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Characters of the Information and Communication Industry
2Nd Edition
About the Course
I have taught a graduate course on the history of the information and communications industry for 20 years. The course shows students how the world has moved from primitive communication to the integrated multi-media situation we are in today. Concentration is on the fields of journalism, telecommunications, broadcasting, and computing. Emphasis is placed on the leaders of the areas and the political and cultural surroundings that encouraged or discouraged growth of the industry.
The Role of Individuals and Technology
It is true that technology is a driving force of this industry, but it has been the individual people (characters) impelled by discovery, acceptance and marketability of that technology who have taken the next step to improve communication.
Historical Figures in Journalism
The Journalism field started with Gutenberg and early added Ben Franklin, later it got a little yellow with Hearst and Pulitzer. I think Henry Luce started the business of media integration, but Rupert Murdoch certainly keeps it going.
Inventions in Communication
The first practical use of electricity was found by Samuel Morse and his telegraph. Bell invented the telephone, or was it Meucci? Theodore Vail invented the Bell System.
Broadcasting Pioneers
Broadcasting started with Marconi's invention, or was it Tesla's? David Sarnoff and William Paley made the medium practical and characters like Edwin R. Morrow, Walter Cronkite and even Oprah Winfrey gave it credibility.
Development of Computers
Certainly Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace had something to do with the start of computers, but later scientists Vannevar Bush and John von Neumann added the electronics. Then UNIVAC convinced Thomas Watson Junior that IBM better start making them.
Personal Computers and the Internet
Jobs and Wozniak started the personal computer business, but Bill Gates created the software to make them run. Tim Berners-Lee hooked those computers to a network and then Amazon, eBay, and Google found a way to make money using the result.
About the Book
This book is the story of these people and companies.
