COMN 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Fourth Estate, Dawning Information Industry
7 Dec 2015
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Document Summary
The evolution of the modern mass media began in the mid-fifteenth century with. Gutenberg"s development of printing by means of movable type. Printing with movable type facilitated a social movement that saw the eclipse of feudalism and the dawning of the renaissance, followed by the reformation, the enlightenment, and the industrial revolution. The divine right of rulers was replaced with the notion of the consent of the governed. The printing press served an important social role from the fifteenth century onward in gathering information and informing citizens. In making their contribution, the press and, subsequently, other communication media have been structured by a larger set of social circumstances and events. The rise of industrial society, along with urbanization, increased literacy, and the eight hour workday, provided the context within which contemporary media took their form and function.
