Antecedents Of Modern Mass Media

Introduction 

This training note is designed to help PGD students clearly understand how modern mass media evolved from earlier systems of public communication. Rather than appearing suddenly, modern media developed gradually from informal and formal methods of information transfer embedded in traditional societies. By tracing this evolution, students can better appreciate mass media as a social institution shaped by culture, necessity and power relations.

The antecedents of modern mass media refer to the traditional forms of communication that existed before the emergence of newspapers, radio, television and the internet. These traditional media laid the foundation for organised mass communication by establishing patterns of information sharing, audience gathering, message authority and social influence. Broadly, these antecedents are divided into informal transference media and formal transference media.

Informal Transference Media

Informal transference media represent the earliest and most organic form of public communication. They operate through direct, interpersonal and communal interactions and are largely unofficial. Information circulates naturally through social relationships rather than through structured institutions. In traditional African societies, especially in Nigeria, family visits played a central role in this process. Relatives regularly visited one another, shared meals and exchanged news about births, deaths, disputes, farming conditions and political developments. Through these visits, information travelled across households and communities much like word-of-mouth journalism.

Imagine a rural village where a visitor arrives from a neighbouring town. As the visitor greets family members, news about a new market route, a dispute involving a chief or an impending festival spreads quickly. By evening, the same information is known across the community. This illustrates how informal transference media relied on trust, proximity and social bonds to circulate information.

Organised and spontaneous gatherings also strengthened informal communication. Burial ceremonies, weddings, circumcision rites and village festivals attracted large crowds from nearby and distant communities. While the primary purpose of such gatherings was cultural or religious, they doubled as information exchanges. Periods of mourning, celebration or rest provided opportunities for gossip, storytelling and discussion of current events. These settings functioned like open newsrooms where everyone contributed and consumed information.

Moonlight gatherings, dominated by folktales and oral narratives, further demonstrate this process. Skilled storytellers were not merely entertainers; they were early opinion leaders. They selected stories that reflected social values, criticised wrongdoing and celebrated heroism. In many ways, they resembled modern reporters and columnists, shaping public perception through narrative skill.

Another striking example of informal transference media is the masquerade tradition. In some Nigerian societies, masquerades emerged at night to expose scandals, criticise immoral behaviour or ridicule offenders. Because masquerades were believed to represent ancestral spirits, their messages carried authority and fear. This function closely mirrors modern investigative journalism and gossip columns that expose wrongdoing in society.

Markets also played a critical role. Beyond being centres of trade, markets were hubs of communication. Traders exchanged news about prices, political developments and events from distant regions. Caravan traders acted as mobile information carriers, gathering and relaying news as they travelled. In this way, information moved across regions long before newspapers or radio existed.

Formal Transference Media

Formal transference media marked a shift from spontaneous communication to structured and official dissemination of information. Unlike informal media, these systems were organised, recognised and often controlled by authority, particularly traditional governments. Information flowed not just between individuals but between rulers and the people.

A central figure in formal transference media was the town crier or bellman. Appointed by traditional authorities, the town crier announced laws, regulations, communal labour, meetings and emergencies. Using recognisable sounds such as gongs or bells, the town crier commanded attention and legitimacy. When the town crier spoke, the community listened, much like citizens tuning in to an official broadcast today.

In addition to human messengers, sound instruments played vital roles. Drums such as the Yoruba Gbedu, the Igbo Ekwe or Ikoro, the Edo Okha and the Isekiri Oji were capable of transmitting coded messages. Expert drummers could announce the death of a notable figure, warn of invasion, summon meetings or signal royal movements. These talking drums functioned as early broadcast systems, using sound to reach large audiences simultaneously.

Other formal methods included gunshots to announce deaths or danger and state messengers who carried information between central authorities and outlying regions, as seen in the old Oyo Empire. These methods introduced key elements later seen in modern mass media: authority, standardisation, recognisable symbols and wide reach.

Adjuncts of the Mass Media

As modern mass media developed, they did not operate alone. They relied on what are known as adjuncts of the mass media. Adjuncts are supporting organisations that assist media institutions by providing content, resources, expertise or services. Although adjuncts do not always have direct audiences, they are essential to media operations.

News agencies are among the most important adjuncts. Organisations such as Reuters, Associated Press and Agence France Presse gather and distribute news to media houses worldwide. In Nigeria, the News Agency of Nigeria performs a similar role. Without these agencies, many media organisations would struggle to cover distant or specialised events.

Other adjuncts include press syndicates, which supply features, columns, cartoons and entertainment materials; advertising agencies, which create and place advertisements that financially sustain media organisations; public relations firms, which manage the public image of individuals and institutions; and government information agencies, which communicate official policies and actions.

Additional adjuncts such as research and rating organisations, film production companies and public opinion polling agencies further support media content and credibility. Together, these adjuncts form an ecosystem that enables mass media to function effectively.

Mass media symbiosis

Mass media symbiosis explains the mutually beneficial relationships among different media forms. Borrowed from biology, the concept of symbiosis describes how media organisations depend on one another for survival and growth. Films move from cinemas to television and streaming platforms. Newspaper stories become radio discussions and television debates. Magazine content appears as newspaper inserts, while novels are adapted into films and television series.

This interdependence shows that media do not compete in isolation but evolve together, sharing content, talent and audiences. Mass media symbiosis helps students appreciate the interconnected nature of modern communication systems once understood.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the antecedents of modern mass media reveal a continuous evolution from informal, community-based communication to formal, institutionalised systems supported by complex networks of adjuncts and symbiotic relationships. Modern mass media are therefore best understood not as sudden inventions but as advanced extensions of long-standing human practices of sharing information, enforcing norms and shaping society.