Thesis Statement

The broadband revolution forces media and its content to improve.

The Revolution that Spurred a Merger

The broadband revolution took the world by storm as of the mid 1990s. Although networking, and linked computers were around as early as the 1960s, the Internet didn't really hit the general public until about 1990. Prior to this, the U.S. Department of Defense was testing the limits of networking through an organization called ARPA. Since ARPA was the founding father of this incredible technology, it was called the ARPANET for the first thirty years.

Since Internet hit the masses in the 1990s, it has spread like wildfire all around the world. Now, teachers can accept homework via the network, audio and video enthusiasts are capable of sharing music and video easily with the push of a button, and the term e-mail is common knowledge. No longer do you see young men and women in their early 20s with a newspaper folded neatly under their arms. All that is needed is a personal computer and a phone line and anyone can read the news as it is happening or better yet, watch it on streaming video. This instant gratification generation of people is forcing the media to improve not only the efficiency of how they operate, but also the medium through which they are publishing. A prime example of this can be shown with the merger between Time Warner and AOL in 2000. With the economy looking towards technology and broadband on the rise, Time Warner felt like they had to do something to change with the times. Regardless of how this merger has affected both companies, the fact is, the people of the world are looking to the Internet for advice, companionship, and information in general, and this surge in the Internet and broadband for information has forced one of the largest media corporations in the world to merge with the most widely used Internet company.

Click on one of the master mind's of media below and you will find significant quotes from one of their publications regarding the broadband revolution.