Traditional War Event, Kenya, Africa

A media event, as loosely defined by evolving modern usage, is an occasion or happening, spontaneous or planned, that attracts prominent coverage by mass media organizations, particularly television news and newspapers in both print and Internet editions. The element of immediacy (as in "breaking news") is crucial in spontaneous media events, while in planned events like a major speech by a national leader or a public demonstration against a government action, the prime importance of the subject matter itself is relied upon to elevate the occasion to true media event status. When individuals or groups attempt to generate publicity for themselves through a contrived media event, the occasion almost never captures widespread interest in the way a "naturally" occurring event does—such attempts are usually thought of as instances of "spin" or media manipulation, despite the use of the term "media event" by advertising agencies or other planners.
Overview
Media events in the serious contemporary sense of the term have been happening roughly since the early 1940s, when the ubiquity of movie-house newsreels joined with the established presence of newspapers and commercial radio to form a communications convergence able to give the man-or-woman-on-the-street the sense that everywhere he or she looked or listened, the same "story" was before them. This media saturation was greatly furthered by television, invented in the late 1920s and reaching millions of households by 1950. Starting around 1980, 24-hour cable television news operations debuted with great fanfare, with their signature use of new civilian satellite links that made on-camera live or near-live reporting from almost any spot on earth feasible while the event was still underway or its immediate aftermath continued to affect those involved. Finally, the emergence of the World Wide Web in 1994, allowing for instant global reporting, debating, polling and blogging, completed the communications environment of today, wherein a media event of global significance, or even one of limited geographical scope but consisting of particularly unusual or affecting content, can literally claim the time and attention of most of the world's people as events unfold.