We can trace the beginnings of an early NEWS communication in cutlure in Roman times with the
ACTA DIURNA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Acta Diurna (latin: Daily Acts sometimes translated as Daily Public Records) were daily Roman official notices, a sort of daily gazette. They were carved on stone or metal and presented in message boards in public places like the Forum of Rome. They were also called simply Acta or Diurna or sometimes Acta Popidi or Acta Publica.
The first form of Acta appeared around 131 BCE during the Roman Republic. Their original content included results of legal proceedings and outcomes of trials. Later the content was expanded to public notices and announcements and other noteworthy information such as prominent births, marriages and deaths. After a couple of days the notices were taken down and archived (though no intact copy has survived to the present day).
Before the Roman the Greeks would have had some system for communicating news around their states eg
In 490 BC the fleet footed herald Pheidippides was one of the first messengers to deliver important breaking news ( as it would come to be called ) that the Spartans had helped the Athenian army defeat the Persians at the battle of Marathon. He ran the equivalent of todays Olympic Marathon race 42.19 kilometres the distance from Marathon to Athens. While this isn't journalism as we know it but an early form of information (news) communication.
'Access' to truthful Information is the key to acurate reporting
THE INFORMATION CYCLE :
INFORMATION IS:
CREATED : STORED : ACCESSED : TRANSMITTED : RECEIVED : INTERPREPTED
Some very important early 20th Century examples where technology has played an important part in providing real time information :
THE TELEGRAPH SYSTEM OF INFORMATION TRANSFER
Many scientists ( Franklin Volta Faraday Edison) contributed to the discovery of electricity in the early 19th Century. Very soon applications were being invented for electrical currents running through a copper wire.
The first electric telegraph system existed in the UK around 1837 and then spread to the USA. A simple system of MORSE code invented 1837 (for the alphabet) was sent electically down wires as a series of sound dots and dashes .
CLASS ASSIGNMENT - WRITE YOUR NAMSE IN MORSE CODE
Guglielmo Marconi (1874 - 1937) ITALIAN inventor of wireless communication - the wireless telegraph or RADIO as we now call it.
First trans Atlantic wireless radio wave communication in 1901
Photograph 15th April 1912 reported to be the Iceberg
The first trans Atlantic Telephone service was used in 1927
Soon after the 2nd World War the invention of Telecommunications Satellites
(the first was launched by the USSR in 1957 called Sputnik )
made a huge difference in the communications news reporting industry - and at this time of the COLD WAR started the Space Race between the USA and the USSR.
The next development was with satelites in GEO STATIONARY ORBITS (held 36,000km above ground) then communcaitons could be maintained.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_satellite#/media/File:Geostat.gif
Since Satellites have been launched into low Earth Orbit there are approx half a million pieces of functioning and non functioning technology in space orbiting the Earth.
The movie GRAVITY
was based on a worst case scenario for the International Space Station
Space Debris
ALL OF THE TV SHOWS THAT HAVE BEEN BROADCAST HAVE TRAVELED INTO SPACE AND MAY HAVE BEEN PICKED UP BY ALIEN LIFE ?
Ok we will now examine the Earthly world of 'Journalism' and journalists, and the reporting of the news.
Much has changed in Media journalism over the last 20 years.
The role of a journalist or news reporter is:
To find the truth in a newsworthy story - By
finding out :
WHAT the story is about
WHO is the story about
WHERE did it happen
WHEN did it happen
&
WHY did it happen ... and the consequences ( this is more investigative journalism )
PRE INTERNET
The news report was a manufacture 'product' and occured in a News Cycle
The Medium was either newsprint - radio - tv
Generally these mediums of publishing & broadcasting were own by multinational companies Their main source of revenue was advertsing and sponsorship.
1. A NEWS ‘EVENT’ IS SELECTED … out of millions of random ‘events’ happening in the world
2. THE NEWS EVENT IS REPORTED … by journalists
3. THE NEWS EVENT IS MEDIATED … via radio tv print, it is transformed by news editors into sellable stories
4. THE NEWS EVENT IS CONSUMED …as an information product by a mass audience
This mediation of the truth of the news was often compromised by advertising and sponsorship and ownwership of other companies.
THE INSIDER 1999 directed by Michael Mann
Investigative Journalists did extensive background reporting into major stories.
This job was never easy (to get to the truth) and sometimes very dangerous.
Even now journalists often operate in highly dangersous conditions especially where 'Press Freedom' is under threat.
These stats are out of date but do give a picture that has not changed in the last decade
'NEWS' information as propaganda in communist countries
In terms of danger to journalists 2017 in Mexico had the highest rate of deaths of reporters
International Press Institute report:
https://ipi.media/mexico-most-deadly-country-for-journalists-in-2017/ with 14 killed, the next 2 countries were Iraq and Syria. In 2014 99 Mexican journalists were killed doing their job, so last years figure is substantially down. As you can imagine these Mexican journalists were investigating Cartel affairs.
In general world figures look like this: 2015 without China or Russia
The point here is that reporting the Truth within any society is a risky business.
Why ?
Class Discussion.
Journalists should operate with the highest ethical code of Truthfulness, Accuracy, Objectivity, Impartiality, Fairness, and Public Accountability - but this is not always the case.
The Free Press (The Media) originally in England was referred to as 'The Forth Estate' (or fourth power) in society with the 'Clergy' 'The Nobility' and the 'Commoners' as the other three realms. The Free Press should be independent of Goverment but is not always as media bias has influenced many elections around the world.
Media is owned by big multinational companies and is a business.
Remember NEWS is INFORMATION and can be sold as a product.
Since the rise of Internet (we will examine this next) there has been new voices in the press that cover breaking news events such as Citizen Journalists and VICE who are independent of big corporate interests.
Commenti