9781422272688

to news programs, families could settle in to watch dramas and comedies after dinner. Families had a new way to spend time together, and television programs became a significant topic of conversation. Television ingrained itself in culture. Of course, the advent of the Internet was another major steppingstone in the history of mass media. Although it was created in the late 1960s and early 1970s, most Americans did not begin going online until the early 1990s, with the development of web browsers and providers like America Online. The creation of search engines, particularly Google in 1998, allowed web users to find information quickly. Finally, information was free and readily available. Since the 1990s, the newspaper industry has been a steep decline, with many smaller newspapers closing or merging with others just to stay in business. Ratings for radio and television news programs have also declined, due to the availability of online information as well as an increase in television channels and content. But the freedom of the Internet also came with some challenges. In the past, news organizations had vetted stories; now, anyone could produce content and post it online. Even ideas that most people agreed were false—such as the conspiracy theory that the Apollo moon landings had been faked—gained new life on the fringes of the Internet. News reports that purported to be fair and accurate, but omitted or mischaracterized important information, also became more common in the twenty-first century. By the 2016 presidential election, the issue of biased news

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Contemporary Issues: Media Bias