Engaging Communication Technologies of the 1950s - Assignment Example

Engaging Communication Technologies of the 1950s Technology is a remarkably diverse term as is its application and historical development. Communication as an industry also goes a long way in history, as it is the basic industry that people started exploring. The need for communication initiated several establishments that today we define as communication technologies. Initially, people used traditional means of communication that entailed various manual modes of passing messages from a place to another or person to another. However, today, with the advent of communication technologies, communication is transforming the universe into a small village (Cline 24). The history of Communication Technology counts back to the revolution era, when scholars and scientist discovered the utilization of various materials and minerals. They started engaging these materials to develop communication media, which then peaked in the 1950s. In the 1950s, communication technology made several notable communication establishments, which revolved the way of communication in many industries, ages, races and government work. The industry brought with it several positive developments as well as negative influences on the diverse areas of application by its users. Among the developments established by the 1950s in communication technology is the establishment of the first telephone communication, which came into play in late 1876 (Solway 27). Thereafter, as the 1900s came, technology continued to evolve bringing with it several discoveries. These discoveries include the making of first transcontinental phone call in 1915, and establishment of the first Air-to-Ground and Ground-to-Air Radio Communication. These developments created the basis for the more discoveries in the industry, making communication a key sector of interest to many stakeholders and governments. It is between the 1920s and 1950s that communication sector revolution then was at peak, with several developments coming into the action, and communication getting easy and comprehendible. The highlights made in communication technology at the period from 1900s to 1950s affected the use of communication technology in the 1950s remarkably. For instance, for the people who worked in the offices, both private and government sectors, several communication technologies affected their work and daily schedule. The communication within the office premises for the professionals entailed the use of several communication media (Krummenacher & Robert 67). The office manager needed to communicate with customers, clients and employees. Thus, for this person, technology of using the fax, established in 1924 was crucial. He would communicate with the employees using the fax machine, sending messages to the employees within the office premises. Additionally, the manager could also use the telephone, which were usually the cable telephone lines to communicate to his employees, customers and clients whom he had their contacts. Moreover, the use of print media was crucial. The manager would use the print media, print messages and display them on public notice board, or write a letter and post it to the intended recipient. Thus, in view of the application and use of technology in the office work, managers, employees, clients and customers had better communication media in the 1950s due to establishments in the industry of communication. Another industry that received a significant boost from communication technologies of the 1950s is the television news work. For instance, working in a television station, in a small town, at this time presented several possibilities for the reporter in gathering their information and reporting the same. The development of the stereo recordings in 1933, and the sound motion pictures in 1926 created a multitude of possibilities for the news reporter (Tschmuck 67). The newsperson would get to the source of their news easily, get the motion pictures with sound in recording, and record their report using the stereo recordings alongside other technologies. This would help the reporter in reporting the information for the television to transmit via its signals and channel levels. Another development in that time was the use of telephone. For instance, in a case where the reporter needed to make a reporting in real time, using the telephone was an added advantage. The reporter would call in the station and make a live reporting via the telephone call. Therefore, communication technologies at this time aided the television reporter working within the small town in their work significantly. Another highlight in the television industry is the scenario where the news reporters is working abroad, say in Asia and wishes to transmit the news to the television station in Seattle. In 1927, the communication industry established the first transatlantic phone service, through which people could communicate from distances outside America (Robinson 89). Additionally, in 1956, the industry again laid transoceanic telephone cables, which facilitated the communication for people across the continents. Thus, with this establishment, the news reporter working in Asia would easily get the news piece to the station via the telephone. Additionally, there is the use of the radio technology, which aided in disseminating information from vast distances. Therefore, with these technologies, the news reporter would easily get their report to the station. Politics is always a contest in which numbers determine the winner. In this perspective, the goal of every politician in the sector, especially during the campaign period is to establish the widest support base, with the most supporters. Therefore, to acquire the support and secure the vote of the people, the politician needs to establish contact with as many eligible voters as he can get. Thus, communication technology is a significant factor for consideration while conducting a successful campaign (Van Riper & Cynthia 89). The use of communication media by the 1950s provided several opportunities for the politicians to campaign. Therefore, assuming I was a politician at the time, campaigning for a senate seat, I would employ combined communication technologies to ensure that I get coverage on the ground. The first and most effective tool in campaigning at that time would be the word of mouth. Therefore, to ensure that I reached various groups, I would record advertising messages and sent them via the television network services. This