Journalism and Mass Communication

CHAPTER 1:Development of Human Communication

 

The Meaning of Communication

 Communication is an ever continuing process and an integral part of the world of all living things.The need for communication is as basic as the hunger for food and drink, perhaps even more so. It isan individual as well as a social need.Derived form the Latin word

communis

 

, meaning

common

, communication is a synonym for interchange, dialogue, sharing, interaction or communion. It is the passing of meaningful messagesand the receiving of feedback.

The Encyclopedia Britannica

defines communication as µ

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.Denis McQuail (³Towards a Sociology of Mass Communication, 1975) sees µhumancommunication

¶

as the sending of meaningful messages from one person to another. Thesemessages could be oral or written, visual or olfactory. He also includes laws, practices, customs,ways of dressing, gestures, military parades and flags as methods of communication.Human communication went through different stages of development. At first this development wasdriven by the process of mankind

¶

s evolution from the lower species, later it was driven bytechnological human progress.

Historical Survey of Communication:

 The Age of Signs and SignalsThe Age of Speech and LanguageThe Age of WritingThe Age of PrintingThe Mass Communication AgeThe Age of Information Revolution

 

1. The Age of Signs and Signals

 Prehistoric humans were physically unable to talk. Communication was limited and determined byinstincts. It was the age of signs and signals - drum messages, smoke signals, music, dance etc.

2. The Age of Speech and Language

 Man

¶

s first achievement was speech and language. It gave him an eminent position over others.Growth of different languages gave birth to different expressions that denoted distinctions withincommunities. Certain languages acquired the traits of others, e.g., the language of conquerors wasabsorbed into the local dialect. This then became the language of administration and commerce.

3. The Age of Writing

 About 5,000 years ago, hieroglyphic writing was developed by the Mayans and the Chinese. Theyused pictures with a standardized meaning. The Sumerians developed a different form of writingthat represented sounds by symbols. This allowed information to be stored and for traditions to be passed on in writing. Clay, stone and later papyrus were developed and used as portable media.Writing gave permanence to the spoken language. Writing was slow to develop because the clergy,who were the seats of power, wanted it to be their sole privilege.

4. The Age of Print

 In the 1st century A.D, China invented paper. In the 8th century the Arab world began tomanufacture paper. In the 15th century, the Gutenberg press was invented and printing began inEurope. As a consequence, information could be copied much faster and with far fewer mistakesthan before. Availability of information was no longer restricted to the Roman Church and tonobility, but open to a wider section of European societies. This was the basis for further historicaldevelopment that culminated in the Thirty-Years-War. Books were followed by the development of  pamphlets and then newspapers in the 17th century. Some newspapers began to be edited by thethen subjugated Asians and Africans in spite of severe opposition. Revolutionary journals began tosee the light of day and enjoyed wide readership.

5. The Mass Communication Age

 In the 19th century, communication was determined by several media forms. Print media, especiallynewspapers, were supplemented by telegraph and telephone. The introduction of radio, film andtelevision in the 20th century saw the emergence of the Mass Communication era.

6. The Age of Information Revolution

 At present, we are living amidst an information revolution. Integrated multimedia applications arenow possible due to networks established from the development of digital communication