Old media

Old media comprises established mass communication forms such as print, radio, and broadcast television, generally characterized by centralized production and one-way distribution before digital media.

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Mass media: Technologies and institutions that distribute information or entertainment to large, dispersed audiences. Old media is a historical subset of mass communication.
Mass communication: The transmission of messages from organized sources to large audiences through communication channels. Old media generally moves messages from producers outward to mass audiences.
Printing press: A machine for reproducing text and images on paper, enabling efficient production of multiple copies. Mechanized printing made large-scale circulation of texts possible.
Agenda-setting theory: The theory that media influence which issues audiences consider important by emphasizing some topics over others. Centralized news outlets could direct broad public attention toward selected issues.
Social media: Digital platforms that let users create, share, and interact with content through networked connections. Users can publish and respond directly, unlike traditional broadcast audiences.
Broadcasting: The transmission of audio or video content from a source to many receivers, typically without individualized requests. Radio and television made one-to-many transmission a defining old-media model.
Gatekeeping: The selection and filtering of information before it reaches an audience. Editors and broadcasters controlled which messages entered old-media channels.
Penny press: A nineteenth-century newspaper model sold cheaply to a broad urban readership. Its low price expanded the newspaper audience beyond elite subscribers.
Public sphere: A social space where people discuss matters of common concern and form public opinion. Newspapers and broadcasting provided shared forums for public debate.
Internet: A global network of interconnected computer networks that supports diverse communication services. It enables decentralized, on-demand distribution beyond old media's fixed channels.