would help reach the wealth and middle class people. However, it would have limitation as some of the poor families would not have access to television. Additionally, the black ethnicities would have challenges accessing my message since they have limitations in accessing television services. Therefore, to combat this challenge, I would introduce the use of print media. Print media would entail posters, magazines, and newspapers to ensure that I reach all viable voters (Mosco 56). The print media would be most effective as I could distribute the posters to all areas in the state to ensure that I reach the target audience. The use of radio broadcasting services would also help significantly in promoting my campaign work. Another key sector impacted significantly by the developments in communication technology in the 1950s is entertainment field. Entertainment is a vast continuum in the application of communication technologies. The introduction of the radio broadcasting technology, although initially it was for communication; facilitated the first entertainment technology different from the traditional means. The radio technology helped in playing music; thus, entertaining people from their homes or the social meeting places such as bars (Aveyard & Albert 149). The entertainment sector received a significant boost with the introduction of the stereo recording services in which artists could record their music and entertainment pieces. Then in 1924, the communication industry discovered the art of electrical, sound recording. Therefore, the artists in the 1950s, whether a rock artist or whichever genre of music, they had several methodologies of recording their music. Thus, for the people at the time, to get entertainment, they would purchase these recordings or attend the places of entertainment to entertain their souls. Those days, there were no sophisticated modes and instruments of recording music. However, with the available electrical sound recording techniques and stereo recordings, it facilitated the artists in their endeavor to foster their careers in the entertainment industry. The entertainment sector that entailed the modern day Hollywood sector employed varied communication technologies. The development of sound motion pictures aided significantly in the production of the films of that time. The technology allowed the filming industry to produce quality pictures in motion, recording it using the electrical, sound recording and other communication technologies available. Thus, for the sector, as a producer, the available technology allowed the film production process, although it was slow and painstaking for the producers to attain their expected final product. Nonetheless, the technology did allow the film production industry to grow accordingly, facilitating entertainment at the time. Technology invoked the entertainment and communication for many young people at the time. In those 1950s, communication technology was specifically for serious work; thus, most of the people who used the technology were professionals (Starr 32). Unlike today, where teenagers have access to various technological establishments, for communication and entertainment, in the 1950s, the teenagers did not have access to communication technology for their use. However, the teenagers from the wealthy families, and those from the white families could get access to telephone for communicating to their friends. However, for the black race in the country, the minority and segregated groups, the teenagers did not have access to the communication technologies for their uses. The humanity rights activists at the time concerned themselves with liberation movements, acting in favor of the oppressed. Thus, with the condition of communication technologies at the time, there was no need to gag the media to protect children. However, the moral issues raised today date to that era of evolution of communication technologies. Thus, if I lived at the time, much as I would rejoice in the developments, in the sector, I would advocate for caution against the content exchanged through these media to protect the children. For instance, I would oppose the streaming of programs with high violence content, obscene scenes and horrifying pictures as this decay the morals of children (Plomp 76). The display of military and criminal like entertainment films also affects the raising of children, as children cannot discern which is right and wrong. Thus, I would push for the establishment of laws to dictate the content to display via the communication technologies. Communication technologies continue to revolutionize all sectors of life, in education, health, entertainment and politics among others. Thus, viewing the historical development of the technologies creates the attitude for appreciating the developments of communication technologies today. Work cited Aveyard, Karina, and Albert Moran. “Introduction: Sound Media, Sound Cultures.” Media International Australia, Incorporating Culture & Policy 148(2013): 79. Informit Literature & Culture Collection. Web. 2 Mar. 2014 Cline, Hugh F. Information Coummunication Technology and Social Transformation: A Social Historical Perspective. New York: Routledge/Taylor and Francis, 2014. Discovery eBooks. Web. 2 March 2014 Krummenacher, William S., and Robert A. Cropf. Information Coummuncation Technologies And The Virtual Public Sphere : Impact of Network Structures on Civil Society. Hershey PA: Information Science Reference, 2011. Discovery eBooks. Web. 2 March 2014 Mosco, Vincent. The Political Economy of Communication. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2009. Internet resource. Plomp, Tj. Cross-national Information and Communication Technology Policies and Practices in Education. Charlotte, NC: IAP-Information Age Pub, 2009. Print. Robinson, Daniel J. Communication History in Canada. Don Mills, Ont: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print. Starr, Paul. The Creation of the Media: Political Origins of Modern Communications. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2005. Print. Solway, Andrew. Communication: The Impact of Science and Technology. Pleasantville, NY: Gareth Stevens Pub, 2010. Print. Tschmuck, Peter. Creativity and Innovation in the Music Industry. Heidelberg: Springer, 2012. Internet resource. Van Riper, A. Bowdoin, and Cynthia J. Muller. 1950’s ‘Rocketman’ TV Series and Their Fans : Cadets Rangers and Junior Space Men. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Discovery eBooks. Web 2 March 2014 Read More