A person or a show that had an influence on the mass media - Essay Example

Other types of print media include magazines, journals and books. Through evolution, a wide range of newspapers is available for people to choose from in the market. Traditionally, different kinds of newspapers include the tabloids and the broadsheets, each covering different kinds of news. The broadsheet however is the most intellectual of and most informative of the two, as it focuses of the real issues. Contrary to this, the tabloid majors on gossips, entertainment and celebrity as well as sports news.

Even as people enjoy their daily reading from their favourite newspapers, may it be news, politics or advertisements, they are little knowledgeable of the evolutionary process that the newspapers have gone through. Some think that they just appeared, while others remain clueless. However, newspapers have an interesting history of their origin and evolution. In this paper, I trace the origin of the brilliant brain behind one of the worlds’ leading forms of mass media communication, Johannes Gutenberg.

Historical arguments point out that the earliest form of a printed book known as the “Diamond Sutra” was printed in China in 868 CE. Some historians however argue that this book was printed earlier than this. The truth is not verifiable. However, the man behind this great invention was Johannes Gutenberg, a goldsmith and a businessman from the mining town of Mainz in southern Germany. Research reveals that Johannes Gutenberg borrowed money, which he invested in his invention. Luckily, his success drastically changed the world of printing.

His earliest form of printing machine, the printing press, was made of replaceable or movable letters that were either wooden or metallic. According to Childress (2008), after a long struggle of trial and error, Gutenberg completed the machine in 1440. There is an amusing story about how the idea occurred to Johannes. One day, as Johannes sat by the window reading a book chained to the reading table, he could not help from smiling at the wonderful ideas that the book contained. Outside, rain was pouring heavily, banging on the window.

Suddenly, he felt angered by the precious nature of books then. Disgustingly, he shook his head, and vowed to look for a way that would reduce the value of books and enable people handle them in a different way. This incidence was the beginning of a research that led to the birth of the printing press, subsequently marking the start of mass reproduction of books. However, what benefited the most from this invention was the mass production of newspapers as a form of mass communication. Hundreds of years ago, the only means in which people could write books was by way of handwriting.

There was no form of printing or publishing presses available for interested parties to exploit. Due to the rareness of the books, it prompted their chaining to the reading tables as a measure to prevent people from taking them away. Estimated cost of a book then was the cost of a town house (Childress, 2008). Johannes was born in the year 1398 in Mainz Germany, but later moved to Strasbourg in 1428, escaping the rivalry that existed between the rich and the townspeople. He came from a very rich and powerful family as his father was a jeweller and a goldsmith working at the Mainz Mint.

Starting his life as a goldsmith himself, Johannes learnt tips that would latter help him in his invention. Although he fell in love and went ahead to propose to Ennelin zu der Iserin Thure, he changed his mind along the way and broke