"Media do not simply present cultural products for consumption; they provide much of the stuff of every day life through which we construct meaning and organize our existence."--Michael R. Real, Super Media DEFINING MOMENTS IN MASS MEDIA Newspapers. Media began with the written word . . . To date, the oldest existing written document dates back to 2200 B.C. By 500 B.C. Persia had developed a form of pony express and the Greeks had a “telegraph” system consisting of trumpets, drums, shouting, beacon fires, smoke signals, and mirrors; transmitting a form of communication to the masses. In 200 B.C. the Chinese circulated the first