Note on organization

This article is not strictly chronological in nature, but the mediums are arranged by the date. Each one began to grow in importance as time went on. Literature appears before cartoons although newspaper cartoons in the modern sense began in the 1840s. Radio and film came out roughly at the same time. Film is covered after radio because it led more directly to the television section. Stand-up comedy began to receive renewed attention in the 1970s which is the reason why it was placed directly after television.