| Trend | Premodern (pre-1800s) | Modern Industrial Revolution (1800s–1950s) | Postmodern (1950s–present) |
| Work hierarchies | peasants/merchants/rulers | factory workers/managers/national CEOs | temp workers/global CEOs |
| Major work sites | field/farm | factory/office | office/home/“virtual” or mobile office |
| Communication reach | local | national | global |
| Communication transmission | oral/manuscript | print/electronic | electronic/digital |
| Communication channels | storytellers/elders/town criers | books/newspapers/magazines/radio | television/cable/Internet/multimedia |
| Communication at home | quill pen | typewriter/office computer | personal computer/laptop/smartphone/social networks |
| Key social values | belief in natural or divine order | individualism/rationalism/efficiency/antitradition | antihierarchy/skepticism (about science, business, government, etc.)/diversity/multiculturalism/irony & paradox |
| Journalism | oral & print-based/partisan/controlled by political parties | print-based/“objective”/efficient/timely/controlled by publishing families | TV- & Internet-based/opinionated/conversational/controlled by global entertainment conglomerates |