultural innovation between France and the United States. The Lumière Brothers (France) and Thomas Edison (USA) were crucial in the early stages of film development.

RUSSIA

In the late 19th century, Russia contributed to the development of radio technology and had an expanding print media landscape.

JAPAN

Japan rapidly industrialized during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, adopting Western technologies like printing presses and telegraphy.

DEVICES AND MEDIA

Printing Press for Mass Production

Johannes Gutenberg developed a press that mechanized the transfer ink from movable type to paper around 1440. By adapting the strew mechanisms found in wine presses, Gutenberg was able to developed a press that perfectly suited for printing. This printing press spread within several two decades to over 200 cities in a dozen European countries.

Telegraph

Any device or system that allows the transmission of information by coded signal over distance that was by Samuel Morse in the 1830's. The word telegraph is derived from the Greek words tele, meaning “distant,” and graphein, meaning “to write.”. Morse's system used an automatic sender consisting of a plate with long and short metal bars representing the Morse code equivalent of the alphabet and numbers. The operator slid a pointer connected to a battery and the sending wire across the bars, and immediately the appropriate dots and dashes were sent over the line.

Typographer

It is a rectangular wooden box that depressed the lever to release the ink onto paper. Typographer is known to be the first typewriter used back days and was invented by William Austin Burt in 1829.

Telephone

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone—it is a telecommunication device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be heard directly.

Punch Cards

Herman Hollerith invented punch cards in the late 1880s to help with the 1890 U.S. Census. A punch card is a special paper card with holes. These holes hold information, like data or instructions, that machines can read.

Motion Picture Photography/Projection

The Lumière brothers, Auguste and Louis, are generally credited with inventing the first motion picture camera and projector, the Cinématographe in 1890. Motion picture is a series of still photographs on film, projected in rapid succession onto a screen by means of light. Because of the optical phenomenon known as persistence of vision, this gives the illusion of actual, smooth, and continuous movement.

Commercial Motion Picture (1913)

A film, also called a movie, motion picture, theatrical film, or photoplay, is a series of still images which, when shown on a screen, creates the illusion of moving images due to the phi phenomenon.

Motion Pictures with Sound (1926)

A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before sound motion pictures were made commercially practical.

